I had the chance to screen this movie in a Hungarian festival. A colleague of mine said a lot of good things of this movie so I eagerly wanted to see it. And as always I was ambushed due to someone's enthusiasm.
How to say... I expected something extremely staggering drama and what I got was a staggering drama but not extremely. From the first time Lila started talking about sex the whole story became obvious. And it got even more obvious when Chimo's friends were shown more and more.
In the first few minutes I got scared because there were some allusions to racism, especially the conflict between the Muslim and not Muslim due to the 11th of September 2001. But it stayed in the level of discussing how difficult is for arabesque to get a job. So it didn't turn out to be a political "horror". LUCKILY! So let's see... we have Chimo an arabesque 19-year-old boy who most of the time just hangs around with his 3 best friends. They steal, harass girls, drink, smoke, whatever a couple of hopeless, sort of outcast guys can do. Chimo is a bit different from them but still he calls them his best friends. And he writes. Novels. And apparently he is talented and gets the great chance to get out of this misery and go to Paris learning to be a writer. But he turns it down, he thinks that this huge L wearing on his forehead can't be removed. He thinks his fate is sealed by being an arabesque in France. And that's what his friends hammer in his brain too. They obviously don't want him to break out. They don't manage it either.
Then we have Lila, a beautiful blond girl with gorgeous blue eyes who lives with her weird aunt.
So they meet. While Chimo's friends are trying to pique Lila's attention, Lila and Chimo immediately become ... well ... sort of friends. As long as the definition of friendship bears some j***ing off on a moped or some exhibitionism, or talking about and strictly just talking about sex. But these things can make a relationship even more beautiful and unforgettable, can't they? So when they meet they talk a lot. More like Lila talks, especially about her juicy dreams and filthy reveries. She even shares verbally her experiences and sexually exalted, sometimes pervert ideas with Chimo which obviously drives him crazy. But perhaps this makes Chimo feel this stronger and stronger love. He doesn't want to hang around with his friends anymore, he works in order to pay the bills. He tries to change. But his friends are not fond of this metamorphosis, and they are getting more and more aggressive. The fact that Lila refuses their "overtures" and she is not even willing to speak with them is fuel to the fire. The bomb explodes...
Summa summarum the movie is good. Very good, but nothing surprising happens in it. Still it is a beautiful love movie. I liked a lot that Ziad Doueiri eliminated the physical parts of sex (apart from this ominous hand job, but that doesn't count) and he focused on verbalism, and emotions which gives the peculiarity of the movie.
The ending is sad and happy at the same time, I found it perfect. A destroyed first love but hope of a better life.
Oh ... the music is brilliant. I suspect that people already got used to the fact that most of the time in french movies the producers abuse them with french songs (which is not always bad, but sometimes quite annoying - sorry about that). This movie is an exceptional. Frankly saying it has a compelling soundtrack.
How to say... I expected something extremely staggering drama and what I got was a staggering drama but not extremely. From the first time Lila started talking about sex the whole story became obvious. And it got even more obvious when Chimo's friends were shown more and more.
In the first few minutes I got scared because there were some allusions to racism, especially the conflict between the Muslim and not Muslim due to the 11th of September 2001. But it stayed in the level of discussing how difficult is for arabesque to get a job. So it didn't turn out to be a political "horror". LUCKILY! So let's see... we have Chimo an arabesque 19-year-old boy who most of the time just hangs around with his 3 best friends. They steal, harass girls, drink, smoke, whatever a couple of hopeless, sort of outcast guys can do. Chimo is a bit different from them but still he calls them his best friends. And he writes. Novels. And apparently he is talented and gets the great chance to get out of this misery and go to Paris learning to be a writer. But he turns it down, he thinks that this huge L wearing on his forehead can't be removed. He thinks his fate is sealed by being an arabesque in France. And that's what his friends hammer in his brain too. They obviously don't want him to break out. They don't manage it either.
Then we have Lila, a beautiful blond girl with gorgeous blue eyes who lives with her weird aunt.
So they meet. While Chimo's friends are trying to pique Lila's attention, Lila and Chimo immediately become ... well ... sort of friends. As long as the definition of friendship bears some j***ing off on a moped or some exhibitionism, or talking about and strictly just talking about sex. But these things can make a relationship even more beautiful and unforgettable, can't they? So when they meet they talk a lot. More like Lila talks, especially about her juicy dreams and filthy reveries. She even shares verbally her experiences and sexually exalted, sometimes pervert ideas with Chimo which obviously drives him crazy. But perhaps this makes Chimo feel this stronger and stronger love. He doesn't want to hang around with his friends anymore, he works in order to pay the bills. He tries to change. But his friends are not fond of this metamorphosis, and they are getting more and more aggressive. The fact that Lila refuses their "overtures" and she is not even willing to speak with them is fuel to the fire. The bomb explodes...
Summa summarum the movie is good. Very good, but nothing surprising happens in it. Still it is a beautiful love movie. I liked a lot that Ziad Doueiri eliminated the physical parts of sex (apart from this ominous hand job, but that doesn't count) and he focused on verbalism, and emotions which gives the peculiarity of the movie.
The ending is sad and happy at the same time, I found it perfect. A destroyed first love but hope of a better life.
Oh ... the music is brilliant. I suspect that people already got used to the fact that most of the time in french movies the producers abuse them with french songs (which is not always bad, but sometimes quite annoying - sorry about that). This movie is an exceptional. Frankly saying it has a compelling soundtrack.