36 Fillette

36 Fillette
36 Fillette
	DVD cover
Directed by	Catherine Breillat
Written by	Catherine Breillat; Roger Salloch
Produced by	Emmanuel Schlumberger; Valérie Seydoux
Starring	Delphine Zentout
Cinematography	Laurent Dailland
Edited by	Yann Dedet
Music by	Maxime Schmitt
Distributed by	Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont
Release date	1988;
Running time	88 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

36 Fillette (known as Virgin or Junior Size 36 in English) is a 1988 French film starring Delphine Zentout and Oliver Parniere, directed by Catherine Breillat. It is the story of a sexually curious and rebellious 14-year-old (played by 16-year-old Zentout) who has an emotionally charged and dually manipulative relationship with an aging playboy.^[1] Breillat is known for films focusing on sexuality, intimacy, gender conflict and sibling rivalry. Breillat has been the subject of controversy for her explicit depictions of sexuality. Zentout had many topless, nude and explicit scenes in the movie.

Plot[]

Lili, a pouty and voluptuous 14-year-old, is caravan camping with her family in Biarritz. She's self-aware and holds her own in a café conversation with a concert pianist she meets, but she has a wild streak and she's testing her powers over men, finding that she doesn't always control her moods or actions, and she's impatient with being a virgin. She sets off with her brother to a disco, latching onto an aging playboy who is himself hot and cold to her. She is ambivalent about losing her virginity that night, willing the next, and determined by the third. The playboy's mix of depression and misogyny ends their unconsummated affair, so Lili has to hunt elsewhere at the campground, eventually finding an awkward teen her own age who clumsily deflowers her.

Cast[]

Delphine Zentout as Lili
Étienne Chicot as Maurice
Olivier Parnière as Bertrand
Jean-Pierre Léaud as Boris Golovine
Berta Domínguez D. as Anne-Marie
Jean-François Stévenin as The father
[fr] as Georgia
Adrienne Bonnet as The mother
Stephane Moquet as Ca-Pe
Cécile Henry as Maetitia
[fr] as Stéphane
Anny Chasson as Mme Weber
Jean-Claude Binoc as M. Weber
Christian Lafitte as Le conducteur
Christian Andia as Doorman 'Opium'

Production[]

Catherine Breillat revealed that Delphine Zentout turned 16 just 3 days before they started shooting the movie: "It was a miracle, because when I cast her I had never asked her age, or her birthday. If she had not had her 16th birthday three days before we started production, I would not have been able to show the movie around the world, because in a lot of countries it is against the law to show explicit images of a girl who is not yet 16.^[2]

Reception[]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has a score of 86% based on reviews from 7 critics, with an average rating of 7.1/10.^[3]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, and wrote "Its whole delicate existence depends on the performance by Zentout, a 16-year-old in her acting debut. She gives a brave and convincing performance".^[4]

References[]

^ Maslin, Janet (4 October 1988). "'36 Fillette,' a Story of Hunger for Wisdom". The New York Times. p. 19.
^ "End of Innocence". filmmakermagazine.com. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
^ "36 Fillette (1988)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
^ Ebert, Roger (10 February 1989). "36 Fillette". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 13 August 2021.

External links[]

36 Fillette at IMDb

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[1] Maslin, Janet (4 October 1988). "'36 Fillette,' a Story of Hunger for Wisdom". The New York Times. p. 19.

[2] "End of Innocence". filmmakermagazine.com. Retrieved 2022-01-30.

[3] "36 Fillette (1988)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 13 August 2021.

[4] Ebert, Roger (10 February 1989). "36 Fillette". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 13 August 2021.

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