Abdel Kechiche's second feature, after the celebrated BLAME IT ON VOLTAIRE, firmly establishes the actor-turned-director as a major presence in world cinema. A grittily realistic portrait of life in a downtrodden Parisian housing project, GAMES OF LOVE AND CHANCE exhilaratingly... [More]

Abdel Kechiche's second feature, after the celebrated BLAME IT ON VOLTAIRE, firmly establishes the actor-turned-director as a major presence in world cinema. A grittily realistic portrait of life in a downtrodden Parisian housing project, GAMES OF LOVE AND CHANCE exhilaratingly captures the tumultuous ups-and-downs of adolescence. Krimo (Osman Elkharraz) is a tough-minded teenager who yearns for the day when his father will be released from prison. After breaking up with his girlfriend, Krimo begins to fall for the luminous Lydia (Sara Forestier), who he has known his whole life but has only begun to see in a romantic light. In order to get closer to Lydia, Krimo risks humiliation by joining the cast of the school play, an adaptation of Marivaux's A GAME OF LOVE AND CHANCE. The torment inflicted upon Krimo by the flirtatious Lydia is enough to make any kid crazy, but add a jealous ex-girlfriend and a neighborhood bully into the mix and his life seems downright impossible. Shocking France by winning four Cesar Awards (including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Female Newcomer), GAMES OF LOVE AND CHANCE deserves to find a worldwide audience. The cast of non-professionals is staggeringly assured--beginning with Elkharraz. But it is Forestier who leaves the deepest impression. Frank and unflinching yet heartfelt and tender, Kechiche's film is an electrifying achievement. [Less]