Two troubled teens find love on the mean streets of Marseille in this familiar yet affecting first feature from director Jean-Bernard Marlin. By Mark Keizer. But its reputation for crime and poverty makes all the more affecting the tentative relationship between a troubled year-old boy just sprung from juvenile detention and the title character, the teenage prostitute he falls in love with. But the question of whether the love between two lost teenagers can survive such a miserable environment provides more than enough emotional pull, provided that audiences can find this Cannes Film Festival gem on Netflix.
Marlin was born in Marseille and his feel for the area is unflinching yet compassionate. Popular on Variety. Commanding the screen from the start, Robert is a marvelous find, a total newbie who auditioned for the role shortly after being released from the same prison as his character.
It may initially seem curious that a gritty film told from a male point of view would be named after a female character we learn comparatively little about.
But the feminine title is no mistake. She gives him someone to love and protect. Then as she gets down to business, the camera lingers on Zach as love, jealousy and financial opportunity fight it out in his head.
Eventually, like many teenage boys whose feelings of attachment to a young love can be overwhelming, Zach becomes hotheaded and impulsive. It starts with a foolhardy attempt to take on some tough Bulgarians and ends after he extracts shocking revenge on childhood friend Ryad Idir Azougli, another great non-pro find , which leads to a riveting courtroom scene.
