Woke

9.5 Stars. Just finished watching Les Engages (Woke). Loved it. The acting from all the main characters was sublime, the direction was very good, the various settings in Lyon lovely, the short, sharp 9-10 minute episodes just flew by. Felt completely drawn in by the day to day lives of these diverse characters, all with their own stories to tell, however, must say, the portrayal of Hicham by Mehdi Meskar just melted my heart. The only reason it dosn't get a perfect 10 is a couple of times it delved into melodrama which grated somewhat. I really look forward to seeing the second series of this realistic slice of life at a gay support centre. Well done to everyone involved in this project.

This very good web series stays away from stereotypes and clichés to offer a wide range of interesting characters. "Les Engagés" deals with LGBT activism, self discovery, freedom and much more. The whole cast is very talented, especially Mehdi Meskar who delivers a very subtle and touching performance as Hicham Alaoui, a young man seeking his place in the world. The beautiful directing will also make you fall in love with the city of Lyon. Do yourself a favour and go watch this gem!

the life of small group. fights for rights, love stories, passion, politic and self discover, courage, a life style and an universe who seems eccentric, vulnerable, example of naivety and freedom, tender and closed by an idealism who not convince always. not a manifesto, not propaganda. maybe, a testimony. honest, coherent, dramatic, simple about a cause and about its people. about a young man looking for the life who seems be, and, who becomes, to define himself. youth and dramas. solidarity and work for truth. nothing new. but the result is a seductive series. and this is the most important thing in this case.

This is a lovely story about the struggles of a Muslim young man in France, in the search for his sexual awareness and the building of his own self-chosen subjectivity beyond gender, religious, political labels.

In his quest he finds an LGBT center in Lyon which acts as an empowering, nurturing but diverse environment. There, while Hicham tries to take a stance for a self-assumed gay life, he also discovers and questions the ways of activism, political and social debate, ethics, enjoyment, social reform and family relationships. His journey also means a liberating experience for his sister, who finds new ways of addressing reality and a place for herself while trying to understand his Muslim gay little brother.

This is a 10-part web series consisting of 10-minutes episodes, which is an innovating narrative format for audiovisual productions. The episodes, so brief in themselves, require a narrative economy or simplification which may be seen as a plus or a minus, depending on the perspective. I have not found them disturbing nor failing. On the contrary, they give the show a kind of "refreshing approach" about the importance and meaning of grass-root empowering movements, while avoiding the heavy undertones so frequent in the ruminations of more ambitious or pretentious stories. It is true that the whole show leans towards didacticism, yes, but this is not necessarily a bad thing if it is well thought and filmed.

Despite the light-hearted approach, contradictions and power struggles are pervasive along the episodes, both within the center and within the characters, and the well-devised dialogues are spilled with wise one -liners and reflections ("Activism is like trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon (but even so...)".

The whole 10-part story is barely 100 minutes long, the average length of a not-quite-long movie. But the serial treatment allows for a more focused progression of Hachim's self-awakening journey, which is reflected in the episodes' titles: Running Away / Gathering Together / Opening Up / Kissing Each Other / Emancipating / Clashing / Discovering, and so forth.

It is a very remarkable experiment in short-episodes narrative with commendable performances and an excellent direction. Congratulations to the team involved!