Synopsis

Odette is eight years old and loves to dance and draw.
Why should she be suspicious of a friend of her parents who suggests she "play tickle"? As an adult, Odette dances her anger, speaks her mind and embraces life...

"Les Chatouilles" is adapted from the hit play by Andréa Bescond, directed by Éric Métayer, who also co-directs. It tells the story of paedophilia from an autobiographical angle, the story of Andréa, aka Odette. A keen dancer, she's 8 years old when Gilbert, the family friend (Pierre Deladonchamps, a dull, chilling performer) makes her his plaything. They'll last for years, enough to destroy it for good.

The cinematographic treatment is breathtaking in its energy, urgency and warlike yet sunny commitment. Never accusatory, the film approaches pedo-crime from the angle of a ticking time bomb that pulverized Odette when she became a woman. The after-effects of the past have propelled her miles from her pumps, into the dark corners of stonerdom and self-hatred. The film is structured around her journey to resilience. (by Anouk Féral, Première)