Les autres filles

Caught this one last night at the Seattle Film Festival. I hope it's found an American distributor so everyone can see it.

The film falls a few inches from being "perfect", but comes so close that I really recommend it.

Wow! What a central performance by young French actress, Julie Leclercq!

The plot to this one doesn't evince a lot of snap, crackle or pop; but, as with so many foreign films, it's in the interstices where you find the treasures. The small scenes, the moments between characters, the looks on their faces--here we can see the birth of friendship, betrayals, the entire course of life changing. It's not written, it's shown.

I'm a complete lover of superior acting and this film is loaded with it. Although Leclercq's character doesn't say a lot in many of the scenes, I could read her mind. For me, that's a hallmark of transcendent acting.

I have to give it up to Caroline Vignal (director and writer) for capturing Leclercq's performance and several beautifully observed stages in tracing the story of Solange. This is Vignal's first feature and it's a remarkable debut!

I don't want to synopsize the story itself. Instead, just take my tip that you've got to see this one for yourself.