Jeune & Jolie

The latest from François Ozon (following 2012's excellent In the House), is a carefully non-judgemental coming-of-age drama divided into four seasons, each accompanied by a Françoise Hardy song. Beginning in summer, it follows Isabelle (Vacth) as she goes from virgin to prostitute; Ozon offers a number of possible explanations for this extreme transition, none of which really wash, and it is this fact that raises the film's somewhat problematic representation of (teenage) female sexuality.

Most obviously comparable to Buñuel's Belle de Jour, Ozon's deliberately ambiguous narrative provides little hint as to the potential psychological or physical harm such activity could cause this young girl. However, it is typically stylish, with a superb performance from newcomer Vacth, while a late appearance of Charlotte Rampling sends us in unexpected an directions. Addressing a controversial, deliberately provocative issue, Ozon's greatest success (and, potentially, the film's most contentious aspect) is his impressively objective approach. [Becky Bartlett]