La Petite voleuse (1988)
Directed by Claude Miller

Film Review

This film was developed from a storyline written by François Truffaut in 1983 (shortly after having completed his last film Vivement Dimanche!).  It was taken up by Claude Miller, who worked as Truffaut's assistant director on a number of his films.  Whether consciously intended or not, François Truffaut's presence is strangely felt in this film and the film closely resembles his own work in many ways.

Miller has established himself as a fine director in his own right and La Petite voleuse is a respectable piece of French cinema.  It boasts some enchanting photography and an engaging performance from a young Charlotte Gainsbourg, who plays the traumatised teenager Janine to perfection. The film's strength is its attention to character development - you get to know and care about everyone who appears in this film, even some of the minor characters.

The only unpardonable sin that the film commits is the gratuitous insertion of Pathé newsreel extracts.  Obviously this was intended to give a feel for the times in which the film was set, but all it seems to do is make an unwelcome brash intrusion into an otherwise compelling film.

Film Synopsis

In the 1950s, 16-year-old Janine lives with her aunt and uncle in a French provincial town after being abandoned by her mother.  Bored with her life and her unsympathetic relatives, she resorts to stealing whatever she can lay her hands on - food, cigarettes, lingerie, even luxury items like expensive silk scarves.  She dreams of being rich and famous, like the movie stars she adulates.  Once her guardians have had their fill of her, Janine is forced to work as a maid for a wealthy family, the Longuets.  Taking advantage of her new freedom, Janine goes out in the evenings and one day strikes up an acquaintance with a man who is passionate about poetry, Michel Davenne.  Although he is a married man, Michel is easily tempted by the lively teenager and they soon become lovers.  He even teaches Janine how to type.  It isn't long before Janine grows tired of this relationship and soon switches her attention to a younger, freer man, Raoul, who shares her wild zest for life.  Janine enjoys several carefree days with Raoul by the sea before she is arrested and placed in an institution run by some nuns.  Of course she does not remain here long. Janine then finds she is pregnant and makes up her mind to have an abortion...