A Radiant Girl

A Radiant Girl (French: Une jeune fille qui va bien, lit. 'A young girl who is doing well') is a 2021 French drama film written and directed by Sandrine Kiberlain in her feature directorial debut. The film stars Rebecca Marder as a young Jewish girl aspiring to become an actress during the occupation of France. The film premiered in the Critics' Week section of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Caméra d'Or.

A Radiant Girl
Theatrical release poster
FrenchUne jeune fille qui va bien
Directed bySandrine Kiberlain
Screenplay bySandrine Kiberlain
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGuillaume Schiffman
Edited byFrançois Gédigier
Music by
  • Patrick Desreumaux
  • Marc Marder
Production
companies
Distributed byAd Vitam Distribution
Release dates
  • 8 July 2021 (2021-07-08) (Cannes)
  • 26 January 2022 (2022-01-26) (France)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Box office$1.2 million[1]

Premise

In 1942, 19-year-old Irène is a young Jewish girl living in Paris. She has a passion for theatre and dreams of becoming an actress. Irène rehearses Marivaux's L'Épreuve to prepare for an entrance exam to the conservatory.

Cast
  • Rebecca Marder as Irène
  • André Marcon as André, Irène's father
  • Anthony Bajon as Igor, Irène's brother
  • India Hair as Viviane, Irène's friend
  • Françoise Widhoff as Marceline, Irène's grandmother
  • Florence Viala as Josiane, a neighbor
  • Ben Attal as Jo
  • Cyril Metzger as Jacques
  • Jean Chevalier as Gilbert

Production

In May 2017, Sandrine Kiberlain revealed in an interview with Elle magazine that she would be preparing her first feature film and that it was be a long-term project, which would require a lot of time and work.[2] In an interview with Gala magazine, Kiberlain called the film "extremely personal" and explained, "I had the story in me for ten years, and it took me a long year to write it, alone."[3]

Filming began on 17 July 2020 in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, for a period of 5 weeks.[4] Filming concluded in August 2020 in Vexin, which included shots at Nesles-la-Vallée on the Sausseron river, as well as a road between Hédouville and Ronquerolles in the Val-d'Oise department.[5]

Release
Sandrine Kiberlain and Rebecca Marder at a screening of A Radiant Girl, 19 January 2022

The film was selected as a special screening in the Critics' Week section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival,[6][7] where it had its world premiere on 8 July 2021.[8] It had its theatrical release in France through Ad Vitam Distribution on 26 January 2022.[9]

Reception

Critical response

A Radiant Girl received an average rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 28 reviews.[10] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 85% based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10.[11]

Jonathan Romney of Screen Daily praised the "highly appealing effusiveness" of Marder's performance but criticized Kiberlain's stylistic choices and the film's "heavy-handed" conclusion: "A Radiant Girl is highly theatrical [...] in its emphasis on the nature of stage performance – which often gets the film bogged down in backstage discussion of a sort that can too easily feel alienating to film audiences. This only adds to the awkwardness of a film that - especially in its treatment of one of the gravest topics in modern French history - ultimately feels as callow as its heroine."[12]

Awards and nominations
Awards and nominations for A Radiant Girl
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival 17 July 2021 Caméra d'Or Sandrine Kiberlain Nominated [13]
Lumières Award 16 January 2023 Most Promising Actress Rebecca Marder Nominated [14]
César Awards 24 February 2023 Most Promising Actress Rebecca Marder Nominated [15]

References
  1. "A Radiant Girl (2021)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  2. Williams, Patrick (12 May 2017). "Sandrine Kiberlain : " J'ai adoré rencontrer ma fille, Suzanne "". Elle. No. 3725. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  3. Cardinal, Lea (2 August 2019). "Sandrine Kiberlain : comment elle a vécu le cap des 50 ans". Gala (in French). Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  4. Balle, Catherine (21 July 2020). "Sandrine Kiberlain réalise son premier film". Le Parisien (in French). Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  5. "Portrait d'une jeune fille qui va bien". valdoise.terredecinema.fr. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  6. "Une jeune fille qui va bien A Radiant Girl". Semaine de la Critique. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  7. Tartaglione, Nancy (7 June 2021). "Cannes: Critics' Week Unveils 60th Anniversary Lineup – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  8. Ciavarini Azzi, Lorenzo (10 July 2021). "Festival de Cannes 2021 : "J'avais une histoire vitale à raconter", explique Sandrine Kiberlain, qui réalise "Une jeune fille qui va bien"". France Info (in French). Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  9. "Une jeune fille qui va bien". Ad Vitam Distribution (in French). Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  10. "Critiques Presse pour le film Une jeune fille qui va bien". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  11. "A Radiant Girl". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  12. Romney, Jonathan (9 July 2021). "'A Radiant Girl': Cannes Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  13. "Mélanie Thierry sera présidente de la Caméra d'or à Cannes". CNC.fr (in French). 1 July 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  14. "Lumières 2023 : "La Nuit du 12", "Pacifiction", "Saint Omer" et "Les Enfants des autres" en tête des nominations". France Info (in French). 15 December 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
  15. Jamet, Constance (25 January 2023). "César: La Nuit du 12, En Corps, L'Innocent, en tête des nominations". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 27 January 2023.
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