Customer Reviews

The Girl [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

"The first time I ask her, she takes me home..."

The moment those words are spoken, you know this is not your traditional lesbian romance movie! In fact, there is little traditional about the film adaptation of Monique Wittig's story, the Girl. From the nuance of characters without names, to the sparse dialogue and haunting jazz soundtrack, the Girl is an intricate weaving of all the classics -passion, jealousy, and revenge - tightly rolled into 84 minutes of cinematic style and more than a little erotic sizzle.

Based in the smoky nightclubs of Paris, the story starts off in narrative style by the Painter, a brooding, sexy, dark-eyed beauty played by Agathe de la Boulaye, who is irresistibly drawn to a nightclub singer, the Girl, beautifully played by Claire Keim. Ladies, these two are hot! The Painter alone is worth the ticket price-she could make butterflies flutter with just that quirky little smile! The first night they are together, the Girl tells her it's "only for one night..." But what a night it is! These two simply melt the screen when they're together!

Although the "one night" declaration has been made, the Girl and the Painter continue to see one another, creating a rather psychotic relationship bordering on pathos and obsession. The Girl pushes her away, only to run after her. The Painter returns to her arms gladly, no questions asked, filling their moments with heated passion. None of this seems to bother the Painter, as she seems willing to while away her days walking the streets, painting occasionally, or simply waiting for another passionate moment with the Girl.

One wonders how the Painter could live with such pathos and retain any shred of self-esteem or dignity. That is, until the introduction of Bu Savé-the Painter's longtime lover brilliantly played by Sandra N'Kake. Bu Savé was one of the few characters actually named in the film, and her presence creates a stability and balance to the Painter's growing obsession with the Girl.

As Bu Savé listens to the Painter speak of how the Girl is "not her type," one can't help but laugh at Bu Savé's insightful response, "...it must be interesting to find yourself attracted to someone you're not attracted to..." What a classic line! One soon finds out this affair of the Painter's is not the first, and as Bu Savé says, "it won't be the last." What many would view as infidelity, they view as freedom to be who they are. These two have a relationship that transcends traditional boundaries, allowing for what many may find unusual when compared to today's lesbian relationships, once again reminding you, this film is not your traditional lesbian romance.

Enter the Man. Played by Cyril Lecomte, the Man is every despicable stereotype one could imagine for a villain-arrogant, domineering, swaggering masculinity. At first glance, one wonders exactly who he is and what he is doing in the movie, as I didn't want to dislike him simply because he was "the man." It quickly becomes apparent, however, he thinks nothing of claiming any woman as his possession, to be used for his pleasure at his beckoning, and that includes the Girl.

The tension mounts as the Girl and the Painter find themselves in an increasingly dangerous relationship, as the Man becomes aware of the Girl's involvement with the Painter. His jealousy surfaces and a threat is issued-the Painter must go. Of course, she doesn't. However, the pathos of the relationship, coupled with the Man's continuing threats finds the Painter desperate to do something, not only to protect the Girl but herself as well. She walks the streets in desperation, searching, seeking a solution she cannot find, which eventually leads her back to the Girl.

The ensuing drama between the Girl, the Painter, and the Man, which one expects whenever such a tangled love triangle exists, and also expects to be a disappointing detraction from the film's edginess, only enhances the film's avant-garde appeal and leads to a climatic surprise ending.

If you're looking for a film full of verbose dialogue, neatly packaged storylines, and all-around traditional format that wraps it up in 90 minutes, "the Girl" is not for you. But if you're looking for a cutting-edge film with fantastic cinematography, beautiful and brilliant leads, a story with more questions than answers, filled with nuance and erotic sizzle, this is your film. In our opinion, the Girl is destined to be a classic.

-OutLook Press

Hey ladies. If you'd like to have a nice night alone with your lover have a couple of drinks and watch The Girl. The plot isn't the best, the story telling can be slow, and at times it's poorly edited....BUT...the love scenes are very HOT!! The women who play the Painter and The Girl are beautiful and their on screen chemistry is very believable. There's even a brief full frontal scene bordering on the edges of soft porn. If you and yours like beautiful women that love women The Girl will add some heat to your own life. Have Fun! :.)

