Can't have any complaints
Author: YorkieT from Lebanon
3 February 2005
I just saw it, and I was really pleased. Very nice movie, disturbing at times, but in a very nice way. I believe the Ziad Doueiry really knows how to make good things out of his low budget: Very nice camera movement. Very good lighting, very nice image. And a very nice story. Also a lot of details that make the movie seem rather clever. Credit also goes to Vahina Giocante, whose performance is stunning. No matter how much she tries to disturb you, you will love her more and more as the movie goes on.
If you're a big fan of beauty, be prepared, you're really gonna enjoy her. Back to Ziad Doueiry: he certainly proved that West Beirut wasn't a matter of luck. He's proving that he is a very good Lebanese director. And believe me, it's hard to be a good Lebanese director, due to the limited funds available, which can have a negative effect, "physically" (if you know what I mean) and morally.
Author: pickymiss from United States
11 February 2006I found this film very enjoyable. I believe the setting is actually Marseilles... not a Paris suburb as was mentioned in another review, However, a "poorer neighborhood" of "anywhere, big-city France" would describe it. I think this film can even provide a bit of insight into the underlying causes of the riots in France in Fall 2005.
Lila is an orphan, lives with her aunt/foster mother. She is beautiful and says many shocking things, even in the first two or three minutes of the film. (I would probably not let children watch this movie due to language, more than any other type of content.) Lila is a character who the viewer does not fully understand until the end of the film, which I will not spoil here. I was called back to my own adolescence while watching her character's actions and even more so by the end of the film.
Chimo is a complex character and it is fascinating to see his story. I have met many "Chimos." He is stuck in a life that he did not create, yet feels helpless to change, so he doesn't try. As the movie begins, he is writing and telling a story, thereby setting the stage for all the meetings with Lila that are included in the film.
Chimo and his mother have an interesting relationship. He definitely loves her, but he is frustrated because he believes she has given up on living a full life. The same could be said of his mother as she questions his motivation-level.
I really enjoyed this film and think it is beautifully filmed. Makes me want to visit Marseilles.The songs were well-chosen. I actually wished more of the soundtrack had been French or Arabic music, perhaps it was more real that many songs are in English. I am not sure what French teenagers listen to...I recommend this film to viewers over 16 years old, but actually could see watching it with younger adolescents as a catalyst for a "teachable moment."A bittersweet ending that leaves some details hanging for the viewer to fill in.
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.
Author: noralee from Queens, NY
18 July 2005
"Lila Says (Lila dit ça)" is the freshest and most original update of "Romeo and Juliet" since "West Side Story."
The transgressive nature of their relationship is dealt with much more explicitly, both in their differences and their sexual attraction. Parallel to "À Tout de Suite (Right Now)" as a relationship between a Polish blonde, "Lila," and an Arab teen, "Chimo," and both being based on putatively true stories, it has far more passion and gets us right into their heads as these two most unlikely soul mates find each other.
Lila's sudden appearance in the vividly shown immigrant slums of Marseilles stands her out immediately, like "an angel" she claims and she is clearly fascinated by his "olive skin." They each reach out counter to their culture and tantalize taboos -- he eschews macho aggression for transfixed listening, while she is quite literally a C.T., with arousing sexual descriptions pouring out of that potty pouty mouth very much like a modern day Scheherazade in an Arabian Days, particularly on one quite memorable bike ride.
We see more and more how this odd relationship becomes a haven for them, as she is an orphaned victim of sexual abuse who has learned the power of being seen as a Lolita fantasy object and he is surrounded by, as he calls them, "losers", frustrated by unemployment and post-9/11 suspicions. They start having an effect on each other as they learn to trust each other in one of the most tender evocations of first love amidst a way too sexually and politically charged environment.
She has a disturbed relationship with her female guardian, while "Chimo" has an unusually supportive and warm relationship with his mother, who was abandoned by his father's attraction to a Frenchwoman, which may explain why he is so much more sensitive than his rough and resentful friends.When the pair's tentative pas de deux, however, starts to touch other people as they challenge expectations, he when he is faithful to her despite her challenging language of temptation and she by openly mocking the link between sex and religion, they incite jealousies and hysteria that build up in horrific speed to an unexpected tragedy and revelation that has incredible force and power.
It is somewhat of a cliché in the young immigrant love genre that "Chimo" as the narrator is struggling with being a writer, but his talent and insights fit both sweetly and dramatically into the storytelling.Vahina Giocante, as "Lila," shifts amazingly from brazen flirt to demure school girl, while Mohammed Khouas, in his debut as "Chimo," is captivating and heart breakingly believable, both in his early naive curiosity and in his later growing maturity.The editing is terrific at matching their emotions, with tight close-ups when they are together, and encompassing mise en scene shots of their environments when they separate.The music selections well match their different backgrounds and coming together.This is an exhausting and exhilarating look at young love and life lessons.
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.
