Underplayed Gems

Elles (2011)

Elles poster
Directed by
Małgorzata Szumowska
Genre
drama film, erotic film, LGBTQ-related film
Country
Germany, France, Poland
Runtime
1h 34m
Rated
NC-17
Rating
5.3 of 10 from 195 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A Parisian journalist interviews two female students who work as prostitutes. She discovers their perspectives challenge her assumptions about the work and her own personal life.

intimateexplorativecontemplativeprovocativecerebralemotionally complexobservationalslow-burn

What happens

Elles is a 2011 erotic drama film co-written and directed by Polish director Małgośka Szumowska. It shows an episode in the life of Anne (Juliette Binoche), a journalist in Paris for French Elle who is writing an article about female student prostitution. Although the young women are not keen on publicity, she persuades two students to talk to her: the provocative Alicja (Joanna Kulig), an ambitious economics student who left Poland to further her education; and the subtle Charlotte (Anaïs Demoustier), enrolled in a Parisian classe préparatoire, determined to leave her modest provincial background behind. Where Anne is expecting misery and distress, she discovers freedom, pride, and empowerment. As Anne's professional curiosity in the two women becomes a matter of personal interest, she starts to rediscover her own sexuality. Elles premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and was released theatrically in France on 1 February 2012. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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