French director tackles sex and the teenager
French director François Ozon's desire for 'fresh flesh' sees him tackle teenage prostitution in his latest film, writes James Mottram
The moment François Ozon understood the impact of his film (aka ) came at an early screening of the drama in Paris. To watch this story of a teenage girl from a bourgeois family who turns to prostitution, the French director invited a group of friends - including mothers of adolescent children the same age as his character. "After the screening, they all called their daughters - 'What are you doing tonight? We have to speak tomorrow!'"
The 14th film of the 46-year-old director's rapid-fire career depicts every parent's worst nightmare. It begins with Isabelle (Marine Vacth) losing her virginity during a family summer holiday, but by autumn the 17-year-old schoolgirl is advertising sexual services on a website and hooking up with clients in five-star hotels while keeping everything a secret from her friends and family.
It's difficult to judge my place in French cinema. I just do it my own way
Ozon's research into the subject was rather scattershot, if truth be told. Initially he called up French female director Maïwenn (who made the 2011 crime drama ) for contacts. He then spoke to police officers who dealt with such forms of prostitution, and a psychologist who specialised in adolescent behaviour. But he stopped short of meeting girls who had led this sort of double life. "Very often it's secret or they want to forget it," he says.
Interestingly, his film comes on the back of Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska's 2011 movie , which stars Juliette Binoche as a journalist interviewing university students moonlighting as prostitutes. Ozon, it seems, is not a fan. "It was exactly the opposite of what I wanted to do, so thank you for the connection!" he says. "What I didn't like in this movie [was that] it was the bourgeois woman who discovers her sexuality - I think it was very clichéd."
While Szumowska sets out to analyse in , Ozon does not explain Isabelle's motivations. More enigmatic than the Mona Lisa, the teenager rarely shows any emotion, whether she's losing her virginity or satisfying her clients. "The idea of the film was to follow her - to be with her, to try to understand her, to find what is behind this face, what is the mystery of this girl," says Ozon. "The idea was not to have the answers. I don't have the answers."
He feels Isabelle's actions are in keeping with her age group. "All teenagers are mysterious," he says with a shrug. "Very often, you learn that a teenager committed suicide, and you had [thought] it was the perfect family [they came from] and you saw no problem … but inside things happen and we are not able to see that."
