Study in China

At 15 Sophie Marceau became one of France's sweetest starlets. At 16 she asserted her independence and played a prostitute bent on revenge. Now, at 19, she has shocked her public even more with her most recent role in police , which opens here in early june. Profile by Anne-Elisabeth Moutet. Watching Sophie Marceau play a North African hustler in Maurice Pialat’s pessimistic film Police, it’s hard to believe she was once billed as ‘the new Gallic Shirley Temple’. Her character, Noria, is sullen, vulgar, sensual and ultimately deceitful. In a country where anti-Arab racism runs rampant, Marceau risks losing some of the fans who adored her as the cute, sugary and white child star. But then, at 19, with a five-year, six-film career behind her, Marceau is an exception in the usually unadventurous French film industry. At 13, she signed up with a children’s model agency without telling her parents and was called up to audition for a film. Director Claude Pinoteau...

EDUCATING SOPHIE At 15 Sophie Marceau became one of France's sweetest starlets. At 16 she asserted her independence and played a prostitute bent on revenge. Now, at 19, she has shocked her public even more with her most recent role in police , which opens here in early june. Profile by Anne-Elisabeth Moutet. Watching Sophie Marceau play a North African hustler in Maurice Pialat’s pessimistic film Police, it’s hard to believe she was once billed as ‘the new Gallic Shirley Temple’. Her character, Noria, is sullen, vulgar, sensual and ultimately deceitful. In a country where anti-Arab racism runs rampant, Marceau risks losing some of the fans who adored her as the cute, sugary and white child star. But then, at 19, with a five-year, six-film career behind her, Marceau is an exception in the usually unadventurous French film industry. At 13, she signed up with a children’s model agency without telling her parents and was called up to audition for a film. ...

Sophie Marceau is celebrating her 45 th birthday this week. Joyeux anniversaire! Source In case you don’t know her, she is a French actress, director, screenwriter, and author. Her original name is Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu, but in the beginning of her career she was suggested to change her name to a better sounding Marceau. Her first movie – in which she played main character Vic Beretton – La Boum (English title: The Party ) in 1980, was a big hit all over Europe, just like La Boum 2 in 1982. She even received a César Award for Most Promising Actress. I watched the first movie again yesterday and today I know what I didn’t when I was watching it in the 90s: Vic is going to the best high school in France (Lycée Henry IV). She and her junior high friends are exploring love, kissing, cigarettes and drinking. There is a story line for the parents as well, so don’t worry: it’s not boring even if you are not a teenager anymore. Oh and the music ! Class...