Induces a rare kind of cinematic immersion and nervous intimacy, thanks to its deft treatment of sexual confusion and awakening.
Lila Says (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:39
Fresh:27
Rotten:12
Average Rating:6.5/10
Consensus: Lila Says is a vibrantly told coming-of-age story, helped by the sultry charisma of Giocante.
Theatrical Release:Jun 24, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $43,461
Synopsis: In his second feature film, director Ziad Doueiri (WEST BEIRUT) takes on themes of race, religion, youth, and sexual bravado. Based on a controversial novel purported to be a 19-year-old Arab's... In his second feature film, director Ziad Doueiri (WEST BEIRUT) takes on themes of race, religion, youth, and sexual bravado. Based on a controversial novel purported to be a 19-year-old Arab's actual diary, this hormonally charged coming-of-age story is set in a dingy, ethnically mixed slum of post-9/11 Marseilles. When we meet Chimo (Mohammed Khouas), he is a self-described loser intent on hanging around with his slacker friends instead of pursuing his talent as a writer. But when Lila (Vahina Giocante)--a 16-year-old Catholic seductress--moves into the ghetto with her crazy, perverted aunt (Edmonde Franchi), she stirs something in Chimo and his depressing community with her angelic face, blonde hair, and impressively lewd language. While Lila will do no more than taunt the rest of the local men with her assets, she singles out Chimo and initiates him into a world filled with sexual desire. In fact, it is on their very first meeting that Lila offers Chimo a peak up her skirt, an invitation made even more appealing by her proclivity for not wearing underwear. By turning a thing as simple and seemingly innocent as a bike ride into a sexual escapade, Lila helps Chimo to see the world in a new way. As Chimo narrates his way through Lila's relentless advances and elaborate sexual fantasies, tension between him and his friends builds to a chilling, inevitable climax that reveals everyone's true colors. From one of its strangely breathtaking opening shots (the camera pans upward as the gloomy alley between two soiled apartment buildings is interrupted by a clothesline's bright hues) to its last, LILA SAYS draws the viewer in with camerawork as seductive and beautiful as its title character. [More]
Starring: Vahina Giocante, Mohammed Khouas, Karim Ben Haddou, Lotfi Chakri
Starring: Vahina Giocante, Mohammed Khouas, Karim Ben Haddou, Lotfi Chakri, Edmonde Franchi, Hamid Dkhissi, Carmen Lebbos, Stephanie Fatout
Director: Ziad Doueiri
Director: Ziad Doueiri
Screenwriter: Ziad Doueiri, Mark Lawrence
Producer: Marina Gefter
Studio: IDP Distribution
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Reviews for Lila Says
It's sort of Romeo & Juliet, but with the same kind of urgency the story of star-crossed lovers must have had for the Bard's first audience...
Director/co-writer Ziad Doueiri captures the tenderness of young love and the volatility of Lila's sexual openness -- a bottle of nitro that even Doueiri can't handle.
Lila says what's on her mind. And what's on the frankly speaking, flirtatious blonde's mind is sex.
Just because a cupcake looks like a tart doesn’t mean it’ll taste like one. Big lesson.
Lila ... comes across as a Larry Flynt fantasy of a compliant temptress.
A so-what story, but nicely put together and well filmed by John Daly.
Though beautifully photographed, there's something creepy at the heart of Lila Says.
The community atmosphere of the vibrant but volatile cultural mix and the tender relationship... are more interesting than the familiar steps of the plot.
Mostly succeeds in conveying the real- life risks that disgruntled teens will take to prove they're more powerful, more sexy and more in control than they really are.
Doueiri has an unerring sense of place as well as an ear for talk and silence.
In the end, Lila Says is far less interesting than its premise, primarily because we never know what anyone is really thinking.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 67% 67% | Bruno |
| 47% 47% | My Sister's Keeper |
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