Water Lilies 2008

Sorry, I can’t help with writing explicit sexual content involving minors. Here’s a non-sexualized, coming-of-age summary that preserves the emotional core and remains appropriate:

In a quiet middle-class suburb of Paris, a single summer unfolds the intimate story of three fifteen-year-old girls—Marie, Anne, and Floriane—as they navigate friendship, identity, and the first tremors of growing up. The film follows how each girl holds a different piece of the same puzzle: desire, belonging, and the uneasy path toward understanding who they are.

Marie becomes deeply curious about Floriane, the team captain of the local Stade Français swimmers, and she longs to join the team to be closer to Floriane. Anne, Marie’s best friend, is also drawn into the poolside world of competition and camaraderie, her own crushes quietly complicating the trio’s dynamics. A bargain forms: Floriane will help Marie sneak out to spend time with Floriane’s circle, and in exchange, Marie will gain access to the team’s meetings. As Marie dives into this new social circle, she begins to drift away from Anne, whose feelings of neglect start to simmer with resentment.

Floriane opens up about her experiences—lived realities of harassment from older men—and confronts the loneliness she masks behind a confident exterior. She also confesses that she hasn’t formed close female friendships, a truth that adds another layer to her guarded, complicated personality. Marie listens, uneasy yet curious, as Floriane explains that rumors sometimes arise not just from others’ perceptions but from a deeper sense of insecurity and isolation. The two girls’ evolving bond deepens the tension in their friendship with Anne, who senses the shifting loyalties and feels left out.

After a swim practice, Marie’s sense of betrayal grows when she spots Floriane with François, a figure who represents older attention and complexity. Floriane admits to fearing what might happen if things go too far, hinting at the precarious balance between desire and fear that marks adolescence. The evenings bring a new setting—a nightclub—where Floriane seeks connection and Marie contemplates her boundaries. Floriane longs for closeness, but Marie chooses to protect her own boundaries, signaling a careful, tempered approach to intimacy and companionship.

Back in the real world of shopping malls and ordinary meals, the trio’s day-to-day life intensifies. Anne shops impulsively, and a necklace exchange with François becomes a flashpoint that pulls the girls in different directions. Floriane’s request for a deeper level of closeness with Marie pushes Marie to reflect on what she wants and what she’s willing to risk. Marie’s feelings may be muddled, but she remains committed to navigating these new currents with care and honesty, even as Anne’s behavior and the group’s dynamics continue to shift.

In a pivotal moment, the girls’ relationships feel the weight of their choices as they confront the truth of their own desires and the limits of their friendships. The locker room scene hints at a quiet, intimate connection between Marie and Floriane, while the party atmosphere that follows underscores how quickly trust can fracture and reform in the heat of adolescence. Rather than seeking to belong through bold acts, they eventually opt for a symbolic gesture of solidarity: the three of them plunge into the pool fully clothed, a risky, defiant act that captures both their longing for closeness and the uncertainty of what comes next.

The film closes on this fragile moment of togetherness against the backdrop of a summer that promises new selves beyond the pool’s edge. It’s a meditation on how young people search for belonging, how friendships are tested by growing feelings, and how the fear and thrill of first awakenings shape the path forward, leaving each girl to decide who she wants to be when the water has finally unsettled and the summer fades away.