Therese and Isabelle (1968)

************* spoiler alert *************** I am so glad I got to see this wonderful movie.Is there anything more romantics than this line from the movie said in monologue, "We hugged to our hearts all the Thereses and Isabelles who would make love to one another later with other names" I wish the producers would re-release this movie in colour to capture the beauty of the school grounds and the actresses.One of my favourite scenes in the movie is when the camera is panning away from the couple inside the chapel with the monologue lending images through words. I have written down, word for word, the scene inside chapel. Isabelle is waiting for Therese inside the school chapel Isabelle: I missed the train Therese: I missed you Isabelle: I missed you too! Therese: Come closer, you're too far away. Let me do it. Isabelle: If we get caught? Someone may come in. Therese:I don't careTherese pulls her down to the floor and then we don't see the couple, just hear Therese in monologue:I tore her uniform and crushed her beneath, Blood rose in to my cheeks, in to my throat, Her hand was making it difficult for me to breathe, I was sobbing without a sound, without tears, Isabelle was sobbing too. She pressed her hand against my uniform, I dug her neck into my teeth,.............. NO typo- that's what she said :) Her lips tried to find mine, in my hair, in my neck, in the folds of my uniform, I pushed her against the floor, I nailed her hands against it with the palms of mine, I hugged her with all the strength with my repentance, I breathed her in. I held her tight against my belly, and made loin cloth of myself. She was melting my ankles and knees into delicious decay, I burst forth warmth like a fruit, I was filling with the same liquid sweetness, while pins were softly tearing against me, oh so softly. I was following everything in sight, could see with my inner eyes the light in her flesh. In my head I had a Therese, with open legs straining up to the sky, who was receiving all that I was giving. We hugged to our hearts all the Thereses and Isabelles, who would make love to one another later with other names. We rode entwined down a slope of shadows, we held our breath so that life and death should come to a halt. I stormed her mouth as one storms a blithe city, I was hoping to plunder and destroy both her entrails and my own. Isabelle cried in panic. I persevered. Isabelle called for help. Isabelle: I can feeling it climbing my legs, its coming. Therese: Tell me Isabelle: I love you Therese: again Isabelle: I love you Therese: again Isabelle: I love youSo the girls are making out inside, meanwhile outside the chapel, a school teacher/counselor is showing parents around the school and says, " this used to be the chapel, our girls make use of it for dramatics" Hilarious! I also noticed catholic guilt in this scene, where Therese talks about crucifixion with "I nailed her hands against it with palms of mine" after all they were making out on the floor of the chapel!! I think the character of Therese is very bold for exploring masturbation, especially after her first sex encounter, which may have helped her in her self awareness. She seemed more accepting of herself, her situation with her mother and step father and Isabelle. Its very arousing to see it someone finger herself under the sheets, the beauty of the scene is it was portrayed without showing any skin unlike La Vie d'Adèle (blue is the warmest colour). This movie was written and made way ahead of its time. I wish more people would watch it!

This is a very good movie. Good example of a European film of it's time. Black and White? Yes, and for the dolts that can't seem to get through a movie without color, go back to cartoons.Yes, the actresses do seem a bit long in the tooth, but the story is well paced, the cinematography very good, and all in all a pleasant movie.If you're a lesbian, you'll appreciate this movie. If you're a straight man looking for a hot movie... go elsewhere and look for some porn; this ain't it.If you're a movie lover and looking for a good representation of cinema with a lesbian theme, this is a good example. It's also a good example of European cinema in the late 60's even though the moviemaker is an American.

It was a serious attempt to show the developing sexuality of two schoolgirls and did not try to exploit its fact… Even by today's standards, the film is interesting and provocative… Therese and Isabelle are both attending the same girl's school… Therese is energetic, intelligent, and becomes a mentor for the innocent, naive, sweet Isabelle… She guides her through a number of exotic experiences, including a trip through an exclusive brothel, into her first lesbian liaison, and indirectly into her first heterosexual experience… The film does not exploit any sex, nor is there an abundance of nudity... The imagery is effective, but sometimes the camera lingers too long, and the story goes slowly… The director, Radley Metzger, went on to make a number of explicit erotic films under the name of Henry Paris… He always has extremely detailed stories, good acting, and very high standards of cinematography...Artistically, however, this is perhaps his most complete… His later attempts supplied for entertainment, whereas "Therese and Isabelle" was a study into the nature of youthful eroticism...

the author of the book, by the same title, should not have let her name be used for this movie. if you have read the book, this movie takes such a liberal interpretation of the actual events in the book and its spirit that the movie and book seem to have quite little in common except the title and some superficial details. the movie adds nothing, in terms of artistic merit, to the book's own literary achievement.for those who have not read the book: you will also be disappointed. not only does the plot move at an incredibly slow pace, it doesn't offer anything more while it is moving slowly (like character development, for example). some viewers might be entertained by some of the graphic lesbian love scenes later on in the movie, but you might as well watch a showtime special for the stuff they show in therese and isabelle--its fairly tame and not imaginative at all.