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Floriane did care deeply for Marie. Some reasons why! (SPOILERS)

posted 16 years ago by scoobysnack831
13 replies | jump to latest

I've read other people's opinions on Floriane's motivations toward Marie yet none of them matched my interpretation of the story being told here...So therefore I wanted to share my view(s) just from pure curiosity of how many other people do agree with me more than disagree...
I was kind of confused about how many people saw Floriane as simply devious in her intentions...It was Floriane that reached for Marie's hand when they were on Floriane's bed! And it was Marie that pursued Floriane after all...The comments left me thinking...Was I watching a different film than other people? Because I felt a deep genuine desire/love coming from Floriane for Marie...The way that Floriane would affectionately smile and gaze at Marie lead me to think that Floriane wanted to be as close with Marie as Marie did with Floriane...I think Floriane welcomed Marie's presence into her life and also displayed devotion to Marie as much as any 15 yr old is capable of doing! I think that is why she didn't have sex with the young man on the night she was supposed to...Call me a sucker for love (in which I am indeed) but I think it was because Floriane's heart belonged to Marie...If you go back through the film. It's Floriane that puts her metal around Marie's neck, the metal is something that Floriane must have been proud of, right? And she chose to give it to Marie...And when Marie had obviously lost interest in the presence/closeness of Floriane at any cost when she got angry and walked away from Floriane...And yet it was Floriane that made the choice to chase after Marie and attempt to make things right with her...Which in turn means that Floriane blew off the boy for Marie also...However, I do agree with what somebody else on the board wrote. That Floriane had already lost her virginity (no blood on the fresh white sheets? I mean c'mon really!) So I think that whole process for Floriane was only an excuse to be closer to Marie intimately. I believe that Floriane wanted Marie to kiss her in the process of doing "the favor" that was asked of her, hence the sadness from Floriane and the tear that rolls down her cheek...Which in turn led to the bathroom kiss and Floriane saying "so you see, it's not that difficult" It was a kiss a little too late for Floriane at that point...Yet Floriane was still very much into that kiss with Marie! I think boys/guys had used Floriane for their own pleasure and Floriane did learn to use that to her advantage (as most smart pretty girls do I might add)...But when it came to Marie I think Floriane's feelings for Marie were very genuine...I think Floriane being 15 years old and under developed with matters of the heart is all that Floriane was guilty of personally...

[–] decrd1986 16 years ago

i agree, then disagree.

Floraine was so much fun to me, because she's so hard to figure out.
she's very much a diverse character.

I do believe Floraine had genuine, sincere, feelings for Marie, but
i think she overrided those feelings for being the "slut." Which confuses me,
cuz who would want to be a slut? But Floraine was SO intrested in doing that.

Then on the other hand, i thought Floraine was just using Marie the WHOLE time.
especially when she blew off the guy for Marie and touching Marie's hand on the
bed. Floraine did all this right when Marie was going to split out on her.

And the Kiss in the bathroom was intesting as well, cuz to me when Floarine said
"see its not that bad," it sounded like "i did that for u now u owe me." Which
is why she said "he's not bad huh, will u get me if he turns out to be an ass."

MY only question that i still have not answered was :

WHY DIDN'T FLORAINE SLEEP WITH THAT GUY!!!!!

So i do think she had feelings for Marie, but i think she was using her as well.
I think Floarine was just a confused person, NOT about sexuality, it was pretty
clear to me that she was bi, i think she was just a teenager who was having a
hard time. Which is understandable at that age. She just didn't know what the
hell she wanted.

[–] AlaskanAsthma15 16 years ago

I respectfully disagree with you! It was clear that Marie had feelings for Floriane like, the whole time, but I think Floriane kind of thought that she could take advantage of this girl just to see if she could manipulate her into doing what she wanted. And she did, that's what I thought about the kiss at the end said. Like, "thanks for fingering me, now go away..." but I also kind of think that Floriane did have feelings for Marie for a certain period of time, but tried to suppress them because she thought she would be better off if she slept with Francois.

