Girls just want to have fun, stockings and a serious discussion about Algerian independence
Peppermint Soda is a tale of two Jewish sisters trying to make their way through early 1962. They fight over tampons, stockings and why the little sister gets to tag around everywhere. What’s crazy about the film is how such older men leer at the 13 and 15 year old leads. I get that France is way more into their sexuality than a lot of the Western world, but it almost colors the film in a different way. Still, there’s something incredible about it.
Much like Eighth Grade, it treats kids as the adults-in-the-making that they are and that’s wonderful. Their opinions are barely formed, but they desperately want to have a way into adult conversations. I’m super interested in trying to build a timeline of films like this. When did the actually mature kid exploring the world subgenre begin? I refused to pin it all the Adventures of Antoine Doinel, but I’m having a hard time placing it before that.
Peppermint Soda special features
Do you like trailers? You get an interview with the director and a scrapbook about the production. Plus, a ton of featurettes. For a film that never made a giant impact in America, there is more material than I expected.
The film hits Blu-ray in America on February 12th!
