Peppermint Soda
Peppermint Soda (French: Diabolo menthe) is a 1977 French film directed by Diane Kurys. This autobiographical film was her directorial debut, and it won the Prix Louis-Delluc. The high school where the film takes place is the Lycée Jules-Ferry in Paris, France.
| Peppermint Soda | |
|---|---|
 Diabolo menthe. Poster design by Floc'h. | |
| Directed by | Diane Kurys |
| Produced by | Serge Laski |
| Written by | Diane Kurys Alain Le Henry |
| Starring | Eléonore Klarwein Odile Michel |
| Music by | Yves Simon |
| Cinematography | Philippe Rousselot |
| Edited by | Joële Van Effenterre |
| Distributed by | Alexandre Films/Films de l'Alma/Franco London Films/Gaumont |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | $22,602,285[1] |
Plot
In the year 1963, 13-year-old Anne and 15-year-old Frederique are two Jewish sisters whose parents are separated. They live in Paris with their mother and spend their summer holidays at the beach with their father, around whom they both feel awkward. They attend a strict school.
Anne, who is on the threshold of adolescence, is anti-social (or at least asocial) and not much of an achiever. She tries to find out what is going on around her by eavesdropping on her mother and her sister. Her school grades are poor and indeed substandard, and she has to deal with unfair teachers; on one occasion, she is caught plagiarising an essay her sister had written a year before. She also has her first period and is learning to talk to boys, and to sort things out with her mother after getting in trouble.
By contrast, Frederique is much more outgoing, and she is starting to become politically involved, especially in the Algerian question and banning the bomb. She has a crush on someone much older than herself, and is beginning to feel the first serious pangs of love. She also experiences her first friend who runs away, and her first loss of friendship over values.
Cast
- Eléonore Klarwein as Anne
- Odile Michel as Frederique
- Anouk Ferjac as Mme. Weber
- Michel Puterflam as M. Weber
- Yves Rénier as Philippe
- Robert Rimbaud as M. Cazeau
- Marie Véronique Maurin as Muriel
- Corinne Dacla as Pascale
- Coralie Clément as Perrine
- Valérie Stano as Martine
- Jacqueline Doyen as Mlle. Petitbon
- Anne Guillard as Sylvie
- Véronique Vernon as Evelyne
- Tsilla Chelton as The Matron
- Françoise Bertin as The French Teacher
- Dominique Lavanant as The Maths Teacher
- Marthe Villalonga as The English Teacher
- Dora Doll as The Gymnastics Teacher