But the whole thing with the medal! I didn't even notice, and it kind of makes me second guess my conclusion :D

[–] anonymous_69 16 years ago

I think Floriane did have feelings for Marie but felt she couldn't be with her 'cause she had to play the "slut"- the slut that was into guys, not girls.

"Someone needs a RAID enema to kill the bug up their ass!"

[–] scoobysnack831 16 years ago

Nope! I still stand by my opinion that Floriane did have deep feelings for Marie...I did agree that Floriane was a great character after all, that's why were here I suppose...She was mysterious, clever and interesting to say the least...

[–] asinnema 16 years ago

I think Floriane is a confused teenager who has become addicted to the attention she gets from men, and addicted to her role in the world. It is very scary, especially at that age, to be "the real you" when everyone has their mind made up about you. It is very easy and comfortable to just stay what other people think you are, especially when you know in your heart of hearts that you're very different and might face rejection.

So I think Floriane really did have feelings for Marie, but that she couldn't face her own feelings and was just following her instincts whenever she would get closer to Marie, to then realise her set place in the world and run back to the safety of boystown.
I felt confirmed in this idea by the tear Floriane sheds during the favor scene.. yes I think she wanted to be kissed (and that Marie wanted to kiss her, but was afraid to), but I think the main reason for the tear is Floriane being overcome with emotion so much, that afterwards she is afraid of her own feelings and runs away from them. A bit like *beep* Amal"/"Show me love" where the Alexandra Dahlström character kisses with Rebecca Liljeberg's character, then runs away, and comes back again. The popular girl knowing what is real; but scared to face it.

That said - I thought the ending of this film was pretty bad and I wanted to see Marie and Floriane end up together. This was so not satisfying :(

[–] Victorita9 14 years ago

I do think that Floriane had feelings for Marie, but she didn't want to pursue a relationship with her at all while Marie wanted much more.

But i think the reason she was crying during the fingering scene was because she was literally losing her virginity. Including the fact that Marie probably doesn't know what she was doing it could have been painful for Florine, hence the tears.

[–] stevde2 13 years ago

Overall analysis can be summed up:

Did Floriane love Marie? Yes. Did Floriane want to commit 100% to Marie? NO! Not by a long shot. Read on.

Marie obviously loved Floriane and the love had grown to the point where Marie became more comfortable with her choice and began leaking info on her relationship to her closest friend, Anne, but not all of it. In due time, she would, though. In fact, Marie was coming to the conclusion that she wants a full-on relationship that isn't hidden in the closet either. Marie wants to hold Floriane's hand at the swim party, dance with her, and make out with her in public spotlight. Floriane knows this will be eventually coming, so she needs to ensure Marie is tied to a leash by enranging continual jealousy with her mingling with other males.

Now of course Floriane can't commit to Marie 100%. After all, she's the swim team captain (a highly prestigious one from what we gather, not a rinky dink type) & holds a position of authority that commands respect. She needs to reinforce her pretty-girl looks by continuing to be seen with male members so her reputation as a slut is continually solidified & she doesn't jeopardize her position. In fact, there actually needs to be an increased frequency in her slutty-nature acts especially now because Marie, a non-swimmer, hanging around so much, so often, with Floriane is eventually going to attract negative "gay rumor" attention if there wasn't something else to squelch the idea.

So Floriane has no choice but to continue on arousing the men. Obviously, Marie is not happy about this as she wants Floriane's heart, soul, and body all to herself and no one else. Does Floriane want the same? Yes, but Floriane is locked into a "Parisian" world where she simply can't afford to be seen as gay. Simple as that. Hence, we end up with a confused Floriane and a Marie that becomes emotionally crushed.

As to the future past the ending of the movie, I would say that the same cycle continues onwards until something drastic happens, such as Floriane gets an athletic scholarship and moves away for good.

