Retro Varda/Demy

KUNG-FU MASTER

Agnès Varda
FRA 1987
80 min
V'06

Mary-Jane asks, \"Do all women fall in love with a boy, or just those without sons?\" She's divorced with two daughters, Lucy and Loulou. Lucy has a party where Mary-Jane notices Julien, 15, small and brassy, but she sees a sensitive side. She contrives to spend time with him and lets him know she's available to him. He's on the cusp between child and man, alternating between playing a video game, Kung-Fu Master, where he tries to rescue Sylvie, and joining friends in bluff talk about sexual exploits. As Lucy realizes what is happening, she's repulsed, but Mary-Jane, encouraged by her own mother, carries on. Is it love or jealousy of lost youth? Is there any way this can end well?
Varda's son stars in this bittersweet film about an intergenerational relationship between a 40-year old divorcée and her daughter's classmate, Julien, obsessed with the eponymous video game. As the two endure a perilous affair, the film emphasizes the exhilaration of a romantic crush and an adolescent's coming of age.

Credits
  • Charlotte Gainsbourg - Joe
  • Jane Birkin
  • Mathieu Demy - Lucas
  • Andrew Birkin - Andrew
  • Lou Doillon - Lou
  • Judy Campbell - Mutter
  • David Birkin - Vater
  • Gary Chekchak
  • Cyril Houplain
  • Franck Laurent
  • Aurélien Hermant
  • Jérémie Luntz
  • Thomas Bensaïd
  • Pénélope Pourriat
  • Ninon Vinsonneau
  • Bégonia Leis
  • Éva Simonet
  • André Six
  • Suzanne Seguin
Ciné-Tamaris
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