BELLE EPINE: painful, just the way I like my films

BELLE EPINE is the story of 15 year old Prudence, whose family has abandoned her weeks after her mother's death. It is a film about the deep loss Prudence is going through and her desperate search for the love that she lost, while being utterly alone. 

This is the first film from french director Rebecca Zlotowski, who has co-written several shorts and features before making her directorial debut with BELLE EPIN, and it is a very strong, impressive film.

One of the strongest elements of this movie is the leading performance by Lea Seydoux, who carries the entire film and is playing a girl suffering sever grief. Her performance is captivating and she is able to juxtapose Prudence's hardness and her vulnerability brilliantly. 

The film opens with Prudence at the police station having been caught shoplifting. There she meets a fellow young female offender named Maryline, who hangs out with a group of guys who ride motorbikes and like to have illegal races at night. Prudence wants into this world, and throws parties at the apartment she has been left alone in since her mothers death. Prudence enters a world of drugs, sex and riding on the back of boys motorbikes. 

Her behavior bothers her cousin, the only seeming person who is paying attention to her, who tells Prudence she is morning inappropriately and will no longer be her friend. This leaves Prudence's closest connection being to a group of young men who take her places on their bikes and have sex with her. 

Obviously this does not lead to any form of healing for Prudence and as one relationship with a particular boy falls apart and leads to a tragic accident, Prudence is faced with the reality that life and death are constant and that she cannot escape the pain she feels over the loss and grief of losing her mother. 

BELLE EPINE  is not a happy movie in anyway shape or form, but it is captivating, and also has a badass score that is very reminiscent of Italian director Dario Argenta's scores. The music was awesome and great for expressing the freedom Prudence feels while riding on motorbikes.