My Little Princess
- Director: Eva Ionesco
- Writer: Eva Ionesco; Marc Cholodenko
- Producer: Francois-Xavier Frantz
CGiii Comment
Irina Ionesco was everything a mother should not be...she exploited, neglected, abused, compromised and criminalised her daughter...for money, for fame.
And, if this film is anything to go by...what a thoroughly despicable and detestable woman...
For those of you who don't know...Irina Ionesco photographed her daughter in the nude in evocative poses...when she was 11 years old, she sold some of the pictures to Playboy...thereby making her the youngest model to appear in that licentious magazine.
There's a defensive line in the film: Suggestion isn't criminal...yes, it is! How this woman avoided criminal charges is mystifying...same goes for Playboy!
The authorities - eventually - intervened...the film's coverage of this period is patchy to say the least...
This is more like revenge porn than catharsis...there's even a hint of the 'like mother, like daughter' - after all, it could be argued that the child in this film is being exploited by the director and her parents. Oooh what a vicious circle.
To this day, the mother and daughter still frequent the courts...civil as opposed to criminal...it's all about money...still.
We could wax lyrical about Ionesco's contribution to feminism and post-feminist porn...but, in all honesty, the feminists should really be brushing her under the carpet rather than building her up.
A grotesque film...on so many levels, for so many reasons.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Violetta is raised by her grandmother. Her mother Hanna tries to make a living on taking photographs and concentrates on her dreams to become a famous artist. In order to succeed as an artist she doesn't worry about dating men of questionable reputation. Only every now and then her mother visits her daughter but during these occasions it occurs to her that her daughter could be a potential model. She starts exploiting her daughter who by transforming into a kind of Lolita becomes increasingly alienated from other children of her age. At school she is eventually frequently insulted and rejected. Then Mamie dies and Hannah's photographs are about to unequivocally overstep the line of acceptability. Hanna even coerces Violetta mercilessly into cooperation by withholding her food in case she doesn't agree to pose for increasingly daring photographs.
Cast & Characters
Isabelle Huppert as Hanah Giurgiu;
Anamaria Vartolomei as Violetta Giurgiu;
Georgetta Leahu as Mamie;
Denis Lavant as Ernst;
Jethro Cave as Updike;
Louis-Do de Lencquesaing as Antoine Dupuis, l'editeur;
Pascal Bongard as Jean;
Anne Benoit as Mme Chenus, l'assistante sociale;
Johanna Degris-Agogue as Apolline;
Deborah Revy as Nadia;
Lou Lesage as Rose;
Nicolas Maury as Louis;
Pauline Jacquard as Fifi;
Eve Bitoun as Mme Emilie;
Joe Sheridan as Arnaud