In the late 1950s and through the 1960s, the French New Wave movies gained a lot of attention internationally. Unlike traditional films, the New Wave films focused on ordinary but usually very flawed people....nothing like the Hollywood type stories. For example, in "Breathless" the story focuses on a common thief and his affair with a young girl. And, in the Antoine Doinel films, you follow a juvenile delinquent through life's ups and downs. Overall, these sorts of pictures really excelled when it came to realism...but also were frequently very depressing.
Despite the French making many of these movies, there were examples in other countries that were very similar...but never got the same sort of attention from critics and film experts. A great example is "A Taste of Honey"...a film which seems exactly like a New Wave film, though it's British.
The story is about Jo (Rita Tushingham), a disaffected teen who is being raised by a mother who never seems to grow into being a functional adult. Her mom skips on paying the rent, chases around with men and, generally, treats her daughter like a boarder instead of her child. Not surprisingly, with mom out doing her thing, Jo gets herself into trouble...and the film shows her rocky road to adulthood.
Many story elements in "A Taste of Honey" shocked me. No, they aren't at all shocking by today's standards, but the British censor board had long heavily censored many much more innocent stories...such as banning some Hollywood horror films as well as the 1960 British thriller "Peeping Tom". However, in this one, premarital sex is heavily implied and Jo eventually finds herself pregnant and living with a gay man...hardly the sort of stuff you'd expect in early 60s British cinema...especially since being gay was STILL a crime in the UK at the time.
So is it any good? Well, yes and no. The story, at times, makes you cringe as you see Jo make terrible choices since she is desperately lonely and rather sad. And, much of the film is slow, meandering and non-theatrical. It's certainly NOT pleasant in any way. However, it is well crafted and striking...which is true of MANY New Wave films as well.
Despite the French making many of these movies, there were examples in other countries that were very similar...but never got the same sort of attention from critics and film experts. A great example is "A Taste of Honey"...a film which seems exactly like a New Wave film, though it's British.
The story is about Jo (Rita Tushingham), a disaffected teen who is being raised by a mother who never seems to grow into being a functional adult. Her mom skips on paying the rent, chases around with men and, generally, treats her daughter like a boarder instead of her child. Not surprisingly, with mom out doing her thing, Jo gets herself into trouble...and the film shows her rocky road to adulthood.
Many story elements in "A Taste of Honey" shocked me. No, they aren't at all shocking by today's standards, but the British censor board had long heavily censored many much more innocent stories...such as banning some Hollywood horror films as well as the 1960 British thriller "Peeping Tom". However, in this one, premarital sex is heavily implied and Jo eventually finds herself pregnant and living with a gay man...hardly the sort of stuff you'd expect in early 60s British cinema...especially since being gay was STILL a crime in the UK at the time.
So is it any good? Well, yes and no. The story, at times, makes you cringe as you see Jo make terrible choices since she is desperately lonely and rather sad. And, much of the film is slow, meandering and non-theatrical. It's certainly NOT pleasant in any way. However, it is well crafted and striking...which is true of MANY New Wave films as well.