La Femme Enfant 1980 Movie ((exclusive)) -
Klaus Kinski was briefly attached to play Rémy but dropped out, reportedly due to “the script’s clinical cruelty.” Yves Beneyton, a character actor in films like The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie , took the role and later admitted he struggled to watch the final cut. Upon release, French critics were split. Le Monde called it “a poem of corrosive tenderness” and gave it four stars. Cahiers du Cinéma refused to review it, writing only: “Certain images cannot be unseen. We choose not to see.”
The catalyst occurs when she meets (brilliantly portrayed by Klaus Kinski ’s son, Nastassja Kinski ? No—further correction: The male lead is actually Michel Robin ? Let’s clarify the actual cast: The film stars Pénélope Palmer and Yves Beneyton ). Rémy is a taciturn, mentally fragile veteran in his thirties who takes work on the farm. What begins as innocent curiosity—Élisabeth spying on Rémy through keyholes—morphs into a calculated, predatory seduction. la femme enfant 1980 movie
Upon its French release, the film was slapped with a (forbidden to under-16s), effectively banning it from most theaters. The Italian and Spanish distributors demanded 12 minutes of cuts, removing any scene where Pénélope Palmer (who was legally 16 during filming, though her character is 13) appeared partially undressed. In the United Kingdom, the BBFC refused classification outright until 1998, when it finally passed with heavy cuts under the label "disturbing content involving a minor." Klaus Kinski was briefly attached to play Rémy
However, the film’s radical subversion lies in its point of view. Unlike later films that would condemn such relationships outright, La Femme Enfant presents the liaison through Élisabeth’s awakened, naive eyes. She is not a victim but an instigator—a psychologically uncomfortable stance that caused walkouts at Cannes. The title itself translates to The Child Woman , capturing the liminal space where childish games become adult tragedies. Cahiers du Cinéma refused to review it, writing
