''A Single Girl'' () is a 1995 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Benoît Jacquot Benoît Jacquot (; born 5 February 1947) is a French film director and screenwriter who has had a varied career in European cinema. In July 2024, Jacquot was charged with rape, including of a minor, and was barred from directing and having cont ...

. It follows a day in the life of a young

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

ian woman named Valérie (

Virginie Ledoyen Virginie Fernández (born 15 November 1976), known by her stage name Virginie Ledoyen (), is a French actress. She has appeared in French, English and American films. Life and career Ledoyen was born in Paris and raised in Aubervilliers, the da ...

) who begins a new job at a four-star hotel the same day she reveals to her boyfriend (

Benoît Magimel Benoît Magimel (; born 11 May 1974) is a French actor. He was 14 when he appeared in his first film, and has starred in a variety of roles in French cinema. At age 16, Magimel left school to pursue acting as a career. In 2001, he won the Best A ...

) that she is pregnant. The 90-minute film is shot in real time, with a very mobile camera style, recalling the

French New Wave The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French European art cinema, art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentat ...

. This was the breakthrough role for the 19-year-old Ledoyen (who later became known in the United States for the 2000 film '' The Beach''), and earned her a

César Award Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * César (film), ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * César (film), ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar R ...

nomination.

Cast

Production

The film contains a non-simulated sex scene performed by Catherine Guittoneau and Hervé Gamelin.

, who in the scene enters the room where the two are, said that director

had not warned her what was behind the door (she knew she was going to find a couple making love, but she did not think they would do it for real).

References

External links

* 1995 films 1995 drama films 1990s French-language films 1990s pregnancy films Films directed by Benoît Jacquot Films set in hotels Films set in Paris Films shot in Paris French drama films French pregnancy films 1990s French films Films produced by Philippe Carcassonne {{1990s-France-film-stub