An Easy Girl

Naïma (Mina Farid) lives a modest but content teenage life in Cannes. But she dreams of one day being one of the rich and beautiful who are here, especially in the summer. But the 16-year-old girl doesn't know what the future holds for her after school, which she has just successfully completed. When her older cousin Sofia (Zahia Dehar) from Paris shows up unexpectedly, Naïmas life is suddenly turned upside down. For the young woman not only seems very worldly, but also gives herself very open-hearted and seems to live in pure luxury. Naïma does not really trust the beautiful appearance, but is happy to be drawn into Sofia's world. When her cousin uses her charms to get closer to an attractive yacht owner, Naïma plays the game too - unaware of how much it will affect her previous life and her real friendships.

A Light Girl is a beautifully photographed drama about longings and the pitfalls of growing up. An interesting story in its own right, it is also very well acted, especially by the young lead actress Mina Farid. However, especially in the first half, director Rebecca Zlotowski fails to penetrate beneath the pretty surface of the images. The way Zahia Dehar, former muse of Karl Lagerfeld, is staged in particular is more reminiscent of the soft-focus eroticism of a David Hamilton than it is of giving real depth to Sofia's not uninteresting character.

Naïmas development is much more rousingly realised. But again, the action remains superficial for too long. Towards the end the dramaturgy gets a bit more complex, but until then it becomes clear once again how long even a short 90 minutes can be. Yes, it's already clear why especially at the beginning the beautiful pictures dominate the action. After all, it should be made clear why Naïma lets herself be dazzled by her cousin's supposedly perfect life and even abandons her best friend for the prospect of being a part of it.

A Light Girl captures the summer mood on the Côte d`Azur very well, and is also able to coherently capture the burgeoning passions of a young person. However, the good intentions hidden somewhere in the script are simply lost in the very worn narrative beginning. Pretty to look at, but unfortunately only conditionally entertaining and therefore only: worth seeing with cutbacks!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp