Thomas, a young man on his way to England, is seen running to catch the ferry to Portsmouth. He almost misses the boat when the immigrations officer asks to see his papers, but he makes it on board. When he goes to eat, he stands behind a mysterious woman who doesn't want to have her chips with the roast beef she has ordered. She turns to Thomas to offer him her frittes, and he accepts. As fate would have it, they end up sharing the same table.Alice, who is older than Thomas, asks him to accompany him to the duty free shop thinking he can get extra liquor for her, but since he is a minor, he is refused. Thomas, who had told Alice he is 18, is in reality only 16.
They end up in the ship's disco for a drink. Alice who has about three stiff drinks suddenly becomes more talkative. The young man begins to caress her when he asks her to dance. All along Alice has told Thomas she is going home because she has broken a painful marriage. It's almost inevitable this pair would end up in bed. Thomas, who is not experienced, acts awkwardly with Alice.
As the ship is nearing Portsmouth, Thomas helps Alice with her luggage, but since he forgets his own suitcase, he runs back to get it, asking Alice to please wait for him. When he returns, she is gone. He runs after customs to try to catch with her, but he sees her in a car with a man and a small child leaving, without even looking at him!
Catherine Breillat's "Breve traversee" is a bittersweet story about a young man's awakening to sex. For being only 16, he is more sophisticated than some people in his age group. Alice, on the other hand, while acting bored at the outset, is looking forward to her night of love making because she probably has calculated this will go no further as they go in different directions. It's with sadness one sees how deeply the encounter has affected Thomas, who feels betrayed at the end.
As usual, Ms. Breillat directs the film with such an economy of details that what we see is a terse, but realistic way about how sometimes things happen. It's not always the romantic idea that Hollywood wants the viewer to see, but in many cases, like this, it's just a moment where things come together without any adornment.
Sarah Pratt, makes a cool Sarah. She is older, and wiser. Sarah sees her opportunity to have no strings attached sex with an impressionable young man she has no intentions of seeing again. Thomas, on the other hand, is nervous and awkward at first, then gains confidence and his preconceived idea is just a few minutes of sex. Gilles Guillain is good as Thomas.
Ms. Breillat tells a lot in an hour and twenty minutes!
They end up in the ship's disco for a drink. Alice who has about three stiff drinks suddenly becomes more talkative. The young man begins to caress her when he asks her to dance. All along Alice has told Thomas she is going home because she has broken a painful marriage. It's almost inevitable this pair would end up in bed. Thomas, who is not experienced, acts awkwardly with Alice.
As the ship is nearing Portsmouth, Thomas helps Alice with her luggage, but since he forgets his own suitcase, he runs back to get it, asking Alice to please wait for him. When he returns, she is gone. He runs after customs to try to catch with her, but he sees her in a car with a man and a small child leaving, without even looking at him!
Catherine Breillat's "Breve traversee" is a bittersweet story about a young man's awakening to sex. For being only 16, he is more sophisticated than some people in his age group. Alice, on the other hand, while acting bored at the outset, is looking forward to her night of love making because she probably has calculated this will go no further as they go in different directions. It's with sadness one sees how deeply the encounter has affected Thomas, who feels betrayed at the end.
As usual, Ms. Breillat directs the film with such an economy of details that what we see is a terse, but realistic way about how sometimes things happen. It's not always the romantic idea that Hollywood wants the viewer to see, but in many cases, like this, it's just a moment where things come together without any adornment.
Sarah Pratt, makes a cool Sarah. She is older, and wiser. Sarah sees her opportunity to have no strings attached sex with an impressionable young man she has no intentions of seeing again. Thomas, on the other hand, is nervous and awkward at first, then gains confidence and his preconceived idea is just a few minutes of sex. Gilles Guillain is good as Thomas.
Ms. Breillat tells a lot in an hour and twenty minutes!