Montparnasse Bienvenue (film)
Montparnasse Bienvenue, also known as Jeune Femme (Young Woman), is a 2017 French comedy-drama directed by Léonor Serraille and starring Laetitia Dosch as Paula. Paula returns to Paris after years abroad, only to be dumped by her wealthy boyfriend Joachim. With little money and few friends, she struggles to start a new life. She lies to get a live-in nanny job for a child named Lila and takes another job at a mall lingerie store, where she befriends Osman, a stand-offish security guard. She also meets Yuki, who helps her in a tricky moment.
Paula faces several setbacks: she loses support from her family, her finances are tight, and she learns she is pregnant with Joachim’s child. She keeps trying to move forward, reconnects with her mother, and forms a fragile network with new and old connections. Paula and Yuki renew their friendship, and Paula continues to juggle work and care for Lila.
The film follows Paula through ups and downs as she seeks independence. She meets Joachim for dinner, who offers to help with the baby. She visits Osman to get her cat, and they share a kiss. Paula then tells Joachim she plans to have an abortion; Joachim attempts to rape her, but she fights him off. Paula has the abortion and leaves her nanny job, determined to rebuild her life.
Reception: The movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section in 2017, where it won the Caméra d’Or. It was released in France on November 1, 2017. The film had a budget of about $1.2 million and grossed around $423,747. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 97% approval rating from 38 reviews, and on Metacritic it has a score of 76/100 from 8 critics.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:48 (CET).