[–] Eponymous-too 16 years ago

She may or may not have had feelings for Marie, but either way it is irrelevant. She is the kind of person who enjoys attention and toys with others simply to see what she can make them do. It simply didn't matter to her which of the several boys it was, nor if it was Marie. She treated them all the same. They wanted her, she knew it, and she knew that gave her to power to first draw them closer and then gave her the ultimate power to push them away.

Remember her line to Marie about being able to give a guy an erection even in cold water and how flattering it was? I'm sure she sees Marie in a similar manner - how flattering is it to even be able to get another girl to chase you and to get her to admit that she is gay for the first time ever?

"My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider."

[–] Phantasm21 16 years ago

Florine seemed like a very lonely girl who just wanted another girl to be friends with. Maybe in her mind Florine was helping her new and only friend Marie to realize she was gay even though she wasn't interested in her that way instead of simply being a manipulative bitch about it as most people seem to assume. The characters were complicated and I don't think any of them were purely good or evil which is what makes it such a good movie.

[–] johnhelv 11 years ago

She may or may not have had feelings for Marie, but either way it is irrelevant. She is the kind of person who enjoys attention and toys with others simply to see what she can make them do. It simply didn't matter to her which of the several boys it was, nor if it was Marie. She treated them all the same. They wanted her, she knew it, and she knew that gave her to power to first draw them closer and then gave her the ultimate power to push them away.

Remember her line to Marie about being able to give a guy an erection even in cold water and how flattering it was? I'm sure she sees Marie in a similar manner - how flattering is it to even be able to get another girl to chase you and to get her to admit that she is gay for the first time ever?

I agree with a lot of this. Floriane might have cared for Marie as a friend, she had no actual friends, but I don't feel that Floriane had romantic feelings for Marie that she was hiding. I think she didn't want to go all the way with boys and was able to get away with it because all of the boys desired her. What she said to Marie after their kiss at the end of the movie to me was Floriane acknowledging the crush Marie had for her and that Marie should not have waited as long to act on the crush, but I dont think Floriane was saying that she had feelings for Marie. I agree that it was irrelevant because Floriane would only continually hurt Marie anyway, and Marie (clearly gay) needs to get over her crush and try to establish a healthy relationship with a girl.

[–] blacknyellowsquid 9 years ago

johnhelv, that's how I saw it too. And Eponymous, I also think Floriane liked attention, maybe she liked the feeling of people pining over her. Not that she was out and out malicious. I do think she had nervousness around actual sex and all that too. But she still liked the attention and feeling desired etc. She could tell Marie liked her and just went with it for it a bit.

[–] kimphilby7 14 years ago

I don't know that Floriane was narcisstic per say. I think the director was trying to make a point about how each of the three main characters are outsiders in their own way (i.e. Floriane for being beautiful, Marie for being potentially gay, and Anne for being a bit fat and socially inept).

It appeared that Floriane's physical attractiveness had set her apart from her peers - boys wanted her, girls were jealous of the attention the boys gave her...resulting in their eagerness to brand Floriane a tart. So,in this way, Floriane being pretty made her an outsider in a similar fashion as the other two girls, albeit for different reasons.

In terms of Floriane caring for Marie - I think it's safe to say that she did but I think that was largely based on the fact that Floriane really had no friends and realised that it might be nice to have one in Marie (even if her original intent was to exploit her). Floriane was obviously used to the sexual attention that she inspired - this was alluded to or explicitly shown several times throughout the film. So, rather than being romantically drawn to Marie, I think she really just really wanted a friend, and wasn't that surprised (or concerned)that Marie wanted her. She's used to people wanting her.

In terms of the 'deflowering' scene, I was truly surprised by this request from Floriane. Perhaps she just did want to be 'freed' from her virginity or maybe she did want to instigate a sexual encounter with Marie. Who can say?

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

Floriane did care deeply for Marie. Some reasons why! (*SPOILERS*)

Floriane did care deeply for Marie. Some reasons why! (SPOILERS)