MamaGravity good back-story, and good acting

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

adonis98-743-186503 Two inner-city teenagers engage in an obsessive, innocent flirtation fueled by Lila's sexually explicit overtures. Lila Says is neither entertaining or romantic enough for anyone to actually care plus none of the actors were good or memorable to begin with. If you like this kind of films with sexual stuff in them this one will disappoint you since nothing actually happens but also the storyline is kind of a mess and pretty much misleading as well so i wouldn't expect anything from this flick to be honest with you cause it's really poorly done. (0/10)

Nik Refreshingly engaging film portraying identifiable characters that remind you of that exhilarating, uncertain time of life where the innocent torments and thrills of life are everything. (i.e. before we began relating vicariously to the super-hyped Hollywood glam-stud-whore superhero formula of most popular film.) This is a young, edgy, honest film for people who appreciate subtle artistry when portraying the human drama - sexuality, morality and culture. Giocante is sublime as a provocative, if naîve, beauty as she pursues the humble charm, honest good looks and integrity of Chimo, the object of her exploration.Great soundtrack by Nitin Sawhney.This one will come back and tickle you for days.

rosscinema Aside from the provocative language and compelling look at two diverse ethnicities I was pretty surprised by the lack of gratuitous nudity in this film as the story instead focuses on the reactions of both main characters. Story is set in an Arab community in Marseilles, France where we see 16 year old Lila (Vahina Giocante) who rides around the neighborhood on her motor bike drawing unwanted attention from the Muslim residents. She catches the attention of 19 year old Chimo (Mohammed Khouas) who needs to write a short novel to get into a good writing school and see's Lila not only as an inspiration but also as a curiosity.*****SPOILER ALERT***** During their first conversation Lila asks "would you like to see my pussy" and this would set the tone for a relationship that (for the most part) would be based on only explicit talk although she does do him the favor of giving him a hand job while riding together on her motor bike. Chimo's friends give him a hard time about his relationship with her while Lila lives with her aunt who not only may or not be a lesbian but is also very religious. Lila tells Chimo that she would like him to video tape her having sex with a bunch of strangers and she also tells her aunt that she had an erotic encounter with Satan but Chimo never takes advantage of her and instead pours his thoughts into his writing.This is only the second feature from Lenanese director Ziad Doueiri who scored well with audiences with his first film "West Beirut" and here he takes the story from the 1996 book (from the real Chimo) and creates a pretty captivating look at teen loneliness from two different cultures. Arguably the most interesting aspect of the script comes from the fact that Chimo purposely doesn't take advantage of the precocious Lila and instead uses her as a muse for his talent as a writer. The script also shows that Chimo does grow to care for her greatly but from her explicit language and the problems of his peers in the Arab community Chimo seems taken aback from the events. This is the film debut of Khouas who does a good job of handling the lead role and seems destined for a good acting career but the screen belongs to Giocante and it's easy to see that the camera loves her! Giocante has appeared in many films already but nothing like the role that she has here and it will be very interesting (not to mention titillating) to watch her grow as an actress. This film doesn't offer the gratuitous nudity that one might expect from such a story but it is a very well made film that possesses a script that's nonetheless provocative in nature and gives viewers the chance to see a burgeoning actress in Giocante.

Dio Genes In its desperate attempt at sensuality, Doueiri's "Lila Says" fails to arouse and excite, and instead careens out of control in a churning, over-acted mess. Starting out as a coming-of-age tale about a young adult, Chimo, the movie shows some promise. That is, until Lila arrives, offering to show her 'chatte' to Chimo on the occasion of their first meeting. Lila is a poster child for childhood sexual abuse, angrily taunting her aunt with her genitals, weaving tales of fantastic encounters with devils, and doing her best to convince Chimo to join her homemade orgy/porn project-- all the while keeping actual sexual encounters at arm's (or in Chimo's case, hand's) length.It's hard to see what Doueiri intends with Lila-- she never develops as a character, never becomes more compelling, and never inspires more than passing interest from the audience. Chimo's story is much more moving, but even that sputters out halfway through the film, around the time when we discover that he's been donating blood to keep himself in beer and cigarettes. So much for his plan to resist assimilation into French culture. But really, it doesn't make any difference, because there's nothing and nobody to care about in this film. Even the tragedy that befalls Lila is disturbing and horrible, but never really heart-rending. There are at least a hundred kernels of ideas here that would make great movies: Marseille-as-hotbed of French-Arab tension, the struggles of a poor writer wannabe, the damage done by sexually predatory guardians, sons reliving their fathers' romantic mistakes, etc. It's just a shame that Douieri tried to tackle them all at once, and in the process, succeeded at almost nothing.