There is a simple story line...but after you learn it the story goes no where...and having a woman with a gun does not save the film..the director of photography gave a nice feel to the film....but the director failed horribly....the actors are pretty, but they can not act...so in essence you are looking at a pretty picture that moves...This is not a movie this is not filmaking...it is almost like an ad for a film that never exists due to amateurs...it would have potential if it had a good director and a better screenplay...hmmm I guess it had no hope...If you want to see great lesbian filmaking and movies worth their price or rental value...go get "Aimee and Jaguar" "When Night Falls" and of course "A Family Affair" which is the #1 lesbian film this year in sales for a reason...and if you want erotica...INESCAPABLE comes out in 2004...viewed as a groundbreaking erotic drama unlike any before it, as sexy as a film can be and more...."The girl" fails but there is hope for the future!!!

All I can say is: WHERE HAS CLAIRE KEIM BEEN ALL MY LIFE?! haha. Claire Keim is so beautiful and has the face of an angel. Only reason I saw this movie is because the box it came in looked interesting. However, after viewing the movie, on VHS, no less, I have to say the actual story itself was very ... boring. What made it boring was the lack of dialogue and even when the characters spoke, it all seemed off-the-cuff! The movie could've been a lot better had the plot been planned a little more carefully. Sad to say that the only interesting parts in the movie were all the love scenes... The butch character, "Lover/Painter", doesn't have much to say, but then again.. what real artist ever does? The butch character is very enigmatic and I really lost my interest in her fairly quick. I suppose this particular story could've evolved into a much more interesting movie had the storyline been written a bit better. I mean, there were bits and pieces of the movie that looked like it was just thrown in there to make the movie last longer than 60 minutes. Those parts of the movie made no sense whatsoever to even be included into the story...

... As mentioned before, the love scenes were about the only thing worth watching. Other than that, everything else in the movie, including the "mute" club owner, is just there for props...

In any case, it's a good "lesbian-chic" movie to watch, but if you're looking for a good storyline... well, you won't find it here. I just wish the writer & director would've spent more time focusing on the two lesbians evolving into a more serious relationship rather than cutting the story down to something that just simply doesn't make sense... hence the term ART!

If you're looking for a Lesbian film with FULL frontal nudity and hot steamy sex......this is the one. I haven't seen this much frontal nudity in any Lesbian film unless it was a porno film and they have no plots. At least this one had a lame plot and some half way decent dialog. Hey......if you're looking for a great film to watch with your Lesbian girlfriend....this is the one. Expect a full evening of sex after you finish the film...if not before. Trust me......you'll like it. Well worth the [$] for the DVD.

What drew me in to see this movie when it was in the theater was all the hype around "best lesbian picture" and "winner of Toronto film festival" and a good newspaper review. Boy, what a HUGE disappointment! I am a big fan of art films, but this movie was more torture than entertainment. The pace of the movie was painfully s-l-o-w. The main character spent more time pacing and smoking cigarretes than actually having a conversation with anyone, which I guess is what qualifies this as an "art" film. But watching paint dry would have been more meaningful and certainly more fun. I did give it one star, however, because the couple of intimate scenes in the movie are pretty steamy. So if this is what you are looking for, then I say rent the film and just fast forward to the "good parts".

I have to admit that when I first saw this film, it didn't quite appeal to me as I expected to . Even after I read the book, I still got a little confused . It is true that the storyline is a tad slow, also the editing could've used a little more work.

Other than that I like how the girl and the painter interacted with one another as their relationship progress into something more than a standard 'wham bam thank you ma'am' routine .It also shows no matter how dangerous situations have gotten, you could really feel that the relationship between the two character formed into a steady and almost loving ( to ' The Girl's ' part )yet saddened end .

I particularly didn't like the ending and for people who wants to watch this film, has to have an affinity for film noir , or else its no fun to buy it or see it ... but for the others its ok to just rent it .

