That's a question some of us parents are sometimes asked by our children. Children demand for privacy and we accept. But privacy turns into secrecy and our acceptance turns into ignorance at times bordering indifference. One horrible day, your world comes crashing down when you discover that your child isn't exactly what he/she you thought he/she was. Now, what would you choose to do? Still standby or abandon that child? This movie poses that question to you. Whatever you choose to do, I feel, you should be absolved of any blame. Because it is one hell of a question. As a father of a rebellious daughter, I shuddered when the movie was over. My world hasn't yet come down crashing. But that's something I dread everyday. Secretly. This movie made me face my fear. A very well made movie. Kudos to the entire team.
16 Reviews
more than a courtroom drama
dromasca28 December 2020
The French court drama 'La fille au bracelet' (the English title is 'The Girl with a Bracelet') made in 2019 by Stéphane Demoustier starts from a situation that is one of the nightmares of any parent. How do a couple of parents face the fact that their daughter, just out of adolescence, is accused of a horrible crime, the murder of her best friend? Can family, marriage hold? Can parents cope with doubts about their daughter's possible guilt and remorses over the fact that from one point on they can no longer protect her in the face of the justice machine? 'La fille au bracelet' which adapts and relocates an Argentine film (which I have not seen) treats this topic with discretion and sensitivity.
The opening scene of the film looks like a copy of the scene that opens the Romanian film ' Arest' by Andrei Cohn that I saw recently. The scene takes place on a beach, is filmed from afar in one shot. A family spends a quiet afternoon by the sea. The police appear, snatching one of the people from normal life in order to throw her into a completely different reality, in prison. From here on the two films are different. The arrested person is Lise, a 16-year-old teenager ( Melissa Guers), the daughter of a middle-class couple (Roschdy Zem, Chiara Mastroianni). The family's life turns into a Kafka-esque nightmare, being confronted with the girl's pre-trial detention for six months followed by a legal procedure that after two years leads to the trial in which Lise is accused of murder. Most of the film takes place in the courtroom. However, more questions about the morality of the accused seem to be put before the court than evidence to prove guilt. The girl's lack of communication does not help her face the accusator, the judge and the jurors. Is this the natural shock that a teenager torn from normal life and thrown into legal proceedings under a terrible accusation goes through, or maybe it is a proof of guilt? Doubts sneak even into the minds of the parents.
I liked the approach of director Stéphane Demoustier. He films the court scenes as a TV broadcast, a neutral-style justice drama. Even the scenes that take place between the parents, or between the parents, the girl and her brother are devoid of sentimentality and do not give explicit answers to all the questions. Precisely due to the director's objectivity, the spectators, like the jurors of the trial, can form their own opinions. Perhaps the lawyer's plea contains the key to watching the film: how much do we understand, parents and grown-up people, of the problems and feelings of young people, how much do we remember and how much did we forget about how we were at their age? Minimalism also characterises the way actors are directed. Melissa Guers as Lisa makes an exceptional debut which is hopefully the beginning of a formidable career. Roschdy Zem and Chiara Mastroianni are very well cast in the roles of parents, reserved and keeping their troubles inside. Anaïs Demoustier (the director's sister) also appears in this film in a very different role from the one in 'Alice et le maire' in which I liked her enormously. I even wondered while watching what the heroine there would have thought about this prosecutor who seems to be trying to convict a young woman of murder without concrete evidence, practically asking the accused to prove her innocence instead of her, the prosecutor proving the guilt beyond of any doubt, as required by the laws of justice. 'La fille au bracelet' is the kind of movie that is sometimes said to resemble a long episode of a TV series. In this case, however, it is much more, it is a court drama with a story and characters that accompany the viewers long after the screening of the film is over.
