The Adolescent (1979)
Original title: L'Adolescente
The Adolescent is a 1979 French-language drama movie directed by Jeanne Moreau, with a running time of 1h 30m. It stars Simone Signoret, Francis Huster and Laetitia Chauveau.
The summer of 1939 hangs golden over a village in the Auvergne, and Marie is thirteen, caught between childhood and everything after. She travels there with her parents to stay with her grandmother, played by Simone Signoret, in the last quiet season before the war. Marie's affections fasten on a young Jewish doctor, though his eyes rest on her mother, Eva. Jeanne Moreau directs with a painter's patience, letting heat, longing and small betrayals ripen in the countryside light. A coming-of-age story told softly, aware of the darkness gathering just past the harvest.
Quick answers
What is The Adolescent about?
The summer of 1939 hangs golden over a village in the Auvergne, and Marie is thirteen, caught between childhood and everything after. She travels there with her parents to stay with her grandmother, played by Simone Signoret, in the last quiet season before the war. Marie's affections fasten on a young Jewish doctor, though his eyes rest on her mother, Eva. Jeanne Moreau directs with a painter's patience, letting heat, longing and small betrayals ripen in the countryside light. A coming-of-age story told softly, aware of the darkness gathering just past the harvest.
When was The Adolescent released?
The Adolescent was released on 24 January 1979.
How long is The Adolescent?
The Adolescent runs 1h 30m.
Who made The Adolescent?
The Adolescent was directed by Jeanne Moreau.
Where can I watch The Adolescent?
The Adolescent is available on Amazon.
Where to watch The Adolescent
Rent: Amazon
Buy: Amazon
Cast
- Simone Signoret as Mamie
- Francis Huster as Alexandre
- Laetitia Chauveau as Marie
- Edith Clever as Eva, la mère
- Jacques Weber as Jean
- Jean-François Balmer as André, le menuisier
- Hugues Quester as Le fils du forgeron
- Roger Blin as Romain
- Frank Muth as François, 'l'innocent'
- Maurice Baquet as Jules, le cantonnier
- Nadine Basile as Rose, épouse du contonnier
- Françoise Bette as Violette
Similar movies
Explore The Adolescent guides
A few thoughts on The Adolescent
Anyone drawn to that ache of a first, hopeless crush should try Life Is Strange, a game steeped in adolescent longing and the sense that summer cannot last. The Rose of Versailles shares its period sweep and doomed romance, watching young hearts collide as history closes in around them.
First crushes aimed at exactly the wrong person
Marie's summer in The Adolescent turns on a crush she can't have, a young doctor whose attention belongs to her mother instead. These share that same charged triangle: a teenager's desire crossing into territory an adult should have closed off, handled with unease rather than romance, and never played for a happy ending.
European coming-of-age stories about girls growing up too fast
Jeanne Moreau shoots Marie's last golden summer with a painter's patience, letting heat and longing ripen before the war arrives. This group holds the same slow, observant gaze on girlhood: young women shaped early by adult worlds, aristocratic households, or histories too heavy for their age, told without rushing toward a lesson.
Difficult households that quietly shape who a girl becomes
Marie's family is polite and unraveling at once, her grandmother's house holding secrets under its calm surface. These stories work the same way: girls coming of age inside homes strained by silence, resentment, or a parent's failures, where the real drama happens in what nobody says out loud at dinner.