Autumn Girl
Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. Your purchase helps us remain independent and ad-free.
Autumn Girl
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Autumn Girl is a loosely biographical Polish musical-drama recalling the exploits of a popular film and TV personality of the 1960s, Kalina Jedrusik. The title in Polish translates to "Because There Is Sex in Me," telegraphing the real woman's "liberated" behavior during repressive Soviet times. Coquettish in her low-cut outfits and always wearing a defiant come-hither expression, she's fired by a new studio boss she has refused to have sex with. The notions of proper behavior for women are explored here as women are denigrated for living freely while men are admired for conquering women. A sexually free-thinking married woman has affairs, but reserves the right to have sex only with those she chooses. Breasts and buttocks are seen. A disrespectful drunk man at a party rips a woman's top to reveal her bra. Her husband punches the man. Adults smoke cigarettes and drink lots of alcohol. Language includes "f--k," "s--t," "ass," "t-ts," "bastard," "hell," "tart," and "whore." In Polish with English subtitles.
Community Reviews
There aren't any reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What's the Story?
AUTUMN GIRL tells the purportedly true story of a popular Polish TV star thought of, according to the movie, as 1960s Poland's answer to Marilyn Monroe. Coquettish in her low-cut outfits and always wearing a defiant come-hither expression, she's fired by a new boss she has refused to have sex with. The notions of proper behavior for women are explored here as women are denigrated for living freely while men are admired for conquering women, a double standard that feels modern. But when Kalina -- always late, always self-absorbed, pushy, unfaithful, inconsiderate, ungrateful, drunk, and loud -- hits hard times, few colleagues come to her defense. Most are scared of getting on the wrong side of the Communist government toadies running the TV station, but they also sting from slights dealt them by the haughty Kalina, who does quite a lot of swanning, pouting, sulking, and insulting. She seems to regularly have sex with her husband's friend in their own home. She goes out of her way to denigrate other women. She breaks into song -- with lyrics including "Feelings are a gem," and "People with no feelings at all ... allow lust to make the call," and "If you make sex the meaning of life, it leads to nothing but pain and strife." At one point, a nightclub full of people break into a shunning dance, illustrating through the metaphor of choreography how sidelined she feels. This, and other breaks in the action, gives the film a fantasy-like quality.
Is It Any Good?
Autumn Girl will be, at best, a puzzling film for anyone who didn't grow up in 1960s Poland. Kalina may be a real person, but the movie warns early on, "Events depicted in this film did not necessarily happen." It's worth noting that however wronged Kalina may have been by a brutish boss improperly exerting his power, she and her friends are state-sanctioned artists living in conditions far more privileged than most in their country. This is emphasized when Kalina gives gifts of meat she's procured on the black market, a concept that U.S. audiences may not understand. Her good luck in no way excuses the common male chauvinist practices showcased here, nor does it dismiss the damage done to lives of undeserving women sidelined by men in power.
The movie seems to want to focus on the mistreatment of women both then and now, but it also suggests women sometimes sabotage themselves. Kalina has sex with whomever she wants, we're told, yet she instructs others in song that lust "leads to strife and pain." The film begins with 10 minutes of women talking about fashionable clothes, dying their hair, dieting, body size, breast shape, and other superficial metrics and accessories that can trap women into thinking sexuality is their best weapon to wield in a male-dominated world.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about double standards in societal attitudes toward women's sexual behaviors and men's. How are men who pursue women portrayed in contrast to women who are equally sexually active? Do the attitudes seem fair and equitable? Why, or why not?
Kalina is a self-centered person, making her less than admirable. Should her negative qualities enter into our assessment of how unfairly she is treated? Why, or why not?
Although this is set in repressive Communist Poland of the 1960s, how much do the attitudes about women's actualization and empowerment echo attitudes toward women today?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: March 8, 2022
- Cast: Maria Debska, Leszek Lichota, Bartlomiej Lotschedoff
- Director: Katarzyna Klimkiewicz
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre: Musical
- Run time: 105 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: March 21, 2022
Our Editors Recommend
-
Cold War
Brief nudity, language in romantic, mature Polish drama.
-
My Week With Marilyn
Appealing Monroe drama has strong language, some sexuality.
-
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
Sluggish Monroe biopic depicts a complicated private life.
For kids who love true stories
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate