rodrig58 Jodie Foster in the same year with "Taxi Driver" (1976) but her role is weaker because the script is the same. Martin Sheen is good in the role. A very pleasant surprise is the presence as an actor of Mort Shuman, who I adore as a musician (how many know that he wrote together with Doc Pomus "Save the Last Dance for Me", a very popular song first recorded in 1960 by The Drifters, with Ben E. King on lead vocals, and then by Elvis Presley?) Mort Shuman(November 12, 1936 – November 2, 1991) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter, best known as co-writer of many 1960s rock and roll hits, including "Viva Las Vegas". He also wrote and sang many songs in French, such as "Le Lac Majeur", "Allo Papa Tango Charlie", "Sha Mi Sha", "Un Eté de Porcelaine", and "Brooklyn by the Sea" which became huge hits in France. I'm writing about him because, about the film I can't say anything that is a total bullshit, unfortunately. The story is exaggerated and incredible. Just a ridiculous waste of time.

tieman64 A forgotten masterpiece, "The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane" is a 1976 film by Hungarian director Nicolas Gessner. It stars Jodie Foster as Rynn Jacobs, a thirteen year old girl who lives in a secluded seaside home. Rynn's mother and father have died - to say any more would be to further spoil several key revelations - leaving the poor girl to fend for herself."Lane" drips with atmosphere. Set during Halloween, when ghouls and wizards roam the streets, Gessner creates a macabre world in which drizzle kisses shadows and menace lurks in every corner. Police, paedophiles, peeping-toms and pesky prowlers all knock on Rynn's door, each of whom threaten to stumble upon the girl's little secret: Rynn lives alone, and has been living so for quite some time.Today Jodie Foster typically plays fragile, uncertain, asexual women with the personality or demeanour of a child. Early in her career, though, Foster typically played the opposite: intelligent, resourceful, sexualised kids who were wiser than surrounding adults. Rynn is another such character. She's an adult trapped in a kid's body, forever sceptical of the stupid, lecherous grown-ups around her. More importantly, Rynn is preoccupied with protecting her autonomy. With protecting her right to live alone, on her own terms, in her own world.Whilst "Lane" celebrates Rynn's independence, and the strengths necessary to resist conformity, it also does the opposite. Rynn's unable to survive without the assistance of a kind local boy (Scott Jacoby), whose limping legs ironically counterpoint the vital support he provides the young girl. It is through this character that the film - based on a novel by Jewish author Laird Koenig - smuggles its politics. Here Rynn - an intellectual type who reads Hebrew - becomes emblematic of Jewish isolation and persecution. People knock on Rynn's doors like stormtroopers, search her basements and under her rugs, demand identification and entry, whilst Rynn clings to her identity and resists assimilation. This ethnocentrism, this strength in the face of quasi-anti-Semitic persecution, is both cherished by Koenig and critiqued, seen to be bound to feelings of smug and so unwarranted superiority. Yes Rynn knows it all, is wise and sees through lies, but even the strongest needs an outsider's helping hands. Or as historian Simon Schama once wrote: "Jewish history turns out not to be an either/or story - as in, either pure Judaism detached from its surroundings or else assimilation - but rather, for the vast majority, the adventure of living in between." Ryn learns to live in the in-between."Lane" works well as horror, drama, mystery and romance. Unfolding like a stage-play, it also has very strong melancholic qualities, thanks largely to an affective soundtrack by Christian Gaubert, and director Nicolas Gessner's simple but atmospheric visuals, which stress lonely homes, dank Maine surfaces and water-laden skies. A young Martin Sheen co-stars as Frank Hallet, a character who may or may not be a local child molester.8.9/10 – To assimilate or not to assimilate? Such was a question of inordinate importance to post-war novelists and film-makers. See "They Might be Giants", "Some Came Running", "The Gypsy Moths", "The Sandpiper", "Cool Hand Luke", "The Swimmer", "Goodbye, Columbus", "King Rat" and "A Thousand Clowns".

adamshl Jodie Foster, at age fourteen, gives a remarkably compelling performance in this cult oddity. It is Foster who keeps us riveted to the screen, as she is surrounded by a fine array of ensemble players, including Martin Sheen and the incomparable Alexis Smith.The first part seems more creditable than the latter as characters are introduced and the story line unfolds in a spooky manner. There are a few loose ends in the script's second half that are effectively covered up, and the quickie production is good-looking throughout.In reading Foster's biography, I was amazed she began acting at age three and chalked off nearly fifty film and TV appearances before attending college. In addition to her acting credits she directed the unusual Little Man Tate, one of my favorites.Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lame is an effectively off-beat yarn that holds our interest throughout--particularly at October Goblin Time.

Ben Larson Foster was just about the same age as the girl she plays in this film; that is why they used a body double for the nude scene. Supposedly, it was promoted as a horror film, but I see it more as a girl growing up and having to deal with thins on her own.It's not Psycho, even though the story is similar, as director Nicolas Gessner is no Hitchcock. It's still worthwhile, mainly because of Foster. You really see a foretelling of her abilities as she grows into one of the greatest actresses of all times. Maybe Foster doesn't like this particular film, but she is definitely an actress on the rise here.Martin Sheen plays a really creepy, sadistic pedophile, but he'll get hid just desserts, now, won't he. If it weren't for the pedophilia, maybe this film would have gotten more recognition. After all, it did star the girl who had just been nominated for an Oscar for Taxi Driver.Mort Shuman and Scott Jacoby provided excellent support.