Quand on a 17 ans

Bullying normally leads to lasting enmity between the perpetrator and the victim. Only occasionally does it lead to friendship. Rarely does it lead to love, but such is the case in André Téchiné's ("In the Name of my Daughter") masterful coming of age drama, Being 17 (Quand on a 17 ans), his best film since the 1994 "Wild Reeds." Co-written by director Céline Sciamma ("Girlhood") and set in the Pyrenees Mountains in the South of France, the film opens with the sight of a lonely boy trudging through winding snow-covered mountain roads on his way to school, a journey partly on foot and partly by bus that takes him an hour and a half each way.

The boy is Thomas Charpoul (Corentin Fila), a biracial Algerian boy of seventeen who has been adopted by a white farming family and whose feeling of alienation from his parents, Jacques (Jean Fornerod, "Polisse") and Christine (Mama Prassinos, "Leaving") carries over to his behavior at school. Usually, one of the last to be picked for a basketball team in gym class, Tom's anger finds an outlet when he deliberately provokes another classmate Damien Delille (Kacey Mottet Klein, "Keeper"), tripping him as he goes back to his seat after reciting a poem by Rimbaud in front of the class and shoving him to the ground after school.

Damien is a tall, slender boy who could not be more different than his nemesis. He is a committed student, emotionally stable, and close to his mother Marianne (Sandrine Kiberlain, "Encore Heureux"), the only doctor in the small town. As performed by Kiberlain, she is a three-dimensional figure whose warmth and humor light up the screen and the film is her story as well as that of the two boys. Damien's father Nathan (Alexis Loret, "In Harmony"), is an Army pilot who is engaged in an unspecified conflict in the Middle East, but is away from home often and but plays a strong role in the Damien's life. Not cowed, Damien takes lessons in self defense from family friend Paulo (Jean Corso, "In the Name of my Daughter") and plans to retaliate but circumstances change the dynamics.

When Marianne visits Christine to treat her pulmonary infection, she discovers that her patient is pregnant. Unaware of the conflict between the boys, she invites Thomas to stay at their house during his mother's pregnancy so that he can keep up his grades. While on the surface it is a decision that seems contrived except that Marianne has dreams about having an affair with Tom. Though the violence between the boys continues even as they share the same house, Damien recognizes new feelings when he sees Tom take off his clothes and dive naked into a lake in the middle of winter.

Startled by his physical attraction, he tells him later that "I need to know if I'm into guys or just to you," but the answer remains unclear and their homoerotic relationship only develops after an initial period of fear and confusion. What stands out in Being 17 is the naturalness of the two boys and the chemistry they have together. This authenticity extends not only to the way they speak to each (neither are very vocal) or look at each other but to their body language even when they are fighting, as if they are happy to be receiving the others attention. Not enough can be said about the work of Klein and Fila. Their performances resonate with conviction and create a uniquely moving experience.

In a small town in the mountainous Pyrenees region of France, two teenage boys in the same grade have an intense dislike for each other: Damien (Kacey Mottet Klein) who lives in a pleasant house in town and whose family is well-off; and Tomas (Corentin Fila) who is bi-racial and adopted by a farm family whose home is a long distance from town. Lurking beneath the mutual contempt is a sexual tension.

The beautiful location enhances the charm and depth of this moving film. In addition to the story of the two boys, there are subplots in each of their families that add greatly to the story overall. While the story of the boys' conflict seems to linger too long, the movie can be credited for being unpredictable and full of surprises.

The characterization of Tomas is particularly rich and filled with contradictions. In one moment, it is easy to despise him for his bullying ways; in the next moment, it is easy to pity him for his difficult daily life and the uncertainty due to a change that is about to happen in his family. Though not explicitly explored, he also has the difficulty of seeming to be the only non-white person in the small town.

The actors are both great in their roles as is Sabine Kiberlain who plays Damien's mother and is also a doctor. She's very nurturing in both roles and is also quite touching as someone in a crisis in the movie's second half.

By the film's end, one has compassion for all of its characters. - dbamateurcritic.

This movie was quite charming. While it was easy to anticipate a story of repressed adoration channeled in the form of antagonism, as is the case for many nonhetero- and questioning folks, it was very rewarding and exciting to see the two main characters come into their own, especially Thomas. Tension is a marvelous instrument and what I liked was that nothing in this movie was presumed or handed to you, everything took it's sweet time to present itself.

Beautiful character development, Damien and Thomas had great chemistry and rawness. To me, Thomas is crucial to the film, race is big (and I could go into that further). It was also not surprising that Marianne (Damien's mother) got such rave reviews. She was absolutely splendid, captivating the screen with her restrain, affection and depth!

Plenty of beautiful vistas to mirror the emotional range of all the characters... this IS a good film, one that I relate to and applaud, BUT in writing this, I am curious of the perspectives of those who are not accustomed to seeing these kind of romances/coming-of-age stories. So, I encourage any and all to see this, a movie that caters to its audience with characters who all feel, react and grow before your eyes.

So this is what being 17 feels like?! This is a slow-moving, mundane yet beautiful, subtle drama that captures the bleak lives of two teenage boys, both living in different family backgrounds. Accompanied by constant shivering snowfalls, they both end up feeling 'something' between them.

This is a simple come-of-age story that doesn't show us usual intensity of gay relationships or obvious flow of surging passion (that concludes with I-love-you or I-like-you confessions). On the contrary it is more about wavering confusion and love-hate tension that grows between two adolescent boys studying in the same institute.

What makes it different from other gay films of similar themes is its ability to grip your attention and tease you with slightly puerile curiosity about: "will they come together?"

There are several unique elements that work as essentials of this story: sense of solitude, fierce jealousy, suppressed infatuation, silent expectations, teenage ego, and of course, the urgent hatred that often emerges from helpless, pent-up affection.

I especially loved the natural, engaging and poised performances of two young actors who seemed to know what they were supposed to do on screen - they appeared quite involved and effortless. Exhilarating indeed!

This is certainly one of the best of one of France's great directors. The cast is perfect, and the two youths beautifully played. Their antagonism at the beginning is not uncommon to those who are still foreigners to their sexuality, and certainly not uncommon to youths far from any centres of so-called gay life. Their attraction is caught by looks that are touching, troubling and moving and the hostility to their own feelings, especially that of Thomas (Corentin Fila ) who lives a more remote life than Damien (Kacey Mottet Klein)who realises his sexual and emotional desires earlier, is perfectly understandable. I will not give away the plot, but mention must be made of the subtle and delicate acting of Damien's mother (Sandrine Kiberlain ) and her exquisite variations of emotions. This is the kind of film that raises homosexuality to a new level in world cinema, and I hope it reaches the wide audience it needs to raise hope, awareness and respect for a choice of love still a problem even in France, and yet no other country could have made this film in quite the same way. Louis Malle's 'Les Amants' which equally showed antipathy between the two lovers was considered a great breakthrough in portraying sexual love for heterosexuals. This film equals it in beauty of image, and its wisdom, and it is a crying shame it was not given the Golden Bear at Berlin. A masterpiece.