Petit Tailleur + Belle Epine Q&A

I went to a Q&A at the Institut Francais in South Ken, right before moving back to Paris.
Two films were shown: Belle Epine, and Le petit tailleur. They were discussed with their directors (Louis Garrel who was behind the camera for once, and Rebecca Zlotowski) and the star of both films, Lea Seydoux. Lea Seydoux was unsurprisingly stunning and luminous. We can see her in the new Mission Impossible. 

PETIT TAILLEUR

Louis Garrel is just as sexy in the flesh as he is on film. Especially when he's funny - well I thought he was hilarious but his dark humor didn't quite work on the predominently british audience. I've always loved him as an actor, but there he showed a lot of promise as a director in his black and white short (of 44 minutes) Petit tailleur. Heavily influenced by the Nouvelle Vague among others,he still has his own voice in this cute love story between beautiful Arthur and Marie-Julie (Arthur Igual and Lea Seydoux). 

BELLE EPINE

The director, Rebecca Zlotowski was very likeable. She was so sweet and probably a bit pissed as she said in her broken english that her actresses in the film are naked a lot because 'they just have the most beautiful pussies'. Interesting. Well we do see Lea naked a lot in it. 
It's a coming of age story that knows not to fall into nostalgia or sentimentality - even if it treats of a young girl (Seydoux)' concealed grief for her mother's death, and fascination for reckless,illegal motorcycle racing. Great vibe, great music, great acting but I'm not 100% convinced how I feel about it, therefore I feel a little uncomfortable writing a review...