Lou! Journal infime

The bildungsroman movie is an exceptionally tricky genre. Everyone wants to capture something of the magical moments of their tween/early teen years, and there's always the impossible hope that, perhaps, in the movie you can do it better than in real life, do it right, and somehow redo the past. But the truth is that 90% or more of these efforts are self-indulgent tripe, a waste of everyone's time.

But there are the magical exceptions, the movies that make the effort worthwhile. My Girl. Mermaids. Gregory's Girl. The First Time. And now Lou has to be added to that list. What can I say? If you loved the above movies, you'll recapture that same feeling for another two hours or so; and that ain't nothing!

My vote 8 is due to the good picturing & acting in 'Lou ! journal infime' (= French for 'Lou, minimal story').

'Lou !' clearly is a children's film, destined for an age of about 9 up to early teenage. Given this, it looks nice enough to me; however, at the age of 62 I cannot judge well if it appeals to children of this age. Even more so, if it appeals to French children of this age -- for Lou ! is undeniably a very French film.

Ludivine Sagnier is known for extremes in choosing her films: let's say she is not afraid to try every possible role under the sun. Although Sagnier's acting in 'Lou !' is good, her new and unexpected role in a film like this adds another extreme. Making it more difficult to give her a stable position in your cinematic appreciations.