A very personal first film. How to have sex is the chronicle of a holiday spent by a group of British teenage girls partying at a seaside resort in Crete.
It's a Greek city, but everyone speaks English. The tourists are almost all teenagers or very young adults who have come to drink, party, and drink some more. The cocktails are neon-colored, and vodka is mixed with anything sweet. Americans call it "Spring Break." Tara and her friends came to have fun while waiting for their exam results, to let loose and do whatever they want while they still can, and maybe have their first sexual experiences. Sex is the subject of every joke and every drinking game. When going out, they dress sexy, making sure no vomit stains ruin their outfits. But mostly, they're having fun like children. After all, they're only sixteen. And then there's the sex they fantasize about as a funny fantasy, despite the pressure of the first time, and the sex that actually happens, pathetic and awkward. They force themselves to do it—wasn't that why they came? But they wish they were anywhere else. And then there's the rape, just like that, out of the blue, one morning upon waking up.
By recounting the party-filled holidays of British girls only slightly younger than herself, Molly Manning Walker delivers a beautiful and insightful portrait of adolescence and female friendship, which won the Un Certain Regard prize at the last Cannes Film Festival. It's a far cry from the idealized adolescence of American teen movies, but also far removed from the sordidness of... Spring Breakers by Harmony Korine. Yes, the party is always disappointing, but you leave with a hangover and a smile; it wasn't so bad after all, it'll make for memories. As for the thorny issue of rape, Molly Manning Walker handles it intelligently: without ever denying its violence, she doesn't make her heroine a sad victim, condemned to eternal trauma. Her heroine has the resilience of youth. Life is more complex, and it goes on.
How to have sex by Molly Manning Walker, in theaters from November 15th
England – London