Elles (2011)

Elles is a 2011 European film, directed and co-written by Polish director Małgorzata Szumowska. It shows an episode in the life of Anne (Juliette Binoche), a journalist in Paris for French Elle who is writing an article about female student prostitution.

Although the young women are not keen on publicity, she persuades two students to talk to her: the provocative Alicja (Joanna Kulig), an ambitious economics student who left Poland to further her education; and the subtle Charlotte (Anaïs Demoustier), enrolled in a Parisian classe préparatoire, determined to leave her modest provincial background behind.

Where Anne is expecting misery and distress, she discovers freedom, pride, and empowerment. As Anne’s professional curiosity in the two women becomes a matter of personal interest, she starts to rediscover her own sexuality.

Elles premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and first entered general release in France in February 2012.

Synopsis

The film is set during the course of one day. Anne (Juliette Binoche) is trying to meet the deadline for her article about prostitution, while shopping and preparing dinner for her husband's boss and his wife. She is also worried about her two sons, the eldest of whom has been skipping classes while the younger appears to start being hooked on video games. This narrative is interrupted by the flashbacks to the conversations Annie has had with the two students, scenes from their lives, and the effect that their work in the sex industry is having on them and those close to them.

Actors