*Only slight spoilers*A sensual and atmospheric coming of age tale set in a small town close to an American army base in 1960s France. It all takes place within 24 hours. Opening early in the morning as two teenage girl hitch-hike their way to school rather than taking the bus. Our lead, Martine, and her friend are adventurous, taking pleasure in tempting the male driver while remaining silent, and simply heads off to school. Later that night they want to go to a party, but they find it too childish, they then head for a more "adult" party where Martine's brother is supposed to be.Cinematically strong, with great camera work, particularly some wonderful pans accompanied by great music from the time. The way this was used, often going gradually through a landscape or room before finding it's characters were simply beautifully done. It's a simple story, with a slight feel of danger, and it certainly managed to catch the discomfort of being a teenager, particularly in such situations. Denis' restrained style works wonderfully.The minimalistic touches are used in order to make you feel closer to the leads, to sense aspects of their emotions rather than spelling it out. It's also down to earth and realistic, while remaining that certain poetic sensibility you can find in essentially every Denis film. The performances are strong, particularly Vincent Gallo who plays an American soldier. Loved the uneasy tension in the scenes he was in despite him acting so nice and showing no intentions of wanting to do anything more than what he's doing. I must applaud Denis for all the emotions she managed to pack into this film. You never know exactly what to feel, you never know exactly what the characters want, but you can feel the complexity and their world like you can in few other films.