The opening scene of the film looks like a copy of the scene that opens the Romanian film ' Arest' by Andrei Cohn that I saw recently. The scene takes place on a beach, is filmed from afar in one shot. A family spends a quiet afternoon by the sea. The police appear, snatching one of the people from normal life in order to throw her into a completely different reality, in prison. From here on the two films are different. The arrested person is Lise, a 16-year-old teenager ( Melissa Guers), the daughter of a middle-class couple (Roschdy Zem, Chiara Mastroianni). The family's life turns into a Kafka-esque nightmare, being confronted with the girl's pre-trial detention for six months followed by a legal procedure that after two years leads to the trial in which Lise is accused of murder. Most of the film takes place in the courtroom. However, more questions about the morality of the accused seem to be put before the court than evidence to prove guilt. The girl's lack of communication does not help her face the accusator, the judge and the jurors. Is this the natural shock that a teenager torn from normal life and thrown into legal proceedings under a terrible accusation goes through, or maybe it is a proof of guilt? Doubts sneak even into the minds of the parents.
I liked the approach of director Stéphane Demoustier. He films the court scenes as a TV broadcast, a neutral-style justice drama. Even the scenes that take place between the parents, or between the parents, the girl and her brother are devoid of sentimentality and do not give explicit answers to all the questions. Precisely due to the director's objectivity, the spectators, like the jurors of the trial, can form their own opinions. Perhaps the lawyer's plea contains the key to watching the film: how much do we understand, parents and grown-up people, of the problems and feelings of young people, how much do we remember and how much did we forget about how we were at their age? Minimalism also characterises the way actors are directed. Melissa Guers as Lisa makes an exceptional debut which is hopefully the beginning of a formidable career. Roschdy Zem and Chiara Mastroianni are very well cast in the roles of parents, reserved and keeping their troubles inside. Anaïs Demoustier (the director's sister) also appears in this film in a very different role from the one in 'Alice et le maire' in which I liked her enormously. I even wondered while watching what the heroine there would have thought about this prosecutor who seems to be trying to convict a young woman of murder without concrete evidence, practically asking the accused to prove her innocence instead of her, the prosecutor proving the guilt beyond of any doubt, as required by the laws of justice. 'La fille au bracelet' is the kind of movie that is sometimes said to resemble a long episode of a TV series. In this case, however, it is much more, it is a court drama with a story and characters that accompany the viewers long after the screening of the film is over.
Content Loaded
lonoffdecuevas12 November 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Demoustier deals in statement above and understatement beneath. In Lise's trial, everything is spelled out, except for
--why she remains so silent and
--who could have murdered her friend if she didn't.
Has anyone else noticed what the camera emphasizes: that the little brother is left-handed? that he gives multiple signs of having no feelings, no empathy? that he uses the red-handled knife with dexterity and offers a flimsy excuse for having it? that he can't wait until his sister is gone so he can have her room?
The knife marks on the victim were "superficial" except for the one that killed her. So okay, he was only six or seven, and maybe this hunch is way off. In an American movie, the loose ends would have been tied up. This one is seriously French.
Acceptable remake.
hof-424 January 2021
Somewhere among the end titles we are informed that the script by director Stéphane Demoustier has been "librement adapté du scénario original de Acusada écrit par Gonzalo Tobal and Ulises Porra Guardiola." In fact, this film is a remake of Acusada (The Accused) a 2018 Argentine movie.
The subject in both movies is the trial of the post-adolescent daughter of upper middle class parents as the main suspect in the murder of her best friend. The depiction of the trial, however, is different. In Acusada, the point was to show that truly competent/unscrupulous lawyers (generally, only accessible to the rich) can confuse the issues in a criminal trial, using all means at their disposal including the news media. The resulting uncertainty makes a reasonable verdict unlikely, which brings to mind real life examples such as O. J. Simpson's trial. In this movie. however, lawyers' behavior is unimpeachable and not the source of the uncertainty at the end. Another (minor) difference is that in Acusada the verdict is decided by a panel of judges (as customary in Argentina) rather than by a jury as in France and many other countries. Finally, episodes that were creepy in Acusada are toned down here.
