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I'M NOT AFRAID OF LIFE / LA VIE NE ME FAIT PAS PEUR (1999) ***1/2

Reviewed 3/12/00

I'm Not Afraid of Life is filled with sequences of frenetic dancing and over-the-top fantasy. Both aim to capture the hyper-realism of adolescence -- in this specific case, that of four good female friends. There is overweight, rebellious Emilie (Magalie Woch) saddled with a mentally ill mother; gawky Marion (Camille Rousselet) suffering from sexual anxieties; cute, robust Inès (Ingrid Molinier) trying to sustain her normality; and petite Stella (Julie-Marie Parmentier) lashing out at the world.

All of the four main actors are nonprofessionals, but their naturalness on screen is astounding. Without the slightest hint of self-consciousness, they are believable through and through. Director and co-writer Noëmie Lvovsky produced the first part of the film for television, but then turned it into a feature-length theatrical release with a year-long break in production. So we get to see the actors age before our eyes, especially Woch, who (intentionally) lost almost 30 pounds during that time. Quite amazing is that these 14-turned 15-year olds during film production play 13-year olds turned 22 at story's end.

Well, there's not really a story. Lvovsky forgets about narrative and strings together a movie that is all minute details. I'm Not Afraid of Life has little story moments, but is not a story; it is character-driven, but not a character study. Instead, the film is the capturing of a feeling, the acute feeling of what it was like to grow up in the late-70s and early-80s. We follow our heroines through their experiences of frustration, anger, fear, joy, desire, and excitement with one another, with school, with parents, and most of all, with boys, and what we get is a sense of their humanity. They are not all that likable, but the film refuses to judge them with all their flaws and weaknesses and I think Lvovsky hopes we will too.

* I'm Not Afraid of Life appeared at the Rendez-vous with French Cinema series at Walter Reade and currently has no U.S. distributor.