Le paradis

The image I retain from this film is not actually an original one but it's something I'm sure prisoners do in every prison all over the world. It's the communication both spiritual and physical through the wall of their adjoining cells. I have to say Jean Genet did it better in "Un chant d'amour" but here it was germane and poignant.

The setting for this is a sort of French borstal. The sentences are indeterminate as in the former English system but decided by the judge and not the officers and governor. This leads to a tragic conclusion.

Two lads fall in love within the walls. Beautiful Khalil Ben Gharbia as Joe, who played such a good rôle on Nattåget, and Julien de Saint Jean as William snatch torrid moments together. The exposure of their affair leads to a foregone conclusion, one we might have guessed would happen.

The film is just right at an hour and twenty three minutes; I wasn't bored for an instant. Heartily recommended.