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)

pickymiss I 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.

Brandt Sponseller 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.

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.