"The Girl", unrated and alleged to be "the sexiest lesbian film of the year", was at best a major disappointment. Perhaps my expectations were a bit high, but I was looking forward to a film on the same level as "Bound". Instead, I got a disjointed artsy film that rambles and bounces around. The plot is very ambivalent and the acting is more just wandering through the scene as opposed to real acting. This is an "art" film. Those of you who enjoy this type of film will not be disappointed. Those of us who were expecting a movie with plot, acting, etc. were let down. I viewed this with friends and they all agreed with me.

I'm bi - I loved the Girl for the pure joy of the movie in terms of production, erotic and romantic lesbian love story and the whole vibe which made me want to watch it again and again. However, being raised by Christians and knowing how much they hate lesbians and gays, how they plan on selling San Fran as the gay city of joy and then destroying it killing everyone, how they would torture any gay person if they could and make their lives miserable with harassment, terror and abuse, psychological and physical warfare, and how they have taken over gay media, as well as much of the world I would say this is crap. There's a scene (of course) where our little dyke's lover tells her she likes her to dress more feminine and she has her put on makeup telling her she doesn't want her to look or act like men. Not offensive in and of itself, but from the enemy viewpoint they're trying to fit all women into the "feminine" - that is weaker and submissive - a goal in their case - emphasis on submission. The bold dyke who is a gentlewoman, but can fight, stand up to the mob, attempt to protect her lover - not good in their eyes. They would rather her be transformed into a purely "feminine" archetype. Agnes Dei is a Catholic phrase used in ritual by the way, we practiced the latin version of mass and that phrase is used three times every day in ritual. They hate the gays, I went to mass every day at certain times in my life, my mother taught catechism, and I know a little about them - they would kill us if they could.

An old/new strategy is to disguise themselves as gay to slip in anti-homo propaganda in our movies etc... The irony is, if you can shut out the propaganda, this movie is awesome. I loved it and fell in love with the gentlewoman and both her lovers. Sometimes I watch these movies out of desperation for home-o love stories. Do not be fooled by Christians pretend gay-friendly vibe though. They plan on luring you into a false sense of security and then killing you en masse. Christianity is a male-supremacist religion, it believes that women should shut up, be obedient like dogs and be subject in all things to men, have no authority ever over men as per the bible quote. Many people do not pay attention to this stuff, but count on it - they do and aggressively so. Women who fight back are targets, women who protect other women are targets. I'm not promoting violence, but self-defense is a moral right and turning our gentlewomen who can defend children, animals other women from abusive male supremacists (as here portrayed as some mobster of which I know plenty about believe me) is a lesbian strength we should never let them take from us. There are men and women who still believe in protecting sexual freedom, and the small and defenseless from harm. Join together and fight for all those who can't speak, fight, or protect themselves. Do not believe that because media seems friendly to gays that you are safe. Many people in Hollywood are owned dogs of Christian mobsters. They are tracking you, numbering you. Also do not gather in one city or one community. Find rural areas and form large groups for protection. Cities can be destroyed and are being targeted. Pay attention to new technology, weather tech, bio-warfare etc.... they are serious, do not take your safety for granted.

Here we have a plot reminiscent of the movie "Bound". There are two lesbian lovers, one butch and one fem. The fem is involved with a shady underworld male and works in a seedy bar. There the similarity ends. For all its attempts to make passionate looks translate into desire this film fails to convince the viewer that there is any real chemistry between the two actresses. "The Girl," has none of the intensity that made the relationship between Gina Gershon and Meg Tilly work in "Bound".

Part of the problem is that film is a not just about pictures and words, it is about ACTION. The butch woman's constant presumptive, delusional and self-absorbed voiceovers may remind us of old detective films, but the content just doesn't work. She tells us, ad nauseum, what she is feeling as well as who the other character is supposed to be (no thinking required here). She gives her mysterious girlfriend pet names the same way a man might and generally comes across as a love struck young man trying to retain a certain edge of toughness while falling in love (partially with himself).

The two stars are for the Film Noir style visuals and tone created by a talented photographer. The images are also processed in places to reflect the intense color saturation found in the films of David Lynch.It is a shame this film wasn't made as a parady of Film Noir. It would have worked much better.