Jeune femme (2017)

In her early thirties, broke, and in the wake of a humbling breakup, a spirited, yet rudderless young woman finds herself struggling to get by in the bustling Parisian metropolis; however, if she can make it there, she'll make it anywhere.

Director:

Léonor Serraille

Writers:

Clémence Carré (collaboration), Bastien Daret (collaboration)

Stars:

Laetitia Dosch, Souleymane Seye Ndiaye, Grégoire Monsaingeon

11 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Laetitia Dosch	...	Paula Simonian
Souleymane Seye Ndiaye	...	Ousmane
Grégoire Monsaingeon	...	Joachim Deloche
Jean-Christophe Folly	...	Médecin urgences
Nathalie Richard	...	La mère de Paula
Arnaud de Cazes	...	L'infirmier
Zirek	...	L'épicier (as Ahmed Zirek)
Philippe Lasry	...	L'invité hispanophone
Marie Rémond	...	Anne
Jean-René Lemoine	...	L'invité travaillant dans le champagne
Bélinda Saligot	...	La femme des photos
Philippe Vincent	...	Le gérant de l'hôtel
Agathe Desche	...	La vétérinaire
Philippe Ferreira Gonçalo	...	Vendeur Cash Converters
Lou Valentini	...	Géraldine, la manageuse lingerie

Storyline

Broke, with nothing but her cat and doors closing in her face, Paula is back in Paris after a long absence. As she meets different people along the way, there is one thing she knows for sure: she's determined to make a new start and she'll do it with style and panache.

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Plot Keywords:

public nudity | female full rear nudity | loser | swimming pool | candyfloss | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Be for Films [Belgium] Blue Monday Productions [France]

Country:

France Belgium

Language:

French English

Release Date:

1 November 2017 (France)

Also Known As:

Jeune Femme

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blue Monday Productions, Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC), Arte / Cofinova 12

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Ousmane: You know what you remind me of? A little wild monkey.

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Connections

References Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

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Soundtracks

Las Vegas Tango
Written by Gil Evans
Performed by Gil Evans

User Reviews

a heartening find-your-toehold underdog story

Feature debut from French female director Léonor Serraille, MONTPARNASSE BIENVENUE won Golden Camera awards in Cannes from formidable rivals. Essentially a heartening find-your-footing underdog story, Serraille smartly irons out its formulaic déjà vu with a blithe tonal inflection that cunningly belies the story's harsh undertone but never alienates audience's empathy.

Our heroine is Paula Simonian (Dosch), a 31-year-older whose decade-long relationship with her photographer boyfriend Joachim (Monsaingeon) is unceremoniously severed by the latter, and right out of the box, Serraille introduces Paula in her lowest point when she totally loses it in a hysterical rambling which could falsely give the impression that she might be a head case and Laetitia Dosch gives a superbly looney tunes shtick which shows that it is her inning to hold court.

But Paula is not a fruitcake, although admitted by herself, she is not a very bright gal, who reacts badly from the bolt out of blue and is left with Joachim's cat with nowhere to go. For the first time, she must earn a living off her own bat, and her personal past and family ties also emerge in piecemeal instead of spoon-feeding. The script handles with care of a dejected situation when a young woman (which is actually its French title), throws herself on the mercy of others' kindness, how close she will subject herself ass a victim of a predatory society. But there is also light during Paula's rite of self-Independence when by sheer luck, sorority spirit comes to her rescue, she is mistakenly recognized as a schoolmate by Yuki (Simaga), who helps her land a baby-sitting job, meanwhile she also finds a sideline career in a shopping mall's underwear boutique, although one of which doesn't last long, because in Paris, caste-hopping is not something can be stomached by the callous folks. Serraille makes sure there is enough droll and mordant moments to temper with her astringent critique of the pandemic apathy encroaching the contemporary society, through her close-range but steady and unobtrusive lens, interlaced with occasional aural and optical abandon.

Ultimately it is an invigorating, slightly belated Bildungsroman of adapting oneself into adulthood, to contact, to communicate with others, those like-minded ones (Paula meets cute with the security guard Ousmane played by an equable, earnest Ndiaye) and lives a life as honest as possible, and of course we are blasé about a second chance with Joachim routinely materializes itself because her answer is already set in the stone, but courtesy of Dosch's pyrotechnic performance, her Paula is the whole package of a real woman in full flesh and blood, funny, compassionate, obfuscated, discomfited, defensive and resolute in turns, in the end of the day, you will love her for her strength, perseverance and goofiness, hats off to a tremendous achievement.