Rating: 
Summary: Not for everyone (unfortunately)!
Review: ...There are obvious places along the story that are rough (script, acting, and cinematography) but again, it is Breillat's first film and it is 100% French. I didn't find the sexuality quite as shocking ...I found it very honestly courageous. There is actually very little nudity in the film and, other than one very openly sexual scene and a couple of exposed penis scenes, there's no more nudity than would be normal for any European film of that period. If you have seen either of Breillat's most recent films (Romance & Fat Girl) and were intrigued, then this film is worth viewing (or collecting) as the first step in the development of Breillat as a film maker...
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining and sexy
Review: Acting on a whim, I rented this DVD from my local video store. It's a delightfully decadent little French trifle, if you can get over the salaciousness of the story. Although I would never rank Breillat high on my list of French directors, she sure can spin a good yarn. The plot is about a fourteen-year-old girl who discovers her sexuality is more of a burden than a blessing. This is a better film all around than "Romance", and I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: A fine student film
Review: All of us have gone though this phase on our journey from childhood to adulthood and few will forget it. It is mysterious, puzzling, dazzling, intimidating, wondrous, discomforting, frightening, joyous, rebellious, moody and frustrating. Its feelings -- often denied -- devolve deeply on the sensual awakening of our intimate body parts, but most film producer's skirt this issue; they don't want to show it. Instead, they depict a series of mindless scenes that merely imply a connection between the emotional and physical being.
What's refreshing in this film, is that the director, Catherine Breillat, had the courage to show the anatomical elements involved in this living paradigm. The story jumps around a bit with a few inane scenes such as the details of slaughtering a chicken for dinner (a common occurrence on farms). However, the main character, Alice (played by Charlotte Alexandra) hues to the story line and is ultimately relieved to find that she too has made the awesome leap into an attractive adult, one who is capable of bringing about a successful sexual experience.
My only criticism of the film is the very poor quality of the DVD imaging.
Rating:
Summary: A transition into sexuality
Review: All of us have gone though this phase on our journey from childhood to adulthood and few will forget it. It is mysterious, puzzling, dazzling, intimidating, wondrous, discomforting, frightening, joyous, rebellious, moody and frustrating. Its feelings -- often denied -- devolve deeply on the sensual awakening of our intimate body parts, but most film producer's skirt this issue; they don't want to show it. Instead, they depict a series of mindless scenes that merely imply a connection between the emotional and physical being.
What's refreshing in this film, is that the director, Catherine Breillat, had the courage to show the anatomical elements involved in this living paradigm. The story jumps around a bit with a few inane scenes such as the details of slaughtering a chicken for dinner (a common occurrence on farms). However, the main character, Alice (played by Charlotte Alexandra) hues to the story line and is ultimately relieved to find that she too has made the awesome leap into an attractive adult, one who is capable of bringing about a successful sexual experience.
My only criticism of the film is the very poor quality of the DVD imaging.
Rating: 
Summary: POSSIBLY THE WORST MOVIE EVER
Review: First of all this movie's origional content is from the 70's and has terrible resouloution. The movie it self is in french with subtitles. This movie is very disgusting and the sex is so gross it makes you want to turn it off and never watch it again! I think I am permanently scared from theses images I cant get out of my head. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS MOVIE!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Discovering Hiram Keller
Review: I give this film 4 stars for its bold character. It confronts issues of sexuality head on. The pubic phase of a young girl's life is in lugubrious presentation here. Yet, even with all the nudity and sexuality, what I remember most about this film occured in the first 15 minutes when the real young girl spoke these three words: "I hate people" It chilled me to the bone.My initial interest in the film came from my curiosity about the film career of Hiram Keller, who had recently died in Atlanta, GA, his place of birth as well. I am puzzled at his reticent presence in the film. "The Face", as he was called did not enjoy much of a career but he certainly got a great start. It's a film to watch for you will certainly leave with an impression for better or for worse.
Rating:
Summary: Discovering Hiram Keller
Review: I give this film 4 stars for its bold character. It confronts issues of sexuality head on. The pubic phase of a young girl's life is in lugubrious presentation here. Yet, even with all the nudity and sexuality, what I remember most about this film occured in the first 15 minutes when the real young girl spoke these three words: "I hate people" It chilled me to the bone. My initial interest in the film came from my curiosity about the film career of Hiram Keller, who had recently died in Atlanta, GA, his place of birth as well. I am puzzled at his reticent presence in the film. "The Face", as he was called did not enjoy much of a career but he certainly got a great start. It's a film to watch for you will certainly leave with an impression for better or for worse.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty exploitative.
Review: In 36 Fillette, Catherine Breillat sensitively examined a young woman's sexual awakening and withheld her signature graphic details, resulting in one of her best films. In A Real Young Girl, all the nudity (quite extreme), dirty cinematography and voice-over can't help alleviate a sense that we're watching something voyeuristic and exploitative of its central character. I admire lead actress Charlotte Alexandra for her boldness, but really, is all the explicit baring of body parts necessary? The "story" is a typically contrived one for the Breillat oeuvre, filled with dream sequences and introspection, and as in Romance, Breillat's excessive use of voice-over serves to hinder rather than help our understanding of the main character. It's never all that illuminating to hear a character talk about how s/he feels rather than see it, and the shallowness of the writing only makes the lead character all the less interesting. In fact, I suspect the script may have lifted passages from Breillat's novel verbatim, because most of this movie feels like a bad book adaptation, unable to tap into what makes movies different from novels. This was the first Breillat film I've seen that fails to move me in any way. Intellectual, voyeuristic and very writerly, A Real Young Girl is strictly for the Breillat completist. Good thing, then, that her filmmaking has progressed.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty exploitative.
Review: In 36 Fillette, Catherine Breillat sensitively examined a young woman's sexual awakening and withheld her signature graphic details, resulting in one of her best films. In A Real Young Girl, all the nudity (quite extreme), dirty cinematography and voice-over can't help alleviate a sense that we're watching something voyeuristic and exploitative of its central character. I admire lead actress Charlotte Alexandra for her boldness, but really, is all the explicit baring of body parts necessary? The "story" is a typically contrived one for the Breillat oeuvre, filled with dream sequences and introspection, and as in Romance, Breillat's excessive use of voice-over serves to hinder rather than help our understanding of the main character. It's never all that illuminating to hear a character talk about how s/he feels rather than see it, and the shallowness of the writing only makes the lead character all the less interesting. In fact, I suspect the script may have lifted passages from Breillat's novel verbatim, because most of this movie feels like a bad book adaptation, unable to tap into what makes movies different from novels. This was the first Breillat film I've seen that fails to move me in any way. Intellectual, voyeuristic and very writerly, A Real Young Girl is strictly for the Breillat completist. Good thing, then, that her filmmaking has progressed.
Rating:
Summary: A fine student film
Review: Perhaps Catherine Breillat was well into her career when she made this film and the title is not appropriate, I don't know, as I don't follow careers, I watch movies. This movie strikes me as pretty much a student film with sparkles of brilliance. Catherine Breillat deliberately juxtapositions scenes that should be erotic to disgusting, like breaking apart a worm and placing its pieces onto the star's pubic hair while she is tied. This technique is played out so much that "A Real Young Girl" could be used for a curing film like those poor Alex in "A Clockwork Orange" was forced to watch to cure him from his urges. A fine film for anyone following Breillat's career. Otherwise, jump right to Breillat's "Romance", which is an exceptional piece of filmwork and the single most organic representation of life I have ever experienced captured to celluloid.
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