Spring Blossom
Cert PG, 73 minutes, on Curzon Home Cinema from 23 April
Starring: Suzanne Lindon, Arnaud Valois
Director: Suzanne Lindon
THE PLOT Sixteen-year-old Suzanne (Lindon) finds herself unstimulated by her school friends and strikes up a relationship with 35-year-old actor Raphael (Valois), who is starring in a play in a theatre near her Paris home.
WHAT’S RIGHT WITH IT? Suzanne, who is the daughter of French actors Vincent Lindon and Sandrine Kiberlain, deserves respect for writing and directing this nicely accomplished drama while still very young.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH IT? The film’s relatively benign depiction of its age-gap romance, as well as its unexamined world of privilege, are targets for criticism.
VERDICT Fans of coming-of-age tales should find pleasures in this gently plotted debut. ★★★