''The Adolescent'' (french: L'Adolescente) is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Jeanne Moreau Jeanne Moreau (; 23 January 1928 – 31 July 2017) was a French actress, singer, screenwriter, director, and socialite. She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française. Mo ...

in 1978, released January 1979. It was entered into the

29th Berlin International Film Festival The 29th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 20 February – 3 March 1979. The Golden Bear was awarded to the West German film ''David'' directed by Peter Lilienthal. Michael Cimino's ''The Deer Hunter'' was surrounded by controver ...

. Set deep in the French countryside just before the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it shows the idyllic life of a remote village in the mountainous

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label=Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auverg ...

where a family from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

has come to holiday with relatives. The family get-together marks a coming-of-age for daughter Marie, the adolescent of the title.

Plot

In the summer of 1939, Jean, a butcher in Paris, takes his family to a small town near

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

for a stay with his widowed mother. Accompanying him is his Dutch wife Eva, and the couple's only child, twelve-year-old Marie. During the family's stay, Marie takes a liking to Alexandre, the thirty-year-old local doctor. Alexandre enjoys Marie's lively and intelligent company until one night Marie comes to the house where he lives alone and offers herself to him. Alexandre rejects Marie. Shortly after Marie undergoes her first period and is taught by her grandmother to be more careful with men. Her place in Alexandre's life is taken by her mother, who begins a full-blown affair with him while Jean is away helping to bring in the harvest. The grandmother teaches Marie that this is something which can happen, but one must not talk about it and must seek to reconcile the married couple. When Jean returns, Alexandre keeps his distance until the village festival where he asks Eva for a dance. Jean punches Alexandre and a brawl develops. Everything ends with the outbreak of war.

Cast

Release

The film was released in France on 24 January 1979. It later received a release in the United States on 12 September 1982.

Reception

In a review for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'',

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

awarded the film 3 and ½ stars. He wrote,

This is a movie where attention is given to the lives of the characters, not the flourishes of the director. And it is a very subtle film, as we gradually begin to see, through Marie's eyes and our own, the undercurrents in the adult world around the young girl. Moreau suggests that great emotional hurt could befall the little girl, but in the end Signoret is allowed to weave a wonderfully fanciful spell that preserves the child's romantic innocence for one summer more.

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote Moreau presents a young girl's coming-of-age "with none of the dewy lasciviousness to which so many male directors are prone. Though Miss Moreau presents the romantic awakening of a pretty, nubile youngster, she does it with delightful straightforwardness and ease."

References

External links

*
L'Adolescente
' at Moviecovers.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adolescent, The 1979 films 1970s French-language films 1970s coming-of-age drama films Films directed by Jeanne Moreau Films scored by Philippe Sarde French coming-of-age drama films 1979 drama films Films about puberty Films about infidelity Films about families Films set in 1939 1970s French films