La belle personne (2008)

Sixteen-year old Junie changes high school mid-year, following the death of her mother. She finds herself in the same class as her cousin Mathias, who introduces her to his friends. All the... See full summary »

Director:

Christophe Honoré

Writers:

Christophe Honoré (scenario), Gilles Taurand (scenario),

Stars:

Louis Garrel, Léa Seydoux, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Louis Garrel	...	Nemours
Léa Seydoux	...	Junie
Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet	...	Otto
Esteban Carvajal-Alegria	...	Matthias
Simon Truxillo	...	Henri
Agathe Bonitzer	...	Marie
Anaïs Demoustier	...	Catherine
Valérie Lang	...	Florence Perrin
Jacob Lyon	...	Jacob
Jean-Michel Portal	...	Estouteville
Martin Siméon	...	Martin
Chantal Neuwirth	...	Nicole - la patronne du café Sully
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Louka Anargyros
Thomas Anargyros
Gabriel Attal

Storyline

Sixteen-year old Junie changes high school mid-year, following the death of her mother. She finds herself in the same class as her cousin Mathias, who introduces her to his friends. All the boys want to date Junie, and she chooses the quietest among them, Otto Cleves. But soon after, she encounters the great love of her life, Nemours, her Italian teacher. The passion that burns between them is, however, doomed. Junie refuses to give in to her feelings and persists in denying herself happiness, which in her eyes is merely illusory.

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Plot Keywords:

italian teacher | high school | love | school | teacher student relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Le Pacte [fr]

Country:

France

Language:

French Italian English Russian

Release Date:

6 March 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Bela Junie

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arte France, Scarlett Production, Scarlett Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Christophe Honoré decided to make this adaptation of La Princesse de Clèves after French president Nicholas Sarkozy criticized the novel.

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Connections

Features Yaaba (1989)

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Soundtracks

"Comme La Pluie"
Written by Alex Beaupain
Performed by Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet
Editions musicales naive

User Reviews

Lovely, melancholy, fascinating view of Parisian teenagers

This is a lovely, deliberate, melancholy look into the fairy-tale lives of pale, beautiful, preternaturally graceful high-school students in Paris - a dreamy, pearly, wintry Paris on which the harsh sun never, ever shines.

The Beautiful Person is so hypnotically beautiful that it drew me through the somewhat jarring adjustment I had to make from my placid late-middle-aged American world into theirs, which teems with sex and longing, but - Oh, my! - it was worth it. This movie is luxurious and delightful.

Some of those who do not like it may be unwilling or unable to make such a cultural adjustment, but those who do will be rewarded. Earlier reviews here encouraged me to hang in there through the rough patches in the beginning, when I could not even tell who was who and doing what with whom. Those reviews also hinted that I might be slightly disappointed after Christophe Honoré's last movie, the remarkable Love Songs (Les Chansons d'amour). I was not at all. This is a sadder movie, but it is no less deeply satisfying.

Like Love Songs, seeing this once is not enough: I need my own copy so I can watch it over and over. Also like Love Songs, I expect the pleasure it gives will grow richer with each viewing.

Something nice I just realized: there are no drugs in this movie, hardly any alcohol (none at all among the kids), no vomiting, no farting, no bullying, no mindless cruelty or grossness of any kind. In other words: This is not an American movie for American teenagers. It is probably not even a realistic view of Parisian teenagers (even they must have a few pimples), but realistic or not it is a joy to behold.