Flower or Octopus?

What more fertile ground could there be for sexual awakening than a swimming pool? Aside from the fact that it's not ground at all, but that doesn't stop 2007's Water Lilies from blooming. See what I did there? The original French title is Naissance des Pieuvres, which translates to the 1 billion percent better title of "Birth of the Octopuses", or "Birth of the Octopi", depending on what you believe about the etymology of the word "octopus". The Japanese title is 水の中のつぼみ, or "flower buds in the water", closer to the English title for some reason. Maybe because the film has nothing to do with octopuses. That's probably why I like the octopus title better. It's a decent lesbian coming of age story. I wasn't happy with the ending but maybe I wasn't supposed to be. I think I was supposed to be, but maybe I wasn't, I can't say for sure.

Marie (Pauline Acquart) and Anne (Louise Blanchere) are best friends. They're both fifteen but Anne is bigger and more physically developed. She's on a swim team and Marie goes to watch sometimes. It's there she first lays eyes on Floriane (Adele Haenel) but doesn't recognise her own attraction to the gorgeous girl for what it is. Marie is introverted and reserved but finally talks to Floriane and strikes up a deal to be let in to watch the team practice. Marie seems to have interpreted her own feelings as an indication that she wants to train as a synchronised swimmer.

Meanwhile, Floriane's boyfriend, Francois (Warren Jacquin), walks in on Anne when she's changing and sees her naked. The result of this is that Anne develops a massive crush on the boy. I liked that detail. Marie and Anne drift apart as Anne obsesses with the boy and Marie obsesses with Floriane. It's a psychologically credible story and the actresses all deliver good performances. I believed I was watching relationships between teenagers discovering their own sexual urges. I didn't really like the minimalist sets, though apparently director Celine Sciamma received praise for them. I like a set that reflects character and environment. Nothing happens in a vacuum and it feels dishonest and insubstantial to me when the outer edges of the picture are left blank, so to speak.

The end of the movie shows us who ends up with whom and I wasn't happy with the pairings. It's like the movie was made by someone who felt Scottie should've ended up with Midge in Vertigo. Lots of people do feel that way so I may be in the minority in disliking this ending. One thing we should all agree on is the actresses did a fine job.

Water Lilies is available on The Criterion Channel.