I must have been on my senior year at high school when I happened to catch a movie on HBO one day called "French Postcards". It was about a group of American college students who spend their junior year at Paris and the adventures they faced there.As someone who was in pre-college mode, this movie was fascinating to me. It provided a glimpse into the mysterious world of college life. Of things that could possibly happen to me once I took that airplane and left home.
But something else struck me about the movie. It was a French actress who played the girlfriend of one the American students. She had the most amazing, intelligent eyes and she projected a strange combination of warmth, quirkiness and sexiness. I stayed all the way through the titles and saw that her name was Valerie Quennessen. I made a mental note to catch any other movies she was in. This was way before the Internet and at a time when cable had 6 channels. I only caught her in one more movie, a clunker called "Summer Lovers" but then nothing.
Years passed and I never saw her in another movie. Ocassionally while reading the Sunday New York Times I would look at ads for French movies hoping to see her name, but no luck. Eventually I forgot all about her. My era of "movie actresses crushes" was over.
In 1996 I installed this new thing called the Internet in my house. That first night online I couldn't believe all the information that was there. I spent all night just surfing the net. Suddenly I found a movie message board. I had no idea how this worked. But I submitted a question:
"What ever happened to Valerie Quennessen?"
For days I had no answer. Then I got it. The reason she had not appeared in any movies was that she had died in a car crash in 1988. The post also directed me to a website in her memory. It seemed that someone out there had watched "French Postcards" on HBO one night too and had also being struck by her. I wrote him an e-mail and we exchanged some memories of having seen "French Postcards". I was struck by how similar our feelings were while watching the movie years ago.
It was an interesting exchange but most importantly, it marked the first time I realized how much my world would change with the Internet.
6 comments:
I also saw this movie on HBO when I was about 18. She really made the same impact on me. I saw the movie Summer Lovers today and wanted to know what happend to her. I just searched and found out that she died, all too soon. There was something about her.
Hi! I have not seen French Postcars but something similar happened to me with Valerie Quennessen and Conan the Barbarian movie, although somehow I knew that she had died before having Internet in 1997.
Here is a rare photo (Spain, 1981) of Valerie and Conan director John Milius.
Hello,
I was 25 when I first saw Summer Lovers one late night on HBO. Like you, I was struck by that french actress and honestly couldnt stop watching the movie because something about her was just intriguing to say the least. I dont know exactly what it was...ive seen plenty of hot movie stars but she just really intrigued me.
Since then finding out that she died at 31 was almost a bizarre realization for me..i have no idea why. I couldnt believe she died so tragically in a car accident.. i really wanted to see more of her. Upsetting when i found out she was dead.
I should also add, that I saw summer lovers for the first time only a few months ago. She died when i was like 8 years old. bizarre.
I just watched Summer Lovers twice. I loved it. Valerie's eyes were the most beautiful I've ever seen. I agree with everyone else that she was captivating and had a that something special quality. It's funny the movie came out when I was 29 and I'm just watching it now at age 53. As soon as I finished watching it I looked up the title on-line to get the name of the actress and all of a sudden I saw that she had died in a car accident and I felt like crying. She touched me that much from seeing her in one movie. I think she reminded me a little of Princess Diana, something about her eyes.
Saw French Postcards on cable when I was still in high school. Instant attraction to Valerie. Saw Summer Lovers in college. Same story. Even though it was a small role, she immediately caught my attention in the Conan movie. The eyes, the smile, the accent - I don't know - for me, she had IT, whatever it is. It really affected me when I learned she was gone. Just had the feeling the world had lost something, and many people didn't even know it. Kindof have the same feeling when I think of Mary Fahl's singing career. To my thinking, the fact that Mary isn't recording/touring anymore is everyone's loss, even if they don't know it. Anyway, at least Valerie will be forever young and bright in our memories.
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