Lila dit ça

In a poor Arab neighborhood, the nineteen years old Chimo (Mohammed Khouas) lives alone with his mother and is a talented natural writer. His school teacher offers him the chance to study in Paris, inclusive with a letter of recommendation, but his mother can not afford and Chimo stays. His three best friends are completely losers and scoundrels. When the shy Chimo meets the gorgeous and sexy new-arrival in the ghetto Lila (Vahina Giocante), who lives with a deranged aunt, his gross friend Mouloud (Karim Ben Haddou) falls for her. However, Chimo becomes close to Lila, who seduces him with her sexual games, telling him about her perverted sexual experience. The inexperienced Chimo falls in love for her, but he does not know how to declare his love for the girl. When Mouloud sneaks and listens to a private conversation between Lila and Chimo, he concludes that the girl is a whore, with tragic consequences.

"Lila Dit Ça" is a wonderful coming-of-age low-budget movie, with a simple, touching, sensitive, consistent and real love story and magnificent direction, screenplay and performances. The tale shows also the lack of perspective of the youngsters of the lower classes in a First World Country and the effects of ignorance and prejudice. The unknown Mohammed Khouas is an excellent actor, and as Lila says, has very expressive eyes. Vahina Giocante is also great and very beautiful, with a perfect chemistry with Mohammed Khouas. I highly recommend this movie for viewers that wish to see a beautiful and sad romance. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Lila Diz…" ("Lila Says…")

This terrific little coming-of-age movie came out in 2004 and, despite a modicum of success on the festival circuit, seems to have disappeared without trace. It's the story of a handsome young Muslim teenage, Chimo. (Moa Khouas, excellent), and his infatuation with the beautiful blonde Lila, (Vahina Giocante, a natural). You could say it's very much a wish-fulfillment movie since Lila is the girl of every boy's dreams and is, apparently, up for grabs. The setting is the Arab quarter of Marseilles so there is a political element to the film, too, though the randy and ultimately violent youths on display could come from any city anywhere.

The Lebanese director, Ziad Doueiri, had already worked in Hollywood for Tarantino before returning to Europe where he made "West Beirut". This, his second film, really should have catapulted him into the big-time yet it was eight years before he directed again. Even if his career never really develops "Lila Says" will have earned him his footnote in film history.

"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.

I'm not exactly the target audience for realist dramas or romance films. My tastes lean heavily towards fantasy, especially horror, the darker side of that broad genre. I tend to prefer stereotypical "guy" and adolescent films. But Lila Says is a beautiful, extremely well made film in many ways. I only subtracted one point because it is just a tad slow in a few sections; however, I can easily see revising my score to a 10 on subsequent viewings.

The story is set in an Arab ghetto outside of Paris. Chimo (Mohammed Khouas) has a talent for writing, but because it's not exactly what anyone expects of him, and seriously pursuing it would involve removing himself from the only world that he knows, he sweeps it under a rug more or less and spends most of his time with three somewhat brash friends. Suddenly, a beautiful French girl, Lila (Vahina Giocante), moves into the neighborhood with her foster mom. Chimo and his friends are all understandably taken with her, but she only pays attention to Chimo, in secret. Lila Says is the story of their growing but odd relationship, which despite Lila's increasingly outrageous stories and sexual comments and behavior, remains mostly platonic.

I've already mentioned that Giocante is beautiful, as is Khouas, as far as I can judge, but so is the setting and the cinematography. Lila says would be worth a watch for the latter alone. Chimo may live in a ghetto, but director of photography John Daly sure knows how to make gorgeous and attractive. Likewise, the songs and the score in the film are beautiful.

But most importantly, the story is very engaging. Director Ziad Doueiri is able to turn a film that is really mostly talking in a limited number of settings into something often as gripping as an adventure/thriller, with hints of both of those genres. Lila's behavior and stories are often surprising, and her relationship with Chimo is complex and realistic. The ending has something of a twist (two, actually) that makes the film more tragic, but at the same time, Lila is a catalyst that brings full realization to "true selves", whether that ends up being a triumph, as in the case of Chimo and his mother, or a disaster, as in the case of another character.

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.