Junior

MOVIE #1,087 • 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 • 08.01.23 Part of My (impromptu) JULIA DUCOURNAU Director Focus In some ways, this 22-minute debut effort is the best thing Ducournau has made. The big metaphors — which will be, painfully and obtusely at times, prevalent in each subsequent work — are direct and easily digestible here. The act of puberty depicted as the literal shedding of one’s skin. Like a snake, see? I said LIKE A DAMN SNAKE. I don’t think you ever need to so neatly spell out what you’re movie is really about, but — as we’ll see — the antithesis of that can leave you feeling cold, especially when there’s not a whole lot else there. Of note: Garance Marillier (who is great) plays a character named Justine, and she will go on to play a character named Justine in each of Ducournau’s films. And that’s just lovely and hilarious and more actors/directors should do it.

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CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ MOVIE #1,086 - (YOU ARE HERE) - MOVIE #1,088 ⫸

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Justine, who goes by Junior, is a 13-year-old tomboy with pimples and a unique sense of humor. After unexpectedly contracting a stomach virus, her body becomes home to a bizarre metamorphosis. It was released on May 16, 2011.