water lilies

"Leave it to the French to eschew the clichés of American “coming of age” dramedies, preferring instead to chart their tweens’ trials and triumphs through uniquely Gallic “age of possibilities” films, highlighted by such disparate studies as François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows, Catherine Breillat’s Fat Girl and Pascale Ferran’s genre-defining The Age of Possibilities. To this list we must add Céline Sciamma’s astonishingly assured first feature, focusing on three schoolgirls of varying experience and élan who explore the alternately liberating and perilous possibilities inherent to their youth, burgeoning sexuality and fascination with synchronized swimming. Imagine a pubescent Esther Williams shipped overseas to a public school in the suburbs outside Paris, and you’ll have some idea of the alluring blend of teenage athleticism and ennui embodied by Marie (preternaturally perceptive lovestruck loner), Anne (zaftig party-crashing eccentric) and Floriane (sultry swim team tease), the titular water lilies who dive deep into the chilly waters of adolescence with only nose plugs, training bras and each other’s kisses and confessions for protection."_SFIFF