Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

SincereFinest disgusting, overrated, pointless

ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Usamah Harvey The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

andrabem-1 Chris (Valerie Kaprisky) and her mother Claude (Caroline Cellier) are spending their vacation at a beach resort in the Côte d'Azur. Chris is an 18 year old teenager that is searching for her place in the world – she is sensitive, amoral, egocentric, erratic… and to get what she wants she doesn't mind trampling on other people. There's a hidden rivalry between Chris and her mother, Claude. Chris watches Claude and her relationships with a mixed feeling of jealousy and indignation, but the funny thing is that her mother seems not to be aware of what's taking place within Chris's mind. Chris has many relationships – She is sweet and dangerous - Chris takes people, uses them and disposes of them - she destroys them if necessary. But Chris feels also insecure and doesn't really know what she wants and where to go.The Côte d'Azur of the 80s is very freewheeling. Mother (Claude) and daughter (Chris) sunbathe topless (all the women on the beach do the same), and nudity is no problem at all in "L'Année des Meduses" (The year of the jellyfish). The beautiful Valerie Kaprisky appears frequently naked, but "The year of the jellyfish" is not an exploitation film and the nudity comes naturally - it plays an important part in the environment described by the film. People go to the Côte d'Azur (or any other beach resort) not just to swim, enjoy the scenery or go to discos - they are also looking for something different… different love games, new thrills etc...There's a difference between "The year of the jellyfish" and the similar-themed Italian films of the 70s (perverse/sweet teenage girl). The Italian films (at least those that I've seen), are sexual/romantic (sex and fantasy) and they may be cynical, but many of them are also a bit naive and sentimental. "The year of the jellyfish", on the other hand, is more grim, but it's neither a gray, nor an existentialist film - there's the Côte d'Azur, the girls, the beautiful scenery and the blue sky… and the film displays a subtle irony and sense of humor. Besides showing a greater sense of reality there's sometimes a discreet poetry in its images.Those that are tired of the conventional youth films made nowadays should check out "The year of the jellyfish" – it's a breath of fresh air.

edinman Valerie Kaprisky plays "Chris" the 18-year-old daughter of "Claude" (Caroline Cellier, who won a 1985 French Cesar for best supporting actress in the film). The two are summer vacationing at an upscale beach resort in the south of France (while dad works in Paris). Nearby lives longtime family friend, "Vic" (Jacques Perrin). It's all quite beautiful, but we quickly learn everything is not well in this hedonistic enclave of affluence. Through a flashback sequence, it's learned that two years earlier Chris became pregnant by the much-older Vic. She ultimately had an abortion and refused to tell her family who the father was. But the experience has obviously left Chris with emotional scars and left Vic very nervous. A subsequent sting from a jellyfish while swimming also leaves Chris physically scarred, further bruising her ego. Enter "Romain," (Bernard Giraudeau) a local Don Juan (and part time pimp) who makes a play for Chris' 39-year-old mom, Claude. Their burgeoning affair obviously bothers Chris. She scornfully tells Claude she's past her time (i.e.: too old for this game). While Chris' response to mom's illicit romance is not surprising, her true underlying motivations seem a little murky. There are hints that Chris has known Romain for some time as she tries in vain to seduce him away from mom. Perhaps Chris really is jealous, wanting to have Romain for herself, or perhaps she mostly just wants to separate Romain from her mom out of loyalty to her dad. Regardless, it becomes evident that the jellyfish isn't the only character in this soap opera with potentially stinging tentacles. As Chris encounters disappointment, her escapades become more manipulative. She now wants only to "win," no matter what that entails or who gets hurt. For a while that means forever taunting Vic and briefly taking her aggressions out on a vacationing German couple. But the climax comes only after dad's belated arrival to join the family. This development affords Chris the opportunity to blackmail Romain into taking her on a date (threatening to expose the illicit affair to dad if Romain refuses). I won't give away the spoiler, but you can guess it's not pretty.

Philly1789 Chris is eighteen and summering with her 38 year-old Mom in the south of France. Also spending the summer at the resort is Romain. Two years earlier Chris met and fell in love with Romain. He used her and broke her heart. Now she is a cynical manipulator, with a lesbian lover at school and a middle-aged male friend of her parents, Vic.The story of how Chris comes to terms with her love for Romain is told through the eyes of several people, including an unseen narrator, and flashbacks.There are several interesting side stories that help develop the main characters. The setting of the south of France is great. Visually stunning. Also the choice of music is very interesting.The primary deficiency is some editing problems and the subtitles run off the screen sometimes.

PaulW-7 I did not find this film very satisfactory. The main character in the film (Chris) is very inconsistent, and no explanation is given for this; true Romain fancies her mother and not her, but this does not go near explaining things. Also, and I'll try and avoid a "spoiler" here: it is inconceivable that the event that occurs towards the end of the film would go uninvestigated, as apparently it does in the film.I wouldn't be surprised to find that the film was originally much longer, and that the edited out bits would explain many of the inconsistencies. If any French speakers out there have read the book and can enlighten me, please do. I would like to think that this film was not just an excuse to get a lot of topless women on screen.