For the most part a fantastic tale of interracial romance during a time of suspicion and conflict. The Arabs are seen as terrorists or luxurious accessories for French women. Lila (obvious similarity to Lolita) is a sexually awakened girl. She talks confidently and with pride about her sexual encounters and fantasies. This doesn't sit easy with the young man who has fallen for her. Chimo must constantly deal with his arrogant and testosterone fueled friends. The final scenes are heartbreaking if slightly obvious and the character of Mouloud is really a device as opposed to a person. Though he is obviously offended by the way his people are treated he seems to go too far without explanation. Whether it's his lust for Lila or his jealousy of Chimo that spurns him on is left blank and us unfulfilled. The setting in a poor area of Marseilles is bitter sweet in its beauty of narrow streets and tall buildings. Excellent performances from Giocante and Khouas create a well built chemistry that plays out believably until the end credits.

[font=Century Gothic]In "Lila Says", Chimo(Mohammed Khouas) is a 19-year old living a dead end life with his mother(Carmen Lebbos) while his hanging out with friends occasionally enters the realm of petty crime. His teacher(Stephanie Fatout) thinks he has a talent for writing and wants him to apply to a prestigious school in Paris but Chimo feels that he has nothing to write about. That all changes when Lila(Vahina Giocante), a sexually precocious teenager with a penchant for exposing herself, moves into the neighborhood...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Lila Says" is an unexpectedly poignant movie about first love and how we learn to express ourselves.(For example, Lila expresses herself sexually while Chimo has no idea until Lila shows up. But I've seen too many independent movies to know better and a single line of dialogue from "Orlando" singlehandledly refutes the whole theory behind muses.) And the movie does err by being predictable and trying to have an explanation for almost everything.[/font]