The Year Of The Jellyfish

French drama from the 1980s (released in 1984) about a young woman’s rather sordid vacation with her mom in Saint Tropez one summer, I think it is a film mostly known these days for the enormous amount of screen time topless women get (particularly the lead, Chris, played by Valérie Kaprisky, who is also several times nude) though there is definitely a story here. It isn’t a pleasant story in the sense Chris is a good person and good things happen for her (she isn’t and they don’t) but it is a compelling story.Despite the enormous amount of nudity, it isn’t porn or a raunchy sex comedy or anything like that and most of the nudity is French topless on the beach scenes. It is a drama about a conflicted woman who gets in massively over head in relationships involving older men, men who though wiser than her and warn her against what she is doing and the course she is on nevertheless fall into Chris’s orbit and pay a high price as well (at least Chris doesn’t always seem to have the wisdom the men do, but what good is having wisdom if you don’t use it?). Most of what we see with the men (and Chris) isn’t sex scenes but rather conversations outside, in various places alone, where Chris expresses interest and the men talk about consequences (and then go ahead anyway and it is the men who usually suffer).Chris again and again in the film wants things she can’t have, whether it is married men or one of the other main characters in the film, a local pimp named Romain (played by Bernard Giraudeau), a charismatic man that is actually interested in Chris’s mother Claude (played by Caroline Cellier) and not really interested in Chris at all (who sees Chris as a child still, cute but not an adult though she is, albeit just now an adult basically). While Chris ends or destroys other relationships she decides she also wants Romain even though he is involved with Claude, with in the film to be the object of Chris’s desires is to have a good time before knowing her destroys your relationship or worse (she’s basically mad, bad, and dangerous to know). Even a single evening with Chris could be damaging.The good, I thought Chris was an interesting character to center the film on, as she is not a good person. Not evil perhaps, but at times unaware that with her looks and men’s response to her looks she has a lot of power, power she does not use wisely nor with a lot of empathy towards the men involved nor much thought to the future, almost living in some sort of childish eternal now I will always be young and pretty fantasy. It took a while to figure out I was basically, my opinion, watching a film about a villain. The film really had a great summer feel, of people relaxing on the beach, sunning themselves, leisurely planning where to eat or dance that night while they lounge in the sun or under a beach umbrella, the film had some nice beach scenes, it felt like the way the south of France should. Claude, her mom, had some depth, and Romain was surprisingly complex. Yes there are many beautiful women, not just Valérie Kaprisky but a number of other women (one woman who appears in several scenes as one of Romain’s girls, Dorothee, played by Betty Assenza, is quite beautiful). The title of the film actually is important and plays an important part of the film’s plot, that was really interesting.The bad, some of the later nudity away from the beach could be a bit gratuitous. A few times the pacing was slow (on the beach was fine, but a few other scenes it just felt like watching people with some severe ennui). A couple of times there was a weird voice over, never so common that I got used to it, always surprising when I heard it. The music especially in the opening scene didn’t to me fit the feel of the film, though this is I admit a minor point. Dorothee’s character, mentioned above, had a number of scenes early on and then sort of went away as a character except for one scene towards the end; I wondered if her presence was more to establish the type of character Romain is (one who finds young women for rich older men and uses woman for business purposes but at the same time doesn’t really destroy people like Chris ends up doing) rather than any plot relating to her or her and Romain specifically. Though the beach scenes were often light they were never really light-hearted and the movie was surprisingly dark despite the sunny setting (not grim, just serious). There is very little humor in the film (a mildly amusing scene where Chris and Claude consume an “American breakfast” at the hotel was kind of cute and part of a date between Romain and Chris worth a smile).I liked it; it was an interesting film. I haven’t seen a lot of French films and I would like to see more. I for no reason in particular watched the same day _The French Connection_ and that could not be a more different film though it had a south of French connection as well (though this film never visits Marseille and _The French Connection_ does not visit Saint Tropez).

Simply put, when this first came out it was on a strange one or two showings per city almost by invitation only or membership in film societies, or people in the industry-- so I wound up seeing it in a theater. It has been a long, long time, but I remember problems with the subtitles then not making sense some of the time, on this Blu-Ray the subtitles are very accurate translations and still frequently don't make sense simply because some "manner of speaking" does not translate well, but you can understand and follow it on the Blu-Ray.The behavior and actions of the characters were just "yes, that is what it is" for that time and region of France, and I admit it, I still don't find it realistic, even if I am repeatedly told there are people like the characters of the movie in that era spending way, way too much money to be there and do things that seem to only make sense to those who lived then and there.It is good in handling the mood, clothing, and behavior of the era, and having a disk where you can jump back and replay something that just happened to quickly to both see it and read the subtitles helps a lot.It is a capsule of an era and a behavior set, and while the characters might not make sense they actors are actually carrying through and doing it the way intended.And having it on a superb Blu-Ray with great sound instead of a ten in the morning theater where it seemed everyone was confused makes it a lot more enjoyable.It is worth getting and keeping if you are looking for stages of cinema and tracking it to find out how people do or fo not accept things in different places at different times.And the fact it is affordable helps, too.4 out of 5 stars, mostly for the historical slot it fills..

True it life in Europe

THE GIRLS WERE PRETTY AND THEY WERE NAKED IN A FEW SHOTS BUT THE OVERALL STORY WAS BORING. YOU SEE THE NAKED GIRLS AT A FRENCH BEACH, AND THEY SPEAK FRENCH, BUT SO WHAT.

2022 blu ray disc review:This is your typical 80s “Euro trash“ flick. The story is OK, but the real fun is in just looking back on this era.But I have a big question about discs released by Cohen company. And it doesn’t have to do with the movies they’re releasing. A lot of them are fun. But it has to do with the discs themselves.Like other Blu-ray discs from this company, they are designed to be infuriating. For instance in this film, you cannot turn off close captioning. Additionally there are no chapters that you can use to navigate the film. And finally you have to sit through a 7 1/2 minute previews trailer.What gives? Alone these are annoying and together they are frustrating. I just don’t know why Cohen bucks the industry trends and produces such cheap products.

You won't find this type of movie from a US director. This is a psychological journey through a vacation resort filled with common sights on local French beaches. Watch only if you dare. No CGI. No car chases. No super heroes landing on the street with one knee & one hand on the ground, you know the pose. Do I recommend it? Only if you like pyscho-dramas. Buy it. But be careful.

great movie

I enjoyed from start to ending as good performance from cast . Beach location is beautiful and the girls too

This movie by Christopher Frank is bit quirky but has developed a kind of cult following due in no doubt to the two startling lead actresses Valerie Kaprisky and Caroline Cellier. The film is shot around the beaches of St.Tropez with many of the scenes filmed actually on the beach and surrounding bars and restaurants, ; what unfolds is the rivalry between the Mother and Daughter for the affections of a local Playboy Romain ( Bernard Giraudeau).The story is full of real erotic tension with lots of sexual interplay between Husbands Wives and ex lovers, culminating in a very surprising ending.The fashions and the music seem a bit dated now as they are from the mid 80's but that does not detract from the story that develops. The women call the shots in this film whilst the men are merely puppets in their erotic passion play. It's beautifully shot in a very glamorous part of the world, sheer escapism.Enjoy!

Bon achat.

Malheureusement non lisible en France…:(

fort bien, merci!