Water Lilies is the visually beautiful study of a group of girls growing up against the backdrop of synchronised swimming. The directorial debut of 27 year old French director Celine Sciamma, it follows three girls in a dull Parisian suburb.

First, there's worldly wise Floriane (Adele Haenel), an established member of the swimming team who appears to have everything going for her but whose confidence belies a vulnerable side.

Looking up to her is a young waif of a girl, Marie (Pauline Acquart), who wants to be on the team to learn everything about swimming and life from Floriane but their relationship is not going to be a smooth one.

Marie is trying to distance herself from her chubby former best friend Anne (Louise Blachere), who Marie feels is holding her back. She would much rather be seen with the attractive go-getter Floriane who she finds attractive on various different levels.

Water Lilies is beautifully shot and a well-observed rites-of-passage drama. If you're expecting a film solely about the exacting sport that is synchronised swimming which I don't think has been explored before, this sadly isn't it.

The film is set against a backdrop of synchronised swimmers (complete with many shots of girls in the water in leotards). It offers an insight into the sport and a team's training patterns and so on. I thought it was going to be a film about the sport, the team, and about competition with rival teams and about the part a young rookie might play in the team.

In fact though, director Celine Sciamma is more interested in the interaction between the three girls and their exploration of their own growing sexuality and sticking close to that focus.

It is interesting that the director chose to not include authority figures - such as parents or swimming coaches. Water Lilies is fine as far as it goes but you're left feeling a more dramatic story may have paid greater dividends even though what is on screen is beautifully realised in its own way.