Lila Says explores an Arabic 19 year old aspiring writer named Chimo who falls for Lila, the sexually forthright and stunning French girl who moves into the Parisian ghetto he grew up in. With her torrid glances and explicit fantasies, Lila engages Chimo in a game of sexual discovery that walks a fine line between innocence and danger.
With the striking performance of newcomer Vahina Giocante as the promiscuous young girl, Lila Says is an unbelievably sexy and unexpectedly shocking film, showing a side of innocence and sexuality rarely depicted on the screen.
Il n’a encore jamais parlé de « ça », comme ça, avec personne.
Elle n’a encore jamais trouvé personne à qui parler.
Elle ne pense qu’à ce garçon-là, il faut lui parler de ça pour s’en faire aimer.
Elle a 16 ans et lui 19.
He has never talked to anyone about “it”.
She has never found anyone she wants to talk about “it” with.
All she thinks about is him; and that she must talk about “it” with him if she wants his love.
She’s 16; he’s 19.
Lila Says (French title: Lila dit ça) is a 2004 French film directed by Ziad Doueiri. The plot is based on the novel of the same title written by “Chimo” (a pseudonym).