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      Cold Water

      Released Jul 6, 1994 1h 33m Drama List
      100% 16 Reviews Tomatometer 78% 100+ Ratings Audience Score In 1970s France, teens Christine (Virginie Ledoyen) and Gilles (Cyprien Fouquet) are restless, prematurely disillusioned and utterly appalled by their parents' listless attitudes toward life. They enliven things through sex and petty theft, but the latter lands Christine in a home for troubled teens. She breaks out, skipping town with Gilles, and the couple end up at a wild party in the woods. They then move to a nearby commune, but receive a culture shock there that strains their relationship. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

      View All (5) audience reviews
      dave s For those who need their movies to provide the answers to all of the questions asked and have everything tied up at the end with a neatly tied bow should probably avoid Olivier Assayas' Cold Water. It tells the story of Christine (Virginie Ledoyen) and Gilles (Cyprien Fouquet), a pair of young lovers trying to come to terms with their teenage years as they grow up in 1970s France. With great performances from the two leads (especially Ledoyen, who demands the viewer's attention whenever she's on the screen), a catchy soundtrack over the last half of the film, and some probing and creative handheld camerawork, Cold Water is a snapshot of what it feels like and what it means to be a teenager, refusing to give answers to all of the questions we ask…just like life. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review brent m An early film from a much-praised director that has not been available in the U.S. until now -- and, after seeing it, I can see why. This meandering, pretentious exploration into the lives of lost youth in 1972 France tries the viewer's patience and ultimately ends up pointless and unsatisfying, much like many of the director's later and more celebrated works. Despite an appealing soundtrack and some inventive camera work, this largely directionless offering is otherwise little more than a strung-together series of incidents intercut with a number of music video-style montages. Yet another in a series of inconsequential, highly overrated films from a vastly overhyped director. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member The curse of teen age... Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Assayas französische Filme sind persönlicher, politischer, liebevoller und enigmatischer. Das Schöne an Assayas als Filmemacher ist, dass eigentlich kein Film in seinem Oeuvre hervorsticht, bzw. mehr Beachtung bekommen hat als die anderen. Das ist wohl auch der Grund warum Assayas so heillos unterschätzt wird. L'Eau Froide ist ein stark autobiographischer Bericht über zwei Jugendliche, Gilles und Christine, im Frankreich der 70er Jahre. Der Film ist eine Studie über Jugendkultur, Rebellion und anti-autoritäre Strömungen, und ihn zu beschreiben ist ein Ding der Unmöglichkeit. Es passiert nämlich so gut wie nichts. Authentisch und minimalistisch präsentiert uns Assayas die Lebenswelt eines 16-jährigen Teenagers der nicht genau weiß wohin mit seiner Energie. Er hat genug Geld und Eltern, die sich um ihn kümmern (wollen), doch er will nur ausbrechen - wer Ahnung von Assayas' Lebensgeschichte hat, weiß welcher Part davon aus seinem Leben gegriffen ist. Die weibliche Protagonistin Christine hingegen ist verwahrlost, und durch einen Sorgerechtsstreit von ihren Eltern entfremdet. Sie wird in eine Nervenanstalt eingeliefert, flieht jedoch prompt und schließt sich lieber einer orgiastischen Feier an (Punkmusik und Feuer stehen als Platzhalter für revolutionäre Gelüste der Jugendlichen). Assayas hat ein Herz für anti-autoritäre Strömungen, und die Gestalten, die diese bevölkern. Es ergibt sich für mich in seinen Filmen immer eine eigene Spannung aus diesem linken Gedankengut, dem ich mich durchaus anfreunden kann, und dem anarchistischen Nihilismus, den seine Charaktere an den Tag legen. Das Wort Authentizität ist ebenfalls schon gefallen, und hier will ich mich noch einmal einklinken. Einerseits erreicht Assayas diese Authentizität durch seinen Filmstil: die Verwendung von Laiendarstellern und viel handheld-Kamera (und schlechte Beleuchtung), andererseits durch lebensnahe Dialoge. Assayas kommt aus dem Drehbuchschreibermetier und das merkt man seinen Filmen stark an. Die Atmosphäre die er schafft, ist eine Atmosphäre der Nähe, wenn nicht sogar der Enge an manchen Stellen. Die Folge: wir leiden, wir lieben, wir fühlen mit den Charakteren - was gibt es besseres? PS: Als companion piece" zu L'Eau Froide ist Après Mai des Regisseurs sehr zu empfehlen. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member My all time favorite movie, bar none. Did you ever go to a keggar in the woods with a bonfire and listen to Janis Joplin and Jethro Tull and start to fill all alone in the drunken crowd as sparks fly and chaos and dancing wander through the night? Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

      View All (16) Critics Reviews
      Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune Not everything works in "Cold Water," but there's a searching quality to its best passages. Rated: 3.5/4 Jun 14, 2018 Full Review Justin Chang Los Angeles Times What strikes you by the end of "Cold Water" is just how fast it moves, how swiftly our time spent with these characters simply slips away. May 17, 2018 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand Assayas creates a ragged beauty.... He appreciates the texture of time passing in a way rarely seen in American films and the expressive moments and the edgy mix of intimacy and disconnection creates an undertow of tension... Apr 6, 2024 Full Review Ian Thomas Malone ianthomasmalone.com Assayas delivers a timeless slice of youth, powered by two emotionally raw performances from his young actors, as well as a killer score. Cold Water doesn’t necessarily reinvent the genre, but it’s a compelling narrative to spend time with. Jun 9, 2023 Full Review Steven Prokopy Third Coast Review Assayas has a real gift for capturing the essence of these two characters and their equally aimless friends as they bounce from one act of juvenile aggression to another. Ledoyen keeps the film afloat with her devastatingly primal performance. Jun 15, 2020 Full Review Nathanael Hood The Retro Set ...autobiographical influences aside, the film feels a decidedly minor work Rated: 7/10 Mar 11, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis In 1970s France, teens Christine (Virginie Ledoyen) and Gilles (Cyprien Fouquet) are restless, prematurely disillusioned and utterly appalled by their parents' listless attitudes toward life. They enliven things through sex and petty theft, but the latter lands Christine in a home for troubled teens. She breaks out, skipping town with Gilles, and the couple end up at a wild party in the woods. They then move to a nearby commune, but receive a culture shock there that strains their relationship.
      Director
      Olivier Assayas
      Screenwriter
      Olivier Assayas
      Production Co
      IMA Productions
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      French (France)
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Jul 6, 1994, Wide
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Apr 28, 2019
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $30.1K
      Runtime
      1h 33m
      Sound Mix
      Surround, Dolby SR
      Aspect Ratio
      Flat (1.85:1)
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