This said this movie (remake or not) deserves a viewing. Lisa, the accused, is played to perfection by Melissa Guers. Except for television interviews this is her only acting credit so far and most likely the beginning of a brilliant career. Roschdy Zem and Chiara Mastroianni show their usual excellence as Lisa's parents, and so does Anaïs Demoustier as the prosecuting attorney. Script and direction are smooth and seamless. The differences with Acusada may justify to tell the story a second time.
The subject in both movies is the trial of the post-adolescent daughter of upper middle class parents as the main suspect in the murder of her best friend. The depiction of the trial, however, is different. In Acusada, the point was to show that truly competent/unscrupulous lawyers (generally, only accessible to the rich) can confuse the issues in a criminal trial, using all means at their disposal including the news media. The resulting uncertainty makes a reasonable verdict unlikely, which brings to mind real life examples such as O. J. Simpson's trial. In this movie. however, lawyers' behavior is unimpeachable and not the source of the uncertainty at the end. Another (minor) difference is that in Acusada the verdict is decided by a panel of judges (as customary in Argentina) rather than by a jury as in France and many other countries. Finally, episodes that were creepy in Acusada are toned down here.
This said this movie (remake or not) deserves a viewing. Lisa, the accused, is played to perfection by Melissa Guers. Except for television interviews this is her only acting credit so far and most likely the beginning of a brilliant career. Roschdy Zem and Chiara Mastroianni show their usual excellence as Lisa's parents, and so does Anaïs Demoustier as the prosecuting attorney. Script and direction are smooth and seamless. The differences with Acusada may justify to tell the story a second time.
To goof or not to goof, lol held my interest
cuvtixo-1320 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Ok one reviewer mentions a "goof"; the mother describes a bloodbath, that her daughter was unrecognizable after the murder except for her face. Then we see her body and the wounds seem mostly superficial, certainly not as described by the mother. Is it a goof, or not a goof because the body pictures were post-mortem? Well, the mother also describes blood on the walls, and there definitely was no blood on the walls. Why am I bringing this up?, not to be pedantic, but this is the sort of detail viewers can't help but go over, and question about themselves. Does this detail implicate the mother? She had the most opportunity to kill her daughter and know how to frame Lise.
Now I don't know exactly how French courts work, but certainly a lot of the work of the prosecutor seemed totally wrong. I think they'd actually start with physical evidence, the knife wounds, the missing knife, the opportunity, or lack of opportunity (when did Lise have time to clean off any blood on herself or her clothes?) The snarky insinuations about her lack of expressing appropriate emotions, and family members not being supportive enough... not only unprofessional generally, but that would irl, risk turning the jury against the prosecution. In short, the proceedings are pure fantasy, and while my review opening suggest there's intellectual puzzles to mull over, the film's not really that sophisticated. It just doesn't have a real conclusion. And for once that didn't bother me. There's not just plot holes, the whole thing is one big plot hole! But it's interesting enough, and well-acted enough that it doesn't matter.
Now I don't know exactly how French courts work, but certainly a lot of the work of the prosecutor seemed totally wrong. I think they'd actually start with physical evidence, the knife wounds, the missing knife, the opportunity, or lack of opportunity (when did Lise have time to clean off any blood on herself or her clothes?) The snarky insinuations about her lack of expressing appropriate emotions, and family members not being supportive enough... not only unprofessional generally, but that would irl, risk turning the jury against the prosecution. In short, the proceedings are pure fantasy, and while my review opening suggest there's intellectual puzzles to mull over, the film's not really that sophisticated. It just doesn't have a real conclusion. And for once that didn't bother me. There's not just plot holes, the whole thing is one big plot hole! But it's interesting enough, and well-acted enough that it doesn't matter.
