Amin

A very good script for this movie made by a French film director, a kind of French Len Loach, a social issues specialist, and especially immigration matters; Watch out for his other films. Daring subjects. Immigrants living in France, that's the red string of his films. A true realistic, poignant film indeed. I guess only a few professional actors were hired for this feature. That's its strength. It tell the tale of a born African immigrant who works in France in order to send money to his folks in Senegal. And he meets a French white female, divorced and mother of a teen daughter. You can guess all the problems both will have to deal with.

A very Ken Loach vibe with this film, realistic, not always easy, but never black and white. The story is about interactions and social situations one never thinks about but always surrounds us. It is a story of hope and hopelessness and the line we all walk between the two with the people who inhabit it. Emmanuelle Devos delivers a stunning performance, and Moustapha Mbengue is nuanced, often saying more by saying less.

I watched it on the plane, and I kept glancing at the screen next to me, showing Jungle Cruise. Each shot in that was lit so precisely, it was hard not to imagine it was shot entirely in a studio. People don't walk around with backlight hair lights constantly. So the raw, realistic filmmaking of Philippe Faucon was a wonderful come down.