Lila dit ça

Truly LILA SAYS, says it all. There is so much to take in throughout this movie. From the beautiful camera work to the script which delivers a solid arsenal of sexual tension and brave dialog. Not since Jules and Jim has there been a movie like Lila Says that can cause separation in audience feeling and the characters. This movie succeeds in many ways, but seeing it it's English translation is worth it all. The writers, Mark Lawrence in particular, deserve to be congratulated in the writing of this script. From it's brave opening to the closure in the end, the movie keeps you wondering and worrying about precious LILA. Go see this movie while it is here.

"Lila dit ça" is a contemporary story about two teenagers, Chimo and Lila, which have a hidden attraction for each other in spite of not knowing each other very well…

Chimo (Mohammed Khouas) is a young Muslim guy which lives with his mother and has a group of friends also Arab. He's quieter than the others, he's calm, peaceful and has a great dream: to become a writer… but he thinks he'll never get it…

Lila (Vahina Giocante) is a mysterious young girl who arrives in the neighborhood. From the very first moment Chimo is in love with her. At the beginning he didn't notice, he thinks it's just an attraction, but then he'll understand he is… Lila is mysterious, acts strangely, but she's beautiful. She has the face of an angel (as is said by herself in the movie!) but the mind of a devil… She's provocative, insinuating, and she's always speaking about sex, and about her sex… She's a real devil with an angel face! But is she in love with Chimo (as he's for her), or is it just a game to her? By the end the viewer will find out!

It's a story about passion (teenage passion), self-discovery, teenage relationships, but it also portrays a reality of mixed cultures. It describes very well the shock between different cultures which stand side-by-side in the French suburbs nowadays… It's just the plot's background but it ends being a good social portrait of these different cultures.

All in all it's a good movie which deserves a 7/10 score!

"Precious" Lila? I'm sorry, but precious is the last thing I would call Lila. She seems to me to be quite the slut. Despite this, I did like the film in that it was in French (which is my major, so I'm biased) and the acting throughout was superb. "Lila Dit Ca" is a beautifully shot film, but not for young viewers, since much of the dialogue is explicit. You will blush, some of Lila's actions are a bit extreme. I liked the ending--it was both uplifting and realistic. This was certainly unlike any other film I've seen, so I feel like I'm broadening my horizons. This is not a waste of an hour and a half, I would recommend it.

"Lila Says (Lila dit ça)" is the freshest and most original update of "Romeo and Juliet" since "West Side Story."

The transgressive nature of their relationship is dealt with much more explicitly, both in their differences and their sexual attraction. Parallel to "À Tout de Suite (Right Now)" as a relationship between a Polish blonde, "Lila," and an Arab teen, "Chimo," and both being based on putatively true stories, it has far more passion and gets us right into their heads as these two most unlikely soul mates find each other.

Lila's sudden appearance in the vividly shown immigrant slums of Marseilles stands her out immediately, like "an angel" she claims and she is clearly fascinated by his "olive skin." They each reach out counter to their culture and tantalize taboos -- he eschews macho aggression for transfixed listening, while she is quite literally a C.T., with arousing sexual descriptions pouring out of that potty pouty mouth very much like a modern day Scheherazade in an Arabian Days, particularly on one quite memorable bike ride.

We see more and more how this odd relationship becomes a haven for them, as she is an orphaned victim of sexual abuse who has learned the power of being seen as a Lolita fantasy object and he is surrounded by, as he calls them, "losers", frustrated by unemployment and post-9/11 suspicions. They start having an effect on each other as they learn to trust each other in one of the most tender evocations of first love amidst a way too sexually and politically charged environment.

She has a disturbed relationship with her female guardian, while "Chimo" has an unusually supportive and warm relationship with his mother, who was abandoned by his father's attraction to a Frenchwoman, which may explain why he is so much more sensitive than his rough and resentful friends.

When the pair's tentative pas de deux, however, starts to touch other people as they challenge expectations, he when he is faithful to her despite her challenging language of temptation and she by openly mocking the link between sex and religion, they incite jealousies and hysteria that build up in horrific speed to an unexpected tragedy and revelation that has incredible force and power.

It is somewhat of a cliché in the young immigrant love genre that "Chimo" as the narrator is struggling with being a writer, but his talent and insights fit both sweetly and dramatically into the storytelling.

Vahina Giocante, as "Lila," shifts amazingly from brazen flirt to demure school girl, while Mohammed Khouas, in his debut as "Chimo," is captivating and heart breakingly believable, both in his early naive curiosity and in his later growing maturity.

The editing is terrific at matching their emotions, with tight close-ups when they are together, and encompassing mise en scene shots of their environments when they separate.

The music selections well match their different backgrounds and coming together.

This is an exhausting and exhilarating look at young love and life lessons.

I just saw it, and I was really pleased. Very nice movie, disturbing at times, but in a very nice way. I believe the Ziad Doueiry really knows how to make good things out of his low budget: Very nice camera movement. Very good lighting, very nice image. And a very nice story. Also a lot of details that make the movie seem rather clever. Credit also goes to Vahina Giocante, whose performance is stunning. No matter how much she tries to disturb you, you will love her more and more as the movie goes on. If you're a big fan of beauty, be prepared, you're really gonna enjoy her. Back to Ziad Doueiry: he certainly proved that West Beirut wasn't a matter of luck. He's proving that he is a very good Lebanese director. And believe me, it's hard to be a good Lebanese director, due to the limited funds available, which can have a negative effect, "physically" (if you know what I mean) and morally.