Anicée Alvina is Hélène, a lonely, motherless bourgeois teen akin to that of the heroine from the lesbian cult classic "Mädchen in Uniform".
Nicole Courcel is magnetic as Tamara. Tamara's complexities and volatility shine through her nuanced performance - through the subtle tilt of the head, an insinuation of a smile, or through the listless movement of the eye.
Hélène's involvement with Tamara begins shortly after her father discloses Tamara's existence; and it starts - not much as rebellion - but as petty defiance to her emotionally aloof father, it then quickly evolves into ardour as soon as she meets her father's lover: the infamous and irresistible divorcée, Tamara Soulerr. Hélène is quickly captivated by Tamara and Tamara's colourful bohemian lifestyle, so contrary to her own lonesome and rigid one. Unlike Manuela von Meinhardis, Hélène's involvement with Tamara is never Freudian in nature; Hélène doesn't look at Tamara as a maternal figure.
As Hélène gets further pulled into Tamara's world, she would learn that Tamara is alarmingly mercurial, violent and, controlling. But despite being on the receiving end, Hélène is hopelessly beguiled; and they continue their liaison behind her father and Tamara's lover's back.
The film is dated, and through the eyes of the modern viewer: very problematic. But it is a film I invite sapphic film aficionados to see; wallow in its aesthetics, its premise, its eroticism and the solid performances from the leads (with emphasis on Nicole Courcel). And the fact that it doesn't suffer from the "Dead Lesbian Syndrome" trope.
