Rebellious spitfire Michelle (a lively performance by the fetching Laurence Dubas) and the painfully shy and forlorn Marie (beautifully played with aching vulnerability by the lovely Christiane Coppe) are a pair of troubled young women who manage to escape from a sanitarium. The pair do their best to avoid detection from the authorities by joining up with a traveling band of exotic dancers.
Director Jean Rollin, who also co-wrote the odd and thoughtful script with Jacques Ralf, presents an unusual, affecting, and interesting cinematic meditation on the basic youthful human need to live a free and spontaneous independent existence that unfolds at a gradual pace, vividly captures stunning moments of raw beauty and wrenching poignancy (Marie's solo figure skating set piece at an empty ice rink in particular is simply breathtaking), does his customary ace job of crafting an enchanting dreamlike atmosphere, and astutely nails both the danger and excitement of throwing caution to the wind through living a rootless peripatetic lifestyle. Dubas and Coppe do sterling work and display an appealing unforced natural chemistry in the leads; they receive sturdy support from Marianne Valiot as scrappy thief Sophie, Louise Dhour as compassionate nightclub owner Madame Louise, Patrick Perrott as the sensitive Pierrot, and Brigitte Lahaie as a snooty rich bitch. The downbeat ending packs a devastating punch. Claude Becognee's sumptuous cinematography and Philippe D'Aram's spare melancholy score are both up to speed. Offbeat and worth a look.
Director Jean Rollin, who also co-wrote the odd and thoughtful script with Jacques Ralf, presents an unusual, affecting, and interesting cinematic meditation on the basic youthful human need to live a free and spontaneous independent existence that unfolds at a gradual pace, vividly captures stunning moments of raw beauty and wrenching poignancy (Marie's solo figure skating set piece at an empty ice rink in particular is simply breathtaking), does his customary ace job of crafting an enchanting dreamlike atmosphere, and astutely nails both the danger and excitement of throwing caution to the wind through living a rootless peripatetic lifestyle. Dubas and Coppe do sterling work and display an appealing unforced natural chemistry in the leads; they receive sturdy support from Marianne Valiot as scrappy thief Sophie, Louise Dhour as compassionate nightclub owner Madame Louise, Patrick Perrott as the sensitive Pierrot, and Brigitte Lahaie as a snooty rich bitch. The downbeat ending packs a devastating punch. Claude Becognee's sumptuous cinematography and Philippe D'Aram's spare melancholy score are both up to speed. Offbeat and worth a look.