Author: jotix100 from New York
30 June 2005
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Lila, a pretty blonde girl living in the Arab quarter of Marseilles, sticks out like a sore thumb. Lila is young, voluptuous, and totally foreign, in contrast with the rest of the inhabitants of that neighborhood. Therefore, Lila becomes the object of desire for Chimo and his three cronies that seem to spend their time hanging out without any jobs to go to.Thus begins this erotically charge tale of a romance between two unlikely partners, the blonde Lila and the dark and intense Chimo. Ziad Doueiri, the Lebanese director, bases his film in a novel by Chimo that from what we have read is an explicit account of their relationship.
Lila likes Chimo from the beginning. She realizes he isn't like the rest of his worthless friends. Lila loves to tease Chimo with her tales of erotic fantasies and loves talking 'dirty' to him. Chimo becomes infatuated with Lila, much to his friends' chagrin, who feel left out by Chimo's involvement with Lila. It's Mouloud, the more vocal of the gang that goes to spy on Lila and Chimo, but not finding anything, he returns to the girl's apartment with his friends to harm Lila.
It's not until that point, when Chimo goes to the apartment and finds Lila crying hysterically that he realizes the true secret about Lila, which is confirmed at the end of the film when the mysterious driver of the grey limousine that supposedly comes to pick up Lila for fun and games, is revealed to the audience. Then, and only then, we realize we have been taken for a ride by the Mr. Doueiri, as we realize Lila is just an innocent young woman.
Vahina Giocante makes a beautiful Lila, a girl that seems much older than her years reveal. Mohammaed Khouas is an enigmatic and serious Chimo. Karim Ben Haddou plays Mouloud, the man who misreads the relationship between Lila and Chimo.The film message seems to point that beauty is only skin deep and that appearances are deceiving. Mr. Doueiri shows he has the potential for giving his viewers a run for their money.
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.
I loved this movie!!!!
Author: mrofar from Lebanon
17 November 2005
I had previously seen "West Beirut" (also directed and written by Ziad Doueiri) and I really liked it. It had a special meaning to me because I live in Lebanon (where the events of the movie take place) and I can really relate to the the story and the characters. I had never gotten around to watching "Lila Dit Ca" (But I had been wanting to for a long time) Anyways, today I watched it and I have to say: It is a GREAT movie!!!! The acting, the story, the directing... all superb!!! I really think that Vahina Giocante was perfect for this role.
She did an excellent job of portraying the character. I am friends with Rami Doueiri (Ziad Doueiri's brother and one of the main character from West Beirut) and I honestly can't wait to get in touch with him and tell him just how much I loved this movie!!! I think Ziad Doueiri really deserves a big pat on the back for the great movies he is making!I give this movie the 'Two thumbs up' !!!
Author: onegirlrev from United States
10 December 2005
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I thought the characters were very realistic. Lila seems to be a very complex character. I mean she projects herself as a seductress but as you dig deeper, she's just a girl who is interested in discovering the world. She's a real dreamer. That's why Chimo and Lila get along so well. There is more to them than meets the eye.Chimo's friends have no hopes or dreams. They just thought they were not good enough. They were very insecure and tried to make Chimo feel inferior. Lila makes a comment about how if you don't dream there is nothing else to life or think about, your brain turns to mush.
I could relate to her from a woman's perspective. I understood her actions and her reasons for loving Chimo. Although,her interactions with Chimo had consequences, it was still beautifully told and it left me wanting more. It was provocative in all the right places and even when those parts were shown it was done in a respectful way(those key scenes although risqué are still narrated in a tasteful way with fast cuts, doesn't really give you graphic scenes of what took place(EX. Rape), and the acting was done well you just know what has taken place). It wasn't what I expected. Lila has a heart and she is also a smart girl. There is a lesson to be learned here if your paying close attention.
Author: mario_c from Porto, Portugal
22 August 2007
"Lila dit ça" is a contemporary story about two teenagers, Chimo and Lila, which have a hidden attraction for each other in spite of not knowing each other very well…Chimo (Mohammed Khouas) is a young Muslim guy which lives with his mother and has a group of friends also Arab. He's quieter than the others, he's calm, peaceful and has a great dream: to become a writer… but he thinks he'll never get it…
Lila (Vahina Giocante) is a mysterious young girl who arrives in the neighborhood. From the very first moment Chimo is in love with her. At the beginning he didn't notice, he thinks it's just an attraction, but then he'll understand he is… Lila is mysterious, acts strangely, but she's beautiful. She has the face of an angel (as is said by herself in the movie!) but the mind of a devil… She's provocative, insinuating, and she's always speaking about sex, and about her sex… She's a real devil with an angel face! But is she in love with Chimo (as he's for her), or is it just a game to her? By the end the viewer will find out!
It's a story about passion (teenage passion), self-discovery, teenage relationships, but it also portrays a reality of mixed cultures. It describes very well the shock between different cultures which stand side-by-side in the French suburbs nowadays… It's just the plot's background but it ends being a good social portrait of these different cultures.All in all it's a good movie which deserves a 7/10 score!
