This film has a very peculiar pedigree. Originally, it was a relatively innocent French film. When it was brought to the US, however, some geniuses got the idea of spicing it up--adding nudity and a much stronger lesbian subtext! Usually, European films were thought to be much more adult at that time and this is an odd case of Americans adding salacious content to their films. Now this caused problems, as the New York censor board wasn't about to allow the film to be released--and a two year battle ensued before it was eventually released...and the film board was disbanded. To learn about this and more, watch the little featurette included on the DVD.
Another interesting thing is that a MINOR character in the film was excised when the film was first shown in the States. Years later, it turned out this young lady, Catherine Dorléac, grew up to become known as Catherine Deneuve--and suddenly the film was begin billed on re-release as starring Deneuve, though, as I said, her part was small. Most of her part had been excised because it was part of a mostly irrelevant subplot. But, in order to make a DVD with this film, it features two very different copies of the film--and it's obvious that it was pieced together. The originally excised portions are still in French (with subtitles) and the rest is English-dubbed! A weird experience, indeed.
As for the film, if you can look past the crap that was added to 'spice it up', it's a pretty good little film. There still is a gay subtext, though it isn't quite as strong and the nudity appears to have been mostly added later. It begins at a girls school in France. While it looks like it's supposed to be for girls about age 10-18, the film concerns the oldest girls in the school--and most of them appear to be about 21 (more of less) and most of them look like models! The one exception is the VERY stereotypical fat girl who literally ALWAYS is shown eating candy (a lousy and one-dimensional character to say the least).
A girl comes to the school. She is model-beautiful and very talented. Soon, practically everyone seems think she's great. Men drool over her, her teachers and fellow students are big fans and one student in particular seems more than just her fan--there are pretty strong lesbian vibes. When the new girl falls in love with a handsome and talented young man, problems soon occur. Some is because she's underage and her aunt does not approve, some is because the school doesn't approve and most is because her #1 fan at school feels that their love is threatened by this man. It's all pretty interesting and handled reasonably well. It's really too bad there doesn't appear to be a copy of the film as it was originally created. The copy I saw DID have the Deneuve scenes added--but also the spicy ones. Worth seeing, though, in spire of all this.
Another interesting thing is that a MINOR character in the film was excised when the film was first shown in the States. Years later, it turned out this young lady, Catherine Dorléac, grew up to become known as Catherine Deneuve--and suddenly the film was begin billed on re-release as starring Deneuve, though, as I said, her part was small. Most of her part had been excised because it was part of a mostly irrelevant subplot. But, in order to make a DVD with this film, it features two very different copies of the film--and it's obvious that it was pieced together. The originally excised portions are still in French (with subtitles) and the rest is English-dubbed! A weird experience, indeed.
As for the film, if you can look past the crap that was added to 'spice it up', it's a pretty good little film. There still is a gay subtext, though it isn't quite as strong and the nudity appears to have been mostly added later. It begins at a girls school in France. While it looks like it's supposed to be for girls about age 10-18, the film concerns the oldest girls in the school--and most of them appear to be about 21 (more of less) and most of them look like models! The one exception is the VERY stereotypical fat girl who literally ALWAYS is shown eating candy (a lousy and one-dimensional character to say the least).
A girl comes to the school. She is model-beautiful and very talented. Soon, practically everyone seems think she's great. Men drool over her, her teachers and fellow students are big fans and one student in particular seems more than just her fan--there are pretty strong lesbian vibes. When the new girl falls in love with a handsome and talented young man, problems soon occur. Some is because she's underage and her aunt does not approve, some is because the school doesn't approve and most is because her #1 fan at school feels that their love is threatened by this man. It's all pretty interesting and handled reasonably well. It's really too bad there doesn't appear to be a copy of the film as it was originally created. The copy I saw DID have the Deneuve scenes added--but also the spicy ones. Worth seeing, though, in spire of all this.