A pretty French legal drama that lacks tension.
fciocca24 March 2022
"La Fille au Bracelet" narrates the final phases of a legal process against Lise Bataille, a young teenager accused of murdering her best friend. The director told the story almost like a documentary, and as a person that watched some courtroom recordings of famous cases, I have to say that the movie was realistic and immersed me in the plot. It also explores the relationship between the girl and her parents that need to go through this difficult and long procedure that will consume them, creating tensions between different family members. The psychology of the main character is very well developed, and she was very consistent for the whole length.
I personally think that there were a few scenes that were very boring and were dragged longer than necessary. Even though I was genuinely curious to see how it ended, I think that Stéphane Demoustier and the cast could have done a better job in order to create more tension and keep the audience more engaged. Probably this has to do with the chosen narration style, which wants to emulate as much as possible the reality, however the acting could have been a bit more dramatic and expressive in my humble opinion. If you like European cinema you should definitely give this a shot. It is overall a solid drama with good characters and nice acting.
I personally think that there were a few scenes that were very boring and were dragged longer than necessary. Even though I was genuinely curious to see how it ended, I think that Stéphane Demoustier and the cast could have done a better job in order to create more tension and keep the audience more engaged. Probably this has to do with the chosen narration style, which wants to emulate as much as possible the reality, however the acting could have been a bit more dramatic and expressive in my humble opinion. If you like European cinema you should definitely give this a shot. It is overall a solid drama with good characters and nice acting.
One Goof(?). not even listed. spoils everything
david-fisher2617 September 2022
Near to the start, the victim's mother describes huge amounts of blood. With only the face being spared a savage attack. But during the trial, the scene-of-crime photos show no sign of any blood at all; just a few neat wounds. This dichotomy is so extreme that this viewer was entirely distracted from watching the remainder of the movie with any interest. What did it mean? Was it some sort of 'high art' concept? Was it the start of some sort of science fictional adventure? Do the French police wash bodies, launder bed-clothes and wash walls before taking a literally sanitized picture? What does it mean?
Interesting but shallow and ultimately hollow
spookycopter13 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
How did the police can identify a suspect in 4 hours?
Why were the clothes that Lise was wearing at the party and the day after the party not central to the investigation? Why would any murderer not leave any bloody footprints after such a vicious crime?
Surely the police have zero case at all against Lise if they discover that her clothes are entirely blood free, or the police have no doubt at all if her clothes are spattered with blood - and yet blood-spattered clothes or the lack of them were not mentioned once in the movie.
Towards the end of the film, with time running out, I had a terrible feeling there was not going to be an ending. Then the credits rolled, and the wife went ballistic.
There is a crowd that will love the ambiguity at the end of this, but the ambiguity wasn't earned. In the real world, there would be no room for ambiguity in a case like this, the clothes and footprints would be enough to establish guilt or innocence.
Scoring it a 6 because of the acting and the early potential of the film. But it's a dud in my opinion.
Why were the clothes that Lise was wearing at the party and the day after the party not central to the investigation? Why would any murderer not leave any bloody footprints after such a vicious crime?
Surely the police have zero case at all against Lise if they discover that her clothes are entirely blood free, or the police have no doubt at all if her clothes are spattered with blood - and yet blood-spattered clothes or the lack of them were not mentioned once in the movie.
Towards the end of the film, with time running out, I had a terrible feeling there was not going to be an ending. Then the credits rolled, and the wife went ballistic.
There is a crowd that will love the ambiguity at the end of this, but the ambiguity wasn't earned. In the real world, there would be no room for ambiguity in a case like this, the clothes and footprints would be enough to establish guilt or innocence.
Scoring it a 6 because of the acting and the early potential of the film. But it's a dud in my opinion.
Excellent court case
sjanders-8643027 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Melissa Guers plays the accused Lise Bataille. Roschdy Zem is her distraught dad. Anais Demoustier plays the DA. Her sister directed.
Guers' best friend is stabbed 7 times right after she leaves her house. The trial is two years after the murder.
