Shéhérazade

Convincing movie where the individual love feelings face opposite social views and peer pressure. The story unfolds in the teen Muslim community of Marseilles where the social security network fails exposing their youth to drug, crime, prostitution and street violence. Throughout the movie quality, tension and events develop at an adequate pace.

It was hard to get into it this world right off the bat. I had moments I wanted to wander off. Very specific, tough lives. But the realism and the natural magnetism of the actors kept me in.

The one motorcycle sequence which shot in a single movement is more effective than many action movies I've seen lately. The courtroom sequence flows with a matter-of-fact rhythm and holds a lot of great tension. This is the denoument of the social commentary. The characters, especially Sheherazade grew on me quite a bit in the end.

I was watching this movie as part of a cycle on Marseille, both books and movies. This movie does not actually shows much of the city. What I got was actually a very good movie which depicts a full range of characters and emotions. This is a love story which makes one care about the heroes. Plus the photography was good. I recommend

What worked: The movie is as real as it can get; characters are not as black and white as we see in the movies. It's a well executed movie piece with characters with more than a linear life story. Each had their own story, their struggles and hardship. It's an enjoyable watch, and a well climaxed story. As a movie viewer from a different language, it's a treat. What did not work: Maybe some parts of the story could have been garnished and well explained. The movie leaves some plotholes. On the other hand the characters and stories are not glorified because maybe they wanted to show the characters and the narrative in the gray area; not exactly explaining things. Final verdict: recommended

The guy is really captivating and plays a wonderful role. The girl is not typecasted right at all and she devalues the story. The story is pretty simple but because of the acting and the setting it takes you in from the beginning. Streetlife is depicted really well. A real gem.