The Little Thief 1988

Janine Charlotte Gainsbourg lives with her uncle and aunt, who have little sympathy for her since her mother left to be with a lover in Italy and she has never known her father. She yearns for a life of ease and novelty, and a restless streak leads her to pilfer small luxuries—American cigarettes and expensive underwear—from shops. When she is caught, she leaves home to take a job as a live-in maid for the Longuets, a wealthy and gracious young couple who welcome her into their world.

After a long day’s work, a cinema visit becomes a turning point. There, she drifts off and finds herself resting on the shoulder of Michel Davenne, a married man in his forties with a passion for poetry and music. Their affair begins in secrecy, but Michel also tries to broaden her horizons, encouraging her to study shorthand-typing and to cultivate a richer cultural life beyond her rough beginnings.

At her language and typing course, she notices a young intruder robbing the office, yet she does not report him. The intruder, Raoul, waits outside, and a second, consuming attraction forms. This is Raoul Simon de La Brosse, who is chasing money to finance a motorbike for racing, and Janine becomes involved in his schemes, assisting him by robbing her employers and their guests during a dinner party. The pair’s reckless alliance pulls them into a flight from the law, and they end up living rough beside the sea.

Arrest follows, and Janine is sent to a school for young offenders. She and another girl manage a daring escape, but Janine is now wanted and has nowhere to go. She discovers she is pregnant. An attempt to secure an illegal abortion is interrupted by a cinema newsreel showing soldiers heading to the Indochina war; among them is Raoul, a sight that makes her abandon the appointment. The film closes with an end caption stating that her baby is coming along well.