Description: This provocative film based on a book that caused much controversy in France follows two inner city teenagers engaged in an obsessive yet innocent flirtation fueled by Lila's sexually explicit overtures. Chimo, an Arab Muslim living in a poor neighborhood in Marseilles, is a talented young man who finds inspiration and his world turned upside down when a seductive blonde teenage girl, Lila, moves into his neighborhood.
A Great Movie to Discuss with Teens I thought this movie was going to be mostly about the clash of cultures between that of Western Europe and Islamic, Arab cultures. Instead, it is a very good psychological drama. Lila is a very troubled girl, one who expresses her inner insecurities in sexual fantasies. Chimo is a nominal Muslim teen, who is trying to balance his own dreams in life with the low expectations of his Arab friends.
Although Lila seems to be extremely loose sexually, Chimo's reaction is a teen's typical sexual insecurity. On the one hand, he finds this opportunity fascinating and tempting; on the other hand, he is unsure of how to handle it, so he draws back. He also, to his credit, seems to sense that Lila is very troubled, and acting out sexually would only exacerbate her problems. This is an excellent movie for parents to show teens if they believe their son or daughter are encountering such a person as Lila. Teens need to understand that many troubled teens express their psychological problems sexually, and taking advantage of that will only make things worse for the troubled teen. Parents might also wish to discuss how it would affect their teen if what they did complicated another teen's problems.
Excellent Movie that Addresses Cultural/Social Misunderstanding! "Lila" brings memories of youthful desire and adventure back to you as an adult through the intrigues of sensual youth, love, time spent doing simple things with someone special, daring erotic moves and innuendos... Lila adds spice to your adult life.
Lila doesn't see an "Arab foreigner". She sees the loving, kind, protective man he really is under all of his boyhood innocence, despite the opposing forces of his evil, selfish friends from whom his loyalty is turned.
A deeply thought provoking movie, adventurous and fun to watch, this movie teaches us to look beyond racial, religious, cultural and social upbringing only to look to the inside of WHO a person really is, despite all social prejudices.
I highly recommend this movie to those who think that they understand other cultures so often influenced by certain logistics and circumstance. It will definitely bring a new insight to those who are absent of that base knowledge of other cultures and lifestyles, and also to those who think they "know" others so well. It exemplifies a part of life that is so often overlooked through misunderstanding, personal conceits and prejudices.
INTOXICATING AND DANGEROUS EROTICISM Intoxicatingly erotic, LILA SAYS (Sony) is a terrific post 9/11 Romeo and Juliet story set in an Arab immigrant enclave of Marseilles.
Gorgeous Lila (Vahina Giocante )is a 16 year old, angelic-looking but clearly damaged, pouty, potty-mouthed Polish nymphet. The object of her bold verbal taunting ("Want to see my pussy?") is Chomo, a handsome, shy, 19 year old Arab boy.
These two attractive inner-city teens escalate their risky sex games in an edgy relationship of opposites until it ignites a wider, tragic response.
Beautifully photographed with exceptional young leads, this tension-filled, overtly sexual coming of age tale is arousing and unsettling.
And as volatile as today's headlines.
A journy inside the heart of innocent and pure love This is the film that will make your heart beat forever because of the powerful and effective emotions on it.A great simple story about living the life of passion , dreams(lies_white ones_) and unfinishing love. A small film filled with fine performances , great locations(areas) and Arabic songs. Fine direction and great writing with a keen eye for details with such a small running time.watch this one if you loved DIRTY PRETTY THINGS.The rape scene will tear your mind , heart and body apart.
The End of Innocence This is a well done coming of age tale set in Marseille. Chimo, a French teenager of Magrebian descent, lives with his mother in a small apartment in a relatively poor neighborhood. He and his three companions (also of North African descent) do what most teenagers do; hang out, have fun, and don't really want to be bothered by anything that doesn't concern or interest them. Chimo has shown some writing ability in school, and has been invited to submit some samples to a university, but overall it is unclear where Chimo and his friends are going in life and if they will do anything productive. At one point they are involved in a petty burglary. Things take a dramatic turn when a blonde haired beauty (Lila) moves into the neighborhood with her aunt. Lila is obsessed with sex, and there is a mutual attraction between Lila and Chimo from the start. Unfortunately, the `leader' of Chimo's gang is also attracted to Lila, who couldn't possibly care any less about him. This story is partly a tale of a tragic love triangle, and partly a story of sexual awakening. Much of the dialogue between Chimo and Lila is sexual in nature (some very explicit and direct), but there is little nudity in this film. In the end though, this is a tale about the end of innocence, the often hard transformation to the realities of adulthood. Without giving too much of the story away, I thought that the message at the very end of the film was particularly well done. Things do not always turn out well in real life, but life goes on nonetheless.
This is definitely not one of the sickly-sweet, dumbed down romantic films put out by Hollywood for American audiences. One of the other reviewers stated that it was controversial when released in France. I don't know if this is true or not, but if you are looking for a film that is more complex and nuanced (edgy may be the right word to describe this film, and in some parts shocking) than the crap released by Hollywood, I would recommend this film. This film explores timeless themes: love, sexuality, and loss of innocence (i.e. the often harsh realities of growing up) in a fresh and unique manner.
Finally, I should mention that I originally (naively? foolishly?) thought this film would be about the relationship between the Arab immigrants and the native French in Marseille. There is a tendency to overemphasize the sexual overtones in the descriptions of foreign (particularly French) films when released in the US, and I had assumed that this was case for this film. The description of this film in the Plot Summary is largely accurate, and this film does not explore any French/Magreb immigrant issues.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
