52 Films by Women Vol 3. 27. JEUNE FEMME (Director: Léonor Serraille)
What must it be like to be an artist’s muse, whisked away to Mexico for ten years and then dumped without ceremony in your home city (say, Paris) for reasons that you refuse to accept? This is the question answered by Jeune Femme , the debut feature from French director Léonor Serraille. To be unequivocal, I loved this film, defined by its uncompromising, unlikeable, unexplained but compelling heroine, Paula Simonian, played with fierce commitment by Laetitia Dosch. It demonstrates why women’s films are different from men’s: why the woman’s point of view should be cultivated, why it should be marketable, accessible and influencing the direction of travel of humankind. Paula is characterised in the film’s forceful opening scene by her anger. She literally bangs her head against her ex-boyfriend’s front door and splits it open – her head, not the door. She awakens to be examined by medical professionals who are reluctant to discharge her. She is a danger to herself and to others. Paula...