Élisa

I don't think Jean Becker is a very interesting director; the two films I have seen--L'Été meurtrier and this one--don't show any great stylistic ability. You remember L'Été for Adjani's performance as an avenging angel, and Vanessa Paradis does the same thing here: she's a one-woman wrecking crew taking on greedy grandparents, the lesbian director of her orphanage, men looking for sex, in fact anybody who gets in her way.

The film stands or falls on the power and charisma of its star, and Vanessa Paradis doesn't disappoint. She is amazingly at ease in front of the camera, as befits a Lancôme model who also started singing at 14. No matter how tawdry the script gets--and that's plenty at times--she sails right through it. She even holds her own with Depardieu, the icon of French film.