Not 'Double Happiness' or 'Big Meng'! Taiwan's 'One Divine Film' Tops French Media and Audience Charts, French Press Hails: 'A Movie You Cannot Miss'

Shu Qi's directorial debut film 'Girl' began screening nationwide in France on the 5th, securing the number one position in both media and audience rankings on the French film website Allociné during its opening week. The film's distinctive 'Shu Qi Bridge' has prompted French media to shift their gaze from Hou Hsiao-hsien's depiction of Shu Qi to the world as seen through Shu Qi's own eyes.

Allociné is a representative French mass-market film information website, providing screening details, media reviews, and audience comments, serving as a key platform for gauging a film's reception in France. French cinemas release new films every Wednesday, and Allociné compiles scores and the number of critic reviews during a film's opening week to publish a special top-three recommendation list. Shu Qi's 'Girl' claimed the top spot in both media and audience rankings for the first week, with Allociné describing it as 'a heavy, harrowing, beautiful, and delicate film that you absolutely cannot miss.'

The 'Shu Qi Bridge' has become a focal point for French media. For French outlets familiar with Taiwanese cinema, Shu Qi is known as the muse of internationally acclaimed director Hou Hsiao-hsien, with their collaboration being inseparable. Critics have largely interpreted the recurring 'Shu Qi Bridge'—appearing in both Shu Qi's 'Girl' and Hou Hsiao-hsien's 'Millennium Mambo'—as Shu Qi's tribute to Hou. However, the camera has now turned: Shu Qi has transitioned from being the melancholic woman observed and projected upon by others into a director who tells women's stories.

The iconic imagery from 'Millennium Mambo' is reimagined, with Shu Qi narrating through a female lens

The report recalls how, as an actress, Shu Qi delivered a defining performance with her iconic glance back on the 'Shu Qi Bridge' in 'Millennium Mambo,' propelling her to international stardom. As a director, she reuses the 'Shu Qi Bridge' in 'Girl' to express different female actors' sense of confinement under societal constraints.

Moreover, despite 'Girl' depicting violence, Shu Qi uses light and shadow to create a sense of movement and escape, demonstrating her ambition to convey a universal longing for freedom.

French press praises 'Girl' for its rigorous style, exploring trauma through a female perspective

Le Monde awarded the film 4 out of 5 stars, noting that while Hou Hsiao-hsien's influence is evident in parts of the narrative and direction, it does not overshadow Shu Qi's unique voice.

Libération also gave 4 out of 5 stars, describing 'Girl' as rigorously styled, akin to guiding the audience into a 'mouse hole' from which they can observe the outside world—offering both shelter and a vantage point to scrutinize the world and uncover past memories.

The report compares 'Girl' to Kristen Stewart's directorial debut 'The Chronology of Water,' noting that both films originate from the directors' own traumatic childhood memories and tell stories from the rare 'girl's perspective.'

French audiences praise 'Girl' for its subtlety and lack of sentimentality, with domestic violence trauma becoming a key discussion point

User Direct-actu.fr rated the film 3.5 out of 5, unable to forget the protagonist girl's line: 'Living people scare me more than ghosts.' They believe the film's portrayal of domestic violence and trauma may be passed down across generations, with the adolescent girl at the center serving as the key to breaking the cycle and achieving liberation. Taiwan, they note, is portrayed as a real space rather than an exotic backdrop.

Users Yves G. and Christian RZ both gave 3 out of 5, finding the film's atmosphere oppressive yet subtle and unsentimental, with the young lead delivering an excellent performance. However, they felt the parents' characters were underdeveloped and suggested the runtime could be trimmed for a more refined experience. Both expressed anticipation for Shu Qi's next film.