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36 Fillette

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36 Fillette
Theatrical release poster
Directed byCatherine Breillat
Screenplay by
  • Catherine Breillat
  • Roger Salloch
Based on36 Fillette
by Catherine Breillat
Produced by
  • Emmanuel Schlumberger
  • Valérie Seydoux
Starring
CinematographyLaurent Dailland
Edited byYann Dedet
Music byMaxime Schmitt
Production
companies
  • French Productions
  • CB Films
Distributed byGaumont
Release date
  • 23 March 1988 (1988-03-23) (France)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench

36 Fillette (known as Virgin or Junior Size 36 in English) is a 1988 French erotic drama film directed by Catherine Breillat, based on her 1987 novel of the same name. The film stars Delphine Zentout, Étienne Chicot and Oliver Parniere, with Jean-Pierre Léaud, Berta Domínguez D. and Jean-François Stévenin. It follows a sexually curious and rebellious 14-year-old (played by then-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 film.

Plot

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Lili, a 14-year-old, is caravan camping with her family in Biarritz. She is 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 does not 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, leaving Lili to hunt elsewhere at the campground. She eventually finds an awkward teen her own age, and they clumsily share their first time together.

Cast

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Production

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Catherine Breillat revealed that Delphine Zentout turned 16 just three days before they started shooting the film: "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

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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

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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". Filmmaker. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  3. ^ "36 Fillette (1988)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  4. ^ Ebert, Roger (10 February 1989). "36 Fillette". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 13 August 2021 – via RogerEbert.com.
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