A boyfriend of the murdered girl comes across on the stand as a possible suspect. He lies that Guers had frightened the murdered girl. The implicit text shows us that he wanted to date the murdered girl, and that he had probably come back to the house and witnessed Guers and she embracing. Then in a jealous rage he killed her after Guers left. That subtext is there but not explicitly addressed.
The main point is the stoic persona of Guers makes her appear guilty. The DA's final statement to the jury is mainly focused on Guers' silences and lack of emotion.
The excellent performance from Guers will make her a big star.
Guers' best friend is stabbed 7 times right after she leaves her house. The trial is two years after the murder.
A boyfriend of the murdered girl comes across on the stand as a possible suspect. He lies that Guers had frightened the murdered girl. The implicit text shows us that he wanted to date the murdered girl, and that he had probably come back to the house and witnessed Guers and she embracing. Then in a jealous rage he killed her after Guers left. That subtext is there but not explicitly addressed.
The main point is the stoic persona of Guers makes her appear guilty. The DA's final statement to the jury is mainly focused on Guers' silences and lack of emotion.
The excellent performance from Guers will make her a big star.
The Girl with a Bracelet
CinemaSerf11 April 2024
I usually find with French courtroom dramas a refreshing lack of formality and deference. That's not to say that it's a free for all, but the ebbing and flowing of testimony and barrister intervention seems to me far more likely to facilitate a more accurate verdict. "Lise" (Melissa Guers) has been arraigned on a charge of the murder of her best friend "Flora". She was found stabbed multiple times in a bed they had shared the night before. The prosecutor (Anaïs Demoustier) is alleging that a leaked, intimate, video of "Lise" and their friend "Nathan" (Mikaël Halimi) was the source of the violence but she denies that. As the investigation proceeds, we begin to realise that nothing is simple here. "Lise" turns out to be a sexually active girl and the trial sort of shifts from an evaluation of her guilt and innocence into one of youth, profligacy, morals and behaviour. At that, it's quite provocative and the young Guers delivers well. She portrays the character convincingly, lacking in confidence and emanating quite a genuine sense of bemused bewilderment coupled with a remarkable degree of self-control. It's quite clear that as her parents learn a little more of their daughter's peccadilloes that they, too, have demons to face - and at times you do wonder if her dad "Bruno" (Roschdy Zem) is entirely sure of her innocence. Annie Mercier is also quite effective as the girl's legal counsel presenting a far less confrontational style then the prosecutor and for the bulk of this ninety minutes, we have quite a decent drama that does ask you not just whom you believe, but also - what were you like at that age. The trial itself seems a little weak, but as a vehicle for quite a characterful performance from Guers it's worth watching.
No Ending!! No Climax!
alison-1756 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
What a missed opportunity!! Such potential but it just ended without any climax. I was expecting to see a memory of what actually happened to Flora. A plot twist. Something showing who murdered her. Maybe it was Lise all along. Maybe someone else? The friend who testified? It just stopped. So disappointing. So many possibilities unexplored. A real shame!
The acting was solid for the most part. Characters were introduced but never fully expanded or explained. Diego for example. What was his significance in all this? The guy who was on the sex video, he could have been relevant to the murder.
Just lots of potential wasted.
The acting was solid for the most part. Characters were introduced but never fully expanded or explained. Diego for example. What was his significance in all this? The guy who was on the sex video, he could have been relevant to the murder.
Just lots of potential wasted.
A scary courtroom drama with no goof!
richardl-7358615 December 2022
Firstly contrary to another review, there was *no* goof in presenting photos of the murder scene and the cuts sustained by the victim. Two separate photos were shown to the court: the first was of the murder scene with blood on the sheets and spatter on the wall: the second was what looked like a post-mortem photo showing the position of the cuts. The latter was never presented as having been taken at the scene.
On my impressions of the film, the whole court scene felt very realistic and yet shocking at the same time. How was it that the prosecution was able to inject so much surmise, inuendo and downright personal opinions without being challenged and such statements being struck from the record? Of course this is fiction, but I sincerely hope it does not represent how court cases are conducted in France!
