Films Distribution presents "L'Esquive"

Films Distribution presents "L'Esquive" L'Esquive A film by Abdel Kechiche

For Krimo, a teenager living in the suburbs of Paris, days go by, carying the weight of his boredom around the neighbourhood. Until a few lines from a 19th century play echo in an open field, and suddenly nothing seems quite the same anymore : Lydia, all dressed-up in her theatre costume, is rehearsing the school play. And Krimo falls in love with her. Despite the reputation Krimo has to sustain, he will accept a role in the play in order to declare his love. Will he find the right words?

Starring Osman Elkharraz, Sara Forestier, Sabrina Ouazani, Hajar Hamlili, Rachid Hami.

GENRE : COMEDY/DRAMA FORMAT: 35 mm / 1.85 / DOLBY SR LENGTH : 1h57 YEAR : 2003

Press clippings

Abdellatif Kechiche makes the most of his camera. .Ensemble playing is seamless and the roles are inhabited completely. Per Kechiche, film was fully scripted and well-rehearsed, which only underlines the skill of the actors at maintaining authenticity. .the energy and verve of the perfs, supplemented by some well-timed laughs, make the high-octane confrontations seem a bona fide part of the characters' adolescence. Pic created buzz at its Berlin fest screenings and should get its passport ready to travel. Russel Edwards, VARIETY

Game of love and chance in a Paris suburb.A romantic comedy. .A phenomenon discussed on op-ed pages of the dailies.. Joan Dupont, INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

Sweet and delicate portrait of a Parisian proletarian suburb. Abdellatif Kechiche makes a tactful film, a fresh look to present youth, far from judgments or moraine. Kechiche proves owning the same human touch as Mike Leigh, another creator of social portraits. Violeta Kovacsics, FIPRESCI

The films show clearly the uprooting problems. The young characters express their feelings and gestures with lot of energy. .For the world cinema, the effort to make a document about a particular culture is appreciable.. Mark Siemons, FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE (Germany)

Kechiche doesn't produce confrontation of the slang Arabic like a cultural shock, but as a curious acquisition... the camera acts and dares as a microscope groping tenderly on the beauty of a cheek... .a voyage of discovery, for which we should secure a ticket quickly. Gerhard Midding, TIP Magazine (Germany)

A history of suburbs which do not put ahead a stereotyped ghetto. a complex and fine study of models of behaviour of group, through the ways of speaking, the sound and the effect of the words... Among all the true stories, it was the best up to now. Isabella Reicher, DER STANDARD (Austria)

L'Esquive by Abdellatif Kechiche is an endearing french take on the Hollywood high school Shakespeare genre. Peter Bradshaw, THE GUARDIAN (UK)

Abdellatif Kechiche has chosen to work on the imaginary breaking off the representation of the stereotyped characters of the "Hate" (La haine) and he opens other spaces nearly always denied to the visibility of the daily life. Cristina Piccino, IL MANIFESTO (Italy)

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