A mother buys her daughter contraceptives. What could possibly go wrong? EVERYTHING.
Jeanne has been divorced for seven years now and her life is centered around Sarah, her fifteen year-old daughter. They appear to have a perfectly harmonious life together, a relationship based on deep mutual understanding and trust. So when Sarah needs a contraceptive, it's her mother who goes alone to the drugstore with her. However, under this idyllic surface there are tensions at work. Jeanne's on and off affair with Pierre does not save her from feeling lonely, and Sarah is bored by school. Both of them dream of an independent life, though neither will admit it.
Acting
Barrault's restrained devastation—smiling while dying inside.
Writing
Dubreuil's script trusts silence more than dialogue.
Director
Charlotte Dubreuil
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released amid France's post-68 feminist reckoning, the film interrogates whether 'liberated' motherhood is just new prison bars. Dubreuil was among few women directors getting theatrical releases in 1980.
The recurring mirror shots aren't vanity—they're about women seeing themselves only through each other's reflections. When Sarah leaves, Jeanne literally loses her reflection.
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FR
