Water Lillies (Naissance des pieuvres)

First Hit: Some of the good acting, story line, and “wow” scenes of underwater synchronized swimming kept my interest.

I’ve only seen synchronized swimming from above water and that’s what you are supposed to see, actually.

However, there was an audible gasp and “wow” in the theater when the camera went below the surface and we got to see the intense work and movement it takes to create what we see on the surface.

In fact, I would have liked more underwater scenes just because it made the juxtaposition between the made up smiling faces above the surface of the water against the intense powerful movements below the surface worth more than the price of admission. But this isn’t what this film was about.

The synchronized swimming was the background vehicle for this coming of age story about a young girl named Marie (played Pauline Acquart) who is a quiet, introspective, and coming of age in her sexuality.

She has a best friend named Anne (played by Louise Blachere) who is obsessed with a boy named Francois (played by Warren Jacquin). Anne wants to have sex with Francois but not kiss him. Her antics and actions are obsessive and fit with the age.

Marie becomes attracted to and obsessed with Floriane (played by Adele Haenel) one of the queens of the synchronized swimming team. Floriane gives the impression she is making it and having sex with lots of people but, in reality, is truly afraid of the first encounter.

Confiding in Marie, Floriane finds a friend and Marie finds love and the pain associated with it.

I thought Pauline Acquart was fantastic as Marie. She carried smoldering passion deep within her which wasn’t obvious outwardly and it was very effective. It gave her character a complexity. Louise and Adele were also strong in the characterizations of their roles.

Overall: This was a good film and I’ll always remember two things: Synchronized swimming is very physical powerful sport and that last thing most people see before they die is the ceiling.

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