Water Lilies
2007 · Directed by Céline Sciamma
Original language: French
- drama
- romance
The story
Set during a sultry summer in a French suburb, Marie is desperate to join the local pool's synchronized swimming team, but is her interest solely for the sake of sport or for a chance to get close to Floriane, the bad girl of the team? Sciamma, and the two leads, capture the uncertainty of teenage sexuality with a sympathetic eye in this delicate drama of the angst of coming-of-age.
What it’s like
Hot, bright summer light falls across chlorine-blue water, tiled changing rooms and sun-bleached suburban streets, with the camera often close and steady on faces and bodies. Underwater shots blur the edges of the frame, and the sound drops into muffled pool echoes, whistles and distant traffic, with little score. The mood is languid and restless, a warm drift tinged with adolescent anxiety, and the pace is slow, observational and patient. It follows a teenage girl's uncertain desire and the pull of a friendship that feels both exhilarating and fraught. Sexuality is frank and central: there is teenage nudity in changing rooms, masturbation, and a non-graphic sexual encounter, but no violence and no gore. It suits a quiet afternoon or a late, reflective night, for viewers who want a sensual, unsentimental look at first desire and the awkwardness of growing up.
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