C'est la tangente que je préfère (1997)
Directed by Charlotte Silvera

Film Review

Open University meets Emmanuelle (1974) in this bizarre French romantic drama which should have been titled 'The Mathematics of Sex' rather than referring to something as esoteric as tangents. That, in a nutshell, is the problem with the film: it tries to be too clever and ends up looking rather silly. C'est la tangente que je préfère is the third film from director Charlotte Silvera, a drastic departure from her more down-to-earth, more sombre first two films Louise... l'insoumise (1985) and Prisonnières (1988).

The concept behind the film is appealing - a child genius attempting to rationalise her first amorous experiences through the language of mathematics - but its realisation is far from perfect.  There are a number of promising elements, but none of these is satisfactorily integrated into the narrative and the whole work feels disappointingly wishy-washy and contrived.  A generally okay script is weakened by some criminally pretentious (dare I say, hyperbolic) use of mathematical jargon, which gives a totally false impression of how a mathematically trained person thinks, even someone who is obsessed with maths.  Also, the acting rarely rises above the "could do better" level, although this mercifully avoids any discernible asymptotic tendency towards the abyss.

Another problem with the film is that it just fails to be convincing.  Julie Delarme's character is about as believable as she is sympathetic (and she is about as sympathetic as the proof to Fermat's last theorem, only far less interesting).  Worse, her rapport with Georges Corraface (who is clearly wasted in this film) is chilling in its frigidity.  This is despite some pretty explicit bedroom seems, which seem to have been lifted from a steamy piece of erotica (revealing far more than a few higher order derivatives along the way).

To set against such obvious failings, Charlotte Silvera's direction is generally up to the mark, giving us plenty of reason to think that if this had been a more conventional love story, with more believable characters, we may have had a far better film to enjoy.  Alas, the main thing we can conclude from this whimsical cinematic offering, is that maths plus sex adds up to little more than a frustratingly disjointed film.

Film Synopsis

Sabine is 15 and has a special aptitude for mathematics.  She earns money by giving maths lessons to her classmates and whenever she encounters a problem in her life she tries to reason it out with mathematics.  She comes from a poor, working class family, and already she feels estranged from her uneducated parents, who see nothing virtuous in her academic achievement.  Sabine is collecting money from her male friends in return for helping them with their homework when she is noticed by Jiri.  A 40-year-old Czech playwright, he mistakes the teenage girl for a prostitute and offers her five hundred francs.  Sabine willingly takes the banknote and allows Jiri to have his money's worth, although the experience leaves her somewhat disappointed.  It so happens that Sabine badly needs some money so that she can attend a competition in Belgium.  Her parents are too hard up to help her.  Jiri offers to stump up the cash, if he can go with her...