Written by:
Marion DELABOUDINIERE, Nathalie FERRER-MADIOT, Magali LEGER-MARECHAL
M2 PEADID
I- Introduction and summary
“Adolescentes” is a french documentary movie, released by Sebastien Lifshitz, in september of 2020. This film deals with adolescence in France, through the real life of two young girls, Emma and Anaïs, during their teenage years (from 13 to 18). It is set in a medium-sized town. It received the Critic’s Film Award at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2019.
Sebastien Lifshitz is a french movie director and scriptwriter since thirty years. From 500 hours of filming, he made a two-hours movie, which condenses the five years spent with the teenage girls. According to Jacques Mindelbaum (in “Le Monde”, 2020), “Adolescentes” is in line with the main themes of the artist’s work: metamorphosis and freedom to reinvent oneself. This is reinforced by the film mounting process: the teenage girls’ life is presented in chronological order, without voice-over commentary. Thus, we discover their personal and familial stories as we go along. Through their eyes, we relive the key events of recent years in France, like terrorist attacks, and presidential elections.
II- Adolescence in few words
Adolescence is a period of identity and socio-relational reorganisations. This concept was created in part by our Western societies, through schooling, which gives young people the time to ask themselves questions about their future. During adolescence, teenagers must deal with a lot of troubles: the onset of puberty, some sudden mood swings, the emergence of sexuality, the construction of self-knowledge and their own identity. Those transformations come along with conflicts with their parents, new relationships with their peers (including romantic relationships and some stronger relationships with best friends), development of autonomy and a greater ability to make choices for the present and for the future. Thus, as a kind of allegory, Sebastien Lifshitz succeeds in depicting this period through the life trajectory of Anaïs and Emma.
III- Emma and Anaïs
At the beginning of the project, Anaïs et Emma are very good friends, enrolled in the same secondary school/college, at Brive-La-Gaillarde. We assist at their everyday life, at home, at school, in extracurricular activities, with their friends and their families.
Anaïs lives with her parents and two younger brothers, in a social housing flat. One of her brothers is mentally handicapped. We do not know if her parents work or are unemployed. They seem to be in big social difficulties and poor in the education of their children. During the movie, we learn that Anaïs was placed in foster care in her childhood at the request of her parents. They are accompanied by educators. Anaïs is cheerful, surrounded by friends and can be cheeky with her teachers. She seems to have difficulties at school, and nobody is helping her to overcome them. After middle school, she intends to work with toddlers in early childhood structures, or in preschool. We can see her project evolving when she made an internship in a retirement home. Anaïs is a very affectionate girl.
Emma is the last of her siblings. From the beginning of the documentary, she is the only one who still lives with her parents, in a big house. Her father is a salesman and is not often present at home. Thus Emma is most of the time either alone or face to face with her mother. Her mother is a tax auditor. We understand that her family belongs to the upper middle class of Brive-La-Gaillarde. Emma seems to be a rather secretive person, favouring one to one relationships rather than group relationships. She is a good student. She is attracted by the artistic field and practices singing at the conservatory as well as theatre and musical theatre. Her professional project is focused on this: she wants to be an actress. Her mother is particularly involved in following her school curriculum, which gives rise to some rather painful scenes, especially when her mother forced her to study.
IV- Our opinion on the movie
We really liked this movie, which reflects real life, without commentary. We are immersed in the two teenagers’ story, as if the scenario was written like in a fiction. That is the real strength of this documentary: reality goes beyond fiction. The two girls have strong, very different personalities and manage to overcome the various difficulties they encounter over these five years. What impressed us the most were the mother-daughter relationships for each of them, which were quite negative, although in different ways.
Viewed through the prism of future psychologists, it allowed us to create bonds with the theoretical knowledge taught at the university. Regarding Anaïs, we identified attachment disorders in her relationship with her mother (child’s parentification with insecure attachment). About Emma, the relationship with her mother is highlighted and tinged with many conflicts. The mother seems to choose her daughter as the object of her narcissistic investment. The mother is always dissatisfied with her daughter’s school results and choices (clothes, higher education, after-school activities…).
V- Conclusion
To conclude, we will give the floor to the two protagonists. According to them, the alchemy of the film lies in the bond of confidence between them and with the film crew. They say they saw themselves with an outside eye, “like a mirror”, which allowed them to learn a lot about themselves but also about their relationship with their parents. They were over-excited at the end because they waited five years to see the film (surprise effect). Actually, Sebastien Lifshitz did not show any rush before, to help them stay natural. They are now highly proud and say that they have gained confidence thanks to this experience. As spectators, we are in complete agreement: we have witnessed the metamorphosis of these two young girls into two young women ready to face their adult lives.
Useful words
Social housing : logement social
To be placed in foster care : être placé en famille d’accueil
Cheeky : effronté, insolent
To be tinged with : être teinté de
To give the floor to : donner la parole à
Websites consulted
Movie trailer:
Interview with the protagonists:
Film reviews:
https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/linvitee-des-matins/adolescentes-lamitie-prodigieuse
Bibliography
Cannard, C. (2015). Le développement de l’adolescent. L’adolescent à la recherche de son identité (2ème éd). Louvain-la-Neuve. De Boeck.