The
Girl, directed by Sande Zeig, is a film noir narrated
by Laura (played by Agathe de la Boulaye), with more cinematography,
music, lovemaking, and voiceovers than dialog. Laura is taking
art lessons in Paris in the mornings. In the afternoons, she
walks quietly along the Seine. In the evenings, she goes to
a nightclub, where she has fallen in love with The Girl (played
by Claire Keim), who sings in the club. Laura has a masculine
presence, though much smoother in appearance that Teena Brandon,
while The Girl wears lipstick and goes to bed with a lot of
men. Laura notices that The Girl is interested in sex to release
tension, not to develop a relationship. But Laura also has
a longtime girlfriend, Bu Savé (played by Sandra N’Kake),
and Laura relieves her tension by having sex with her. The
Girl’s tension involves The Man (played by Cyril Lecomte),
the nightclub proprietor and former suitor, who is displeased
to see Laura and The Girl kissing in public and retiring to
the bedroom on numerous occasions. At times The Girl rejects
Laura, but at other times they make love. Ultimately, The
Man has the nightclub’s bouncer (played by Cyrille Hertel)
get rough with Laura. Next, the Girl disappears from Paris,
presumably with The Man, so Laura sublimates by painting;
she tries to put The Girl on canvas if she cannot have her
in the flesh. Laura also performs a vigil outside The Girl’s
hotel during her absence. One day The Girl returns. Standing
outside the hotel, Laura hears gunshot sounds. She goes to
investigate and finds The Man lying dead and The Girl able
to say a few last words. Although Sande Zeig’s vision of the
film is that love means freedom, those who crave love obsessively
in the film are clearly in chains. MH
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