The Girl Who Returned (1969) User Reviews

A flawed, but offbeat and interesting avant garde short

[Woodyanders · 7/10 · 7 January 2010]

Tough and exacting coach Geneva (attractive brunette Beverly Galley) whips track star Lucy (pretty blonde Gretchen Herman) into shape for an upcoming Olympic event. Geneva's training proves to be so grueling that Lucy eventually runs away into an outside world full of apathy and hostility. It's hard to believe that future Troma head honcho Lloyd Kaufman even made this extremely odd and noncommercial experimentally black and white oddity: there's no nudity to speak of, the humor is decidedly tasteful and inoffensive, and the whole thing unfolds at a gradual unhurried pace. Alas, many scenes are drawn-out and monotonous while an overbearing female narrator overstays her welcome by the fifteen minute mark. The stuff about love, utopia, and women's rights now seems hopelessly coy and dated, but does nonetheless add to this curio's endearingly dippy 60's period charm. The rough and scratchy black and white cinematography uses plenty of primitive fade-outs and boasts a few nice gliding tracking shots. The eclectic and melodic score does the tuneful trick. Plus there's a certain compelling "try it, do it" avant garde sensibility at work which makes this film both engaging and engrossing in equal measure. Offbeat and worth a look.