If I speak strongly it's because the acting throughout was excellent, very naturalistic, from Lise through to her family and her lawyer. Not having seen the original film but read that in it the prosecution relies heavily on besmirching the character of the accused, that same tone was very much reflected in this film. I was gripped throughout.
On my impressions of the film, the whole court scene felt very realistic and yet shocking at the same time. How was it that the prosecution was able to inject so much surmise, inuendo and downright personal opinions without being challenged and such statements being struck from the record? Of course this is fiction, but I sincerely hope it does not represent how court cases are conducted in France!
If I speak strongly it's because the acting throughout was excellent, very naturalistic, from Lise through to her family and her lawyer. Not having seen the original film but read that in it the prosecution relies heavily on besmirching the character of the accused, that same tone was very much reflected in this film. I was gripped throughout.
Content free
gerrysw31 October 2020
Completely free of any dramatic tension, a girl is tried for the murder of her best friend. The difference between an adversarial and inquisitorial justice system makes interpretation of the process a bit challenging but the prosecutor seemed to be saying since you can't prove it wasn't you it must have been you. All the old tropes of "she wasn't a virgin so she must have been a murderer" We've all seen Spiral so we know about investigating magistrates so it's still difficult to understand how this one made it to trial
Interesting little court drama...
boredtigerwillkill19 September 2022
You need to temper your expectations. This is not a whodunit or a thriller or a suspense. This is not even a courtroom drama for that matter (although it pretends to be one)!!
This is purely a girl and her family's experience when she's accused of murder.
Shows you, that as parents, we know very little about our kids' lives. Which was personally very connecting to me.
I liked the courtroom scenes but I didn't like that prosecutor one bit because she came across as being unprepared for the trial. She just made lots of sensational claims without any basis for them.
Other than that, i loved the mood of the movie throughout.
This is purely a girl and her family's experience when she's accused of murder.
Shows you, that as parents, we know very little about our kids' lives. Which was personally very connecting to me.
I liked the courtroom scenes but I didn't like that prosecutor one bit because she came across as being unprepared for the trial. She just made lots of sensational claims without any basis for them.
Other than that, i loved the mood of the movie throughout.
A total let-down
clewis266621 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Do not read this review if you dislike spoilers!
This ran for most of its time as quite a decent courtroom drama -- the trial for murder of her best friend by a ridiculously composed young girl (eighteen at the time of trial).
The proceedings --whether or not a fair representation of a murder trial under French law -- were weird, with judge, prosecutor, defence attorney, witnesses and defendant popping up all over the place to put their oar in from time to time. How any of them had any idea of where they were going, or getting to, I do not know!
Anyway, what made it a total non-event for me is that the resolution of the drama, if you can call it that, was totally limp, and equally unsatisfactory. Call it a documentary, if you like. True, but I should have been warned that was what it was, and not a whodunnit.
This ran for most of its time as quite a decent courtroom drama -- the trial for murder of her best friend by a ridiculously composed young girl (eighteen at the time of trial).
The proceedings --whether or not a fair representation of a murder trial under French law -- were weird, with judge, prosecutor, defence attorney, witnesses and defendant popping up all over the place to put their oar in from time to time. How any of them had any idea of where they were going, or getting to, I do not know!
Anyway, what made it a total non-event for me is that the resolution of the drama, if you can call it that, was totally limp, and equally unsatisfactory. Call it a documentary, if you like. True, but I should have been warned that was what it was, and not a whodunnit.
Defence lawyer hardly defended
rrvidwans28 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
There were so many holes, conjectures, assumptions in prosecuter's arguments, exhibits that the result was obvious. But what you and I could tear apart, the defence lawyers never opened, exposed those holes. Finally the jury and court saw them and
gave forgone verdict. Simple who done it or who not done it storey told simply. No drama.
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