By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Sophie Letourneur
Starring: Camille Genaud | Carole le Page | Julien Gester; Eugenio Renzi | Sophie Letourneur
Country: france
Year: 2013
Running time: 75
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2434800/combined
Bruce says: “LES COQUILLETTES is an enjoyable piece of fluff, an example of amateur filmmaking pushing its way into the festival circuit, possibly the mainstream. Anyone can be a filmmaker today especially if they can tap into the beat of the reality market. Director Sophie Letourneur employs two of her friends to depict how desperate three young professional women can become when surrounded by men. The setting is Locarno, a small town in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. The venue is
the Locarno International Film Festival, the world’s third oldest, founded in 1946.
“The film toggles back and forth between the three woman sharing a dinner of macaroni and cheese (les coquillettes) and flashbacks of their adventures at Locarno. Sophie recalls her obsession with Louis Garrel and the antics she used to attempt a meeting during the festival. Carole recalls her frustration over not having had sex with her boyfriend for six months and her determination to ‘end the drought.’ Camille laughs at her neediness and her consistent poor choices concerning men. At the festival, she was obsessed with a womanizing nerd named Martin.
“The dialogue of LES COQUILLETTES is in keeping with what one might expect from three women on the prowl. ‘Everyone sleeps with everyone at festivals,’ Camille observes before they leave. ‘They think we’re whores,’ one observes following a less than cool reception when they crash a big party. ‘You have no daytime memory,’ one remarks when her friend cannot recall what happened the night before. ‘Don’t drink and dial’ one advises when her friend foolishly decides to call an old beau. By the end of the festival each girl gets a man that she may or may not have bargained for.
“Reality TV has permeated every aspect of the arts. Films such as LES COQUILLETTES are marginally acceptable because they cut to the core of shared experiences and frustrations. However, there is an inherent danger that many independent filmmakers will begin to imitate reality TV rather than work under its influence. Let’s pray that will not happen. 3 cats
“(LES COQUILLETTES screened at the 2013 New Directors/New Films Festival co-sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln center and the Museum of Modern Art.)”