Libertines, Fraternity, Equality

 Digging deep into our queue for titles that have lurked for many years, we travel to France in the 1980s to explore the sexuality of young women.

LOULOU (1980) (B+) - You have to pause and think in order to remember a time when Isabelle Huppert wasn't a seasoned veteran with that face like a mask and when Girard Depardieu wasn't morbidly obese. But here they are, a handsome couple, 40+ years ago in the casual partner-swapping milieu of post-punk France.

Huppert plays Nelly, a bored wife of a bland husband (whom she also works for), who leaves one day to romp around with bad boy Loulou, who, like Depardieu, is a real lulu. He's not into much more than having sex with Nelly, but she's pretty cool with that arrangement. He's also an unemployed deadbeat who coasts along on her largesse. They are friendly with the woman he dumped for Nelly.

This being the end of the '70s, there is a brutish aspect to this class study by journeyman Maurice Pialat, who co-writes with Arlette Langmann. The hulking Depardieu doesn't do much more than brood and grunt. The waifish Huppert, in her mid-20s, is slinky and sensual while communicating volumes with her facial expressions, a true standout amid a so-so cast. In 1980 she was developing her stoicism but not the rough shell and taut mask that would define her in later years. She is a wonder to watch, and the film at times can be a fascinating sociological study.

36 FILLETTE (1988) (B+) - Ah, the reliable French coming-of-age story. This one gets more grit than sun splashes, courtesy of Catherine Breillat, the enfant terrible who often trafficked in sexual shock and awe ("Romance," "Fat Girl," though not much since). Here, Breillat throws a 14-year-old girl to the wolves, and it's a lot less creepy and a lot more insightful than you might have expected.

This is the story of Lili (Delphine Zentout), a frustrated, disagreeable adolescent who whines her way into an outing with her 17-year-old brother for a night on the town during the family's camping vacation. Lili meets up with Maurice (Etienne Chicot), an aging would-be playboy, who only half-heartedly makes a play for the underage girl. 

Lili toys with Maurice, eager to lose her virginity but too smart to make a mistake with a miserable cad. She brightens during a detour meeting a famous French actor, seizing the opportunity to have an intellectual conversation and explore her creative side. Zentout (about 17 when the film was made) is charismatic enough to carry the movie and make this story engrossing instead of gross. She knows how to narrow her eyes, even if she is still only a femme fatale in training. 

This is based on Breillat's novel, and you get the sense that this is personal for her. What are we to make of a teenager who has all the physical tools of a sensual woman and who toys with unleashing her sexual prowess but would so much rather be recognized and heard and understood. Lili is caught in a tug-of-war of societal expectations. She has desires, but not necessarily the kind you might expect.