STELLA
France, 2008, 102 minutes, Colour.
Leora Barbara. Guillaume Depardieu.
Directed by Sylvie Verheyde.
Stella covers twelve months in the life of a thirteen-year-old girl living in Paris. Her parents own a bar and are more concerned about the running of the bar and the joy of their clientele than paying attention to their daughter. However, they book her into a school for the wealthy. Stella feels out of place, she is not interested in paying attention to classes. She gets into trouble and has poor marks. However, at home, while she joins in the activities in the café and the bar, playing cards with the boarders (who have been referred to the bar and café by Social Welfare), she also spends time in her room and reads Cocteau and Balzac.
She finds a sympathetic friend at school, Gladys, a Jewish-Argentinian?. Gladys is head of the class but forms a warm friendship with Stella and Stella responds very well. While she gets into fights, on the sports field, still gets poor marks and doesn’t pay attention, the friendship with Gladys does transform her in some ways. Meanwhile, her parents are alienated and she feels bad about this. Summer holidays are in the country with her grandmother, an eccentric woman, and playing with Genevieve who is the same age.
However, as the year progresses, Stella becomes a bit more sociable, relies on Gladys’s help, gets interested in history, asks the advice on works of art from one of the boarders (Guillaume Depardieu) and is in danger of being molested by another of the boarders.
With Gladys’s help, and with some improvement at school, she actually passes the year – something of joy for her parents who have the possibility of making up and being more loving and caring of Stella.
The film does not reach any conclusions – but has a sense of realism about a non-achieving clever child and the possibilities for breakthroughs in maturity.
1.The portrait of a contemporary young girl in Paris?
2.Paris, the locations, the bar and café, Stella’s room, the school, the countryside and the town?
3.The musical score, the range of songs and their use?
4.Stella and her voice-over, a year in her life, expressing her attitudes, change of mind, growth?
5.Stella at school, not interested, the mistakes, not paying attention, absentminded? The teacher’s frustrations and anger – especially the English teacher throwing things out the window? The maths teacher and his lack of patience? The more sympathetic French teacher? Her frustrations, her assignments and the poor marks, her parents being disappointed?
6.Her life at the café, her parents being busy, everybody cheery, the variety of types sent by Social Welfare, Stella playing cards, watching the television, the men playing pool, Stella present in all of this yet able to go to her room, the pictures of Alain Delon, her books, Cocteau, Balzac, watching Marlene Dietrich on the TV? The young man in the bar and her friendship, Bubu and his gift of the book, his attempts at molestation? Alain and his friendship, giving attention to her, advising her about the painting? The relationships over the year?
7.Her parents, their age, the background of their marriage, family backgrounds? Working the bar, the mother thinking the husband was weak? Her strength? Paying attention or not? Affairs, clashes, the visit of the mother-in-law and her eccentricity, taking Stella to the countryside, their not talking to each other, the final clash, the good news about Stella’s passing and the possibility of their talking and coming together again?
8.Gladys, the Argentinian background, Jewish background, strict, no television? Her being a straight-A student? Meeting with Stella, initiating the conversation, their becoming friends? Gladys helping her, with the spelling (and Stella having to copy dictation)? Their talks and sharing, the sleepover, Gladys visiting the bar, being bitten by the dog? Their bonding? Going to the party, Stella not invited, dancing? Gladys and the meeting with the teachers, the news of Stella’s pass? Stella thanking Gladys at the end?
9.Stella in the country, with her grandmother, with Genevieve, the bike rides, their activities, meeting the boys? The final credits and the scenes with Genevieve and the hose?
10.Stella and her interest in history, Alain explaining the artwork, her giving her own explanation and the teacher affirming her? Her good mark for history? Her decision to do better? Discipline, the fight after the sports match? Her finally getting a pass?
11.Her age, her period, relationships, discovering boys, being by herself, the dance?
12.The other children at school, their treatment of Stella, her being a loner? The party?
13.The film as watching a young girl grow over the year?
