Lila, a pretty blonde girl living in the Arab quarter of Marseilles, sticks out like a sore thumb. Lila is young, voluptuous, and totally foreign, in contrast with the rest of the inhabitants of that neighborhood. Therefore, Lila becomes the object of desire for Chimo and his three cronies that seem to spend their time hanging out without any jobs to go to.
Thus begins this erotically charge tale of a romance between two unlikely partners, the blonde Lila and the dark and intense Chimo. Ziad Doueiri, the Lebanese director, bases his film in a novel by Chimo that from what we have read is an explicit account of their relationship.
Lila likes Chimo from the beginning. She realizes he isn't like the rest of his worthless friends. Lila loves to tease Chimo with her tales of erotic fantasies and loves talking 'dirty' to him. Chimo becomes infatuated with Lila, much to his friends' chagrin, who feel left out by Chimo's involvement with Lila. It's Mouloud, the more vocal of the gang that goes to spy on Lila and Chimo, but not finding anything, he returns to the girl's apartment with his friends to harm Lila.
It's not until that point, when Chimo goes to the apartment and finds Lila crying hysterically that he realizes the true secret about Lila, which is confirmed at the end of the film when the mysterious driver of the grey limousine that supposedly comes to pick up Lila for fun and games, is revealed to the audience. Then, and only then, we realize we have been taken for a ride by the Mr. Doueiri, as we realize Lila is just an innocent young woman.
Vahina Giocante makes a beautiful Lila, a girl that seems much older than her years reveal. Mohammaed Khouas is an enigmatic and serious Chimo. Karim Ben Haddou plays Mouloud, the man who misreads the relationship between Lila and Chimo.
The film message seems to point that beauty is only skin deep and that appearances are deceiving. Mr. Doueiri shows he has the potential for giving his viewers a run for their money.
Thus begins this erotically charge tale of a romance between two unlikely partners, the blonde Lila and the dark and intense Chimo. Ziad Doueiri, the Lebanese director, bases his film in a novel by Chimo that from what we have read is an explicit account of their relationship.
Lila likes Chimo from the beginning. She realizes he isn't like the rest of his worthless friends. Lila loves to tease Chimo with her tales of erotic fantasies and loves talking 'dirty' to him. Chimo becomes infatuated with Lila, much to his friends' chagrin, who feel left out by Chimo's involvement with Lila. It's Mouloud, the more vocal of the gang that goes to spy on Lila and Chimo, but not finding anything, he returns to the girl's apartment with his friends to harm Lila.
It's not until that point, when Chimo goes to the apartment and finds Lila crying hysterically that he realizes the true secret about Lila, which is confirmed at the end of the film when the mysterious driver of the grey limousine that supposedly comes to pick up Lila for fun and games, is revealed to the audience. Then, and only then, we realize we have been taken for a ride by the Mr. Doueiri, as we realize Lila is just an innocent young woman.
Vahina Giocante makes a beautiful Lila, a girl that seems much older than her years reveal. Mohammaed Khouas is an enigmatic and serious Chimo. Karim Ben Haddou plays Mouloud, the man who misreads the relationship between Lila and Chimo.
The film message seems to point that beauty is only skin deep and that appearances are deceiving. Mr. Doueiri shows he has the potential for giving his viewers a run for their money.