:: gia’s blog ::

Water Lilies opens this week in London at the Curzon Soho, Brixton Ritzy, Cineworld Fulham, Odeon Swiss Cottage; the Duke of York’s in Brighton; and the Cameo in Edinburgh. I’ve already posted the trailer and a few clips, now I’ve got the first 6 minutes of the film (press play to watch).

If you’d like to show this clip on your own site, please, copy the following code and paste into your (non-WYSIWYG) blog editor.

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It’s been getting excellent reviews and is in Time Out’s Critics’ Choice this week:

Sciamma is adept at turning complicated ideas about burgeoning teenage sexuality into a quiet film that indulges in lingering shots, studies of bodies, and a wistful synthy score without ever being indulgent…. It’s a refreshing, probing film from a new director who shows herself to be in absolute command of unique material.
TIME OUT ****

Celine Sciamma’s debut is an insight into the awkwardness of adolescence and the agony of first love….Its depiction of 15 year-olds as nascent adults without patronising or demonising them is refreshing- something European cinema consistently does better than Hollywood.
EMPIRE ****

My Summer Of Love with synchronized swimming, this extraordinary French drama about burgeoning sexuality is as funny, quirky and frankly uncomfortable as suffering your first crush…Quite a remarkable film.
EVE ****

Water Lilies quickly blossoms into a touching valentine to that awkward period when every unrequited fancy is like a knife through the heart, and conformity raps the knuckles of self-expression and individuality.
ATTITUDE ****

At first glance, Water Lilies looks like other Euro dramas about bored teens living in quiet French suburbs, but, as a string of awards attest, there’s much more going on below the surface… Sumptuously shot, many scenes take place at the public pool where Esther Williams-style water ballet numbers reveal furiously paddling feet below the surface. A perfect metaphor for the teens themselves.
DIVA ****

Set against the hitherto underused dramatic backdrop of synchronised swimming, this beguiling film quickly develops into a powerful coming of age tale.
FILM REVIEW ****

More on the film at the Water Lilies site.