Customer Reviews

Lila Says

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sony has done it again. As with their edited-for-an-"R" release of Young Adam, Sony has altered this release of Lila Says. During a scene where the lead characters look through an erotic comic book, all of the panels of the comic have been digitally fogged. Once again an unrated theatrical release of a foreign film has been dummied down to an "R" by everyone's favorite substitute parent, Sony.
Who do they think they are protecting? What do they think will happen if adults see the full versions of these films? Why do they distribute these movies if they have a problem with the contents? Your guess is as good as mine.
Great movie, bad presentation.
Save your dough until Sony grows up and releases an un-edited version.

Lila Says . . . well, Lila says a lot of things. Suggestive things. Explicit things. Things guaranteed to send the mind of a teenaged boy spinning. The movie opens with her talking about how beautiful and well-nigh perfect she is, which got me to thinking this is a character I would certainly dislike. That first impression, however, turned out to be quite wrong. Even as Lila is saying all these highly erotic things about herself and the things she has done, there's an underlying element of innocence there I found quite appealing. She's basically a mystery girl who arrives in a predominantly Muslim section of Marseilles and quickly changes the life of one young Arab, Chimo (Mohammed Khouas), forever. Chimo is already at a crossroads in life as the story begins. His teacher thinks he has enough talent to attend a famous writing school in Paris, yet his family is poor and his gang of friends is basically no good. Which way will he go?

As we watch Chimo join his friends in a robbery, we can see he's heading down the wrong road. Lila (Vahina Giocante), though, offers him something different, and that leads to great confusion on his part. His friends do not approve when he begins hanging around with Lila - his best bud, Mahmoud (Karim Ben Haddou), is especially jealous because Lila won't even give him the time of day. His mother isn't a big fan of Lila's either, knowing the kind of reputation she has. Chimo himself doesn't understand Lila at all, which only increases his obsession with her. She seems to come and go as she pleases, turning up at odd times and places; she talks about nothing but sex - in great detail - yet he never even puts the moves on her. He's like a deer staring into a pair of onrushing headlights, a puppet on Lila's strings. I felt the same way as a viewer, actually. The film is surprisingly powerful; you're mesmerized for the first hour, and then the film's final half hour really hits you with a couple of extremely emotional blows.

As the film begins, you get the impression that this is going to be just another erotic movie with little emotional content, but it is anything but that. It's an extremely serious film that really touches you in a number of unusual ways and leaves you quite affected by the movie's shocking climax. I understand the film was rather controversial when it was released in France. It definitely earns its R rating - but mainly for explicit language and one scene of a violent nature, as there's basically no nudity at all. (As another reviewer pointed out, the naked images in an adult cartoon are blurred - how stupid is that?) This is a rather shocking movie, but that's a good thing. Most films seem to have an invisible wall that keeps you from truly connecting with the characters, but Lila Says just plows right through that wall from the very start. It makes for quite a refreshing viewing experience, and I think most viewers will be surprised at the depth of their emotional reaction to the film's denouement.

Needless to say, I was deeply impressed with this French film. I've never seen anything quite like it, and I found Vahina Giocante nothing short of amazing. She is an intoxicating presence onscreen, and her seemingly effortless performance definitely makes her one to watch for in future years.

This is a well done coming of age tale set in Marseille. Chimo, a French teenager of Magrebian descent, lives with his mother in a small apartment in a relatively poor neighborhood. He and his three companions (also of North African descent) do what most teenagers do; hang out, have fun, and don't really want to be bothered by anything that doesn't concern or interest them. Chimo has shown some writing ability in school, and has been invited to submit some samples to a university, but overall it is unclear where Chimo and his friends are going in life and if they will do anything productive. At one point they are involved in a petty burglary. Things take a dramatic turn when a blonde haired beauty (Lila) moves into the neighborhood with her aunt. Lila is obsessed with sex, and there is a mutual attraction between Lila and Chimo from the start. Unfortunately, the `leader' of Chimo's gang is also attracted to Lila, who couldn't possibly care any less about him. This story is partly a tale of a tragic love triangle, and partly a story of sexual awakening. Much of the dialogue between Chimo and Lila is sexual in nature (some very explicit and direct), but there is little nudity in this film. In the end though, this is a tale about the end of innocence, the often hard transformation to the realities of adulthood. Without giving too much of the story away, I thought that the message at the very end of the film was particularly well done. Things do not always turn out well in real life, but life goes on nonetheless.

This is definitely not one of the sickly-sweet, dumbed down romantic films put out by Hollywood for American audiences. One of the other reviewers stated that it was controversial when released in France. I don't know if this is true or not, but if you are looking for a film that is more complex and nuanced (edgy may be the right word to describe this film, and in some parts shocking) than the crap released by Hollywood, I would recommend this film. This film explores timeless themes: love, sexuality, and loss of innocence (i.e. the often harsh realities of growing up) in a fresh and unique manner.

Finally, I should mention that I originally (naively? foolishly?) thought this film would be about the relationship between the Arab immigrants and the native French in Marseille. There is a tendency to overemphasize the sexual overtones in the descriptions of foreign (particularly French) films when released in the US, and I had assumed that this was case for this film. The description of this film in the Plot Summary is largely accurate, and this film does not explore any French/Magreb immigrant issues.

For some reason, every movie that either shows some form of sexual activity or some amount of female flesh or has a character describing a sexual act is always marketed as "Erotic" in the USA. Queen Victoria would have sympathized, but really, let's grow up a little, shall we? Lila Dit Ca (Lila Says) is not by any stretch of the imagination an erotic movie but it is a poignant look at the awfully limited horizons that exist for a group of French arabs in a Marseilles ghetto. They have no education, no meaningful culture, no pursuits, no future, no imagination and no hope. The claustrophobia inherent in this existance is almost palpable, and is visually elaborated by shots of narrow streets and small rooms and cramped spaces wherever the characters roam.

Against this is set the expansive imagination of Lila, a teenage siren who is very aware of her charms and whose desire to escape the narrowness of her setting is expressed through modestly elaborate sexual fantasies which she tries out on Chimo, the only boy in the ghetto who possesses anything close to a functional mind. Unfortunately Chimo lacks Lila's self-awareness and consequently fails to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves; yet his passiveness is actually what makes him a safe confidante for the young girl and his gentleness is what ultimately wins her heart. Chimo, however, believes her to be infinitely more experienced than he is and so he is unable to see her true feelings.

So the core of this film is a ballet between the crushing mindlessness of the arab boys Chimo regards as his friends, and the expansive possibilities embodied by Lila. When these two worlds come crashing together, it's Lila who pays the price. The film suggests that love will triumph, and that Chimo's redemption has been made possible by Lila's ordeal, but this was for me the least satisfying and least convincing part of the film. The rest is finely observed and the director gets the most out of his young and somewhat jejeune cast.

"Lila" brings memories of youthful desire and adventure back to you as an adult through the intrigues of sensual youth, love, time spent doing simple things with someone special, daring erotic moves and innuendos... Lila adds spice to your adult life.

Lila doesn't see an "Arab foreigner". She sees the loving, kind, protective man he really is under all of his boyhood innocence, despite the opposing forces of his evil, selfish friends from whom his loyalty is turned.

A deeply thought provoking movie, adventurous and fun to watch, this movie teaches us to look beyond racial, religious, cultural and social upbringing only to look to the inside of WHO a person really is, despite all social prejudices.

I highly recommend this movie to those who think that they understand other cultures so often influenced by certain logistics and circumstance. It will definitely bring a new insight to those who are absent of that base knowledge of other cultures and lifestyles, and also to those who think they "know" others so well. It exemplifies a part of life that is so often overlooked through misunderstanding, personal conceits and prejudices.

i usually hate subtitles but this movie really drew me in, it made me want to be a teenager again! such a sweet love story, a tale of a boy and a girl who both live on the poor side of a french town. i have already watched it like 5 times!

The storyline is very interesting. starts out a little slow and may be discouraging to some but ends with a brilliant twist. it is beautifully shot and produced. a brilliant story about how one person can change your life or even put things into perspective.

There was nothing about this movie that I liked. Acting was bad and violence against women (rape)is not what I come to a movie to see. This movie was just a jumble of nothing.

This is the film that will make your heart beat forever because of the powerful and effective emotions on it.A great simple story about living the life of passion , dreams(lies_white ones_) and unfinishing love. A small film filled with fine performances , great locations(areas) and Arabic songs. Fine direction and great writing with a keen eye for details with such a small running time.watch this one if you loved DIRTY PRETTY THINGS.The rape scene will tear your mind , heart and body apart.

Lila Says turned out to be better than what I had expected. Lila sure does say a whole LOT in this movie. All sorts of explicit things. She basically shares all of her fantasies and experiences with a young man who lives near her...and together they share very intimate experiences...although they never even have sex....The ending was surprising, I didn't see it coming.

Charectars:

Lila-a young, pretty blonde french girl. She has no problem saying EXACTLY what is on her mind. She is not shy or reserved in any way at all.

Chimo-A young, handsome Arab guy. Lila continues to shock him with her straightforward attitude toward sex. He is pulled closer and closer to her and her sexual games.

**If you are looking for something different and also very sexy, get this film. **