Peppermint Soda
Kriterion, Amsterdam
Roeterstraat 17003/05 21:15Diane Kurys | feature film | 1977 | 97 min | French with English subtitles
Peppermint Soda (French: Diabolo Menthe) is a French coming-of-age film that follows two teenage sisters, 13-year-old Anne Weber and her 15-year-old sister Frédérique, over the course of the year 1963-1964. The two sisters attend an all-girls school in France as they experience a rapid succession of ‘firsts’ during a time of political protest and social changes. Gradually, Frédérique becomes more politically active around the issue of the Algerian War and her Jewish identity. The title refers to a sparkling drink that the younger sister has in a café. With Peppermint Soda, Jewish director Diane Kurys won the Louis Delluc Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1977, and the film has since become a lasting classic.