For the longest time I thought this movie was dream. I remember seeing it as a teen but then I couldn't remember the name of it or who the actors were. I finally saw it again 15 years later and is amazing how well the story holds up but how differently I view it.While the story is simplistic, the relationship between the leads is anything but and what on paper can seem like a clear moral line get blurred by the characters and the script. I can't imagine a movie like this about a relationship that does become sexual between a young teen and an adult being made in the US today or even back in 1980. I think one of the reasons it works so well is so much of it is from the perspective of the 14 year old girl and she is the one driving the action forward and pursuing the adult. It is am amazing film in that you have sympathy for both characters even when they are making horrible choices.

There really ought to be a word for the description of seeing a film twice - once when you are an adolescent, and then when you are an adult. Seriously.Sexuality was especially difficult to deal with. Yes, I felt it, but I could never EVER admit it. And so movies (thank you CABLE) were my outlet for letting me know I was maybe normal.I remember seeing "La Petite Sirene" in the early '80's and immediately identifying with the American heroine Laura, the ugly-duckling who actually goes after the mechanic who shows some interest in her.FYI The sex scenes are very PG. And the ending is somewhat downbeat.Still, this put me on the road to film as a major in college. so hey!