Directed by Lisa Azuelos
Most teenagers really don’t care about the population of China or cell division. The school curriculum seems so irrelevant when text messaging and on-line chats can provide much more interesting information, especially when teachers and parents think actual study is going on. Of course webcams also provide titillating extra-curriculum as well as lots of laugh-out-loud (even the French use LOL) moments, including an updated version of the ‘American Pie’ incident. Taking place over the space of a year, this French film is a humorous look at relationships from female perspectives over two generations – Paris schoolgirl Lola (Christa Theret) and her mother (Sophie Marceau). Lola falls out of love with boyfriend Arthur (Felix Moati) and into love with his best friend Mael (Jeremy Kapone), while her mother is secretly seeing her divorced husband again before she finds out he is ‘cheating’ on her.
Parallel editing reveals that the teenage antics actually mirror the adult carryings-on and being a French film, there are liberal amounts of sex, helped along by some alcohol and drug-taking. The teenagers seem to have the upper hand when it comes to manipulation but the cunning adults often out-manoeuvre them. When the students go on a study tour to England however, the stodgy Brits are no match for the precocious French teenagers. Both the teenagers and adults are good at keeping up appearances but they find out that too much reliance on technology for communication leaves plenty of room for misunderstandings and farcical situations. The fast-paced action is helped along by a buoyant soundtrack that includes the Stones as well as Supergrass and Blur.
LOL is part of the French film Festival which screens at Cinema Paradiso 17–31 March. See www.lunapalace.com.au for the full program and ticket information and book tickets in-line as they usually manage to sell out.
Lezly Herbert
