L'Esquive (2003)
Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche

Film Review

L'Esquive is Tunisian film director Abdel Kechiche's eagerly awaited follow up to his impressive debut feature La Faute à Voltaire (2000). The film met with widespread critical acclaim when it was released in France in 2004, winning many awards including no fewer than four Césars in 2005 (including the Best Film and Best Director awards). The film's distinctive naturalistic style and captivating performances from a non-professional cast have earned it favourable reviews across the world and helped to establish Kechiche as one of the most well-regarded directors working in  France today.  Its lead actress, Sara Forestier, received a César for her performance and has since become one of French cinema's rising stars.

L'Esquive is certainly an impressive take on the social drama, with a raw edge that makes the intensely naturalistic dramas by the Dardenne brothers look positively polished by comparison.  It is, admittedly, not a particularly accessible film - the plot is thin, to the point of being virtually non-existent, and some spectators will struggle to make sense of its dialogue - a mixture of teenage street slang and verlan (backslang).  What is most surprising about the film, however, is its weirdly optimistic assertion that ordinary street kids on a housing estate could be minded to take a serious interest in 18th century drama.  It's a curious departure from the social reality that gives the film its poetry and indefinable charm.

Film Synopsis

On a rundown housing estate on the outskirts of Paris, Krimo, a teenage boy of North African descent, lives with his mother in a cramped apartment.   Shortly after he is dumped by his girlfriend, Krimo notices another girl, Lydia.  Although he is instantly attracted to her, Krimo is too shy to show his feelings for her.   It so happens that Lydia is playing a part in a school production of a Marivaux play.  In order to get to know her, he bribes another boy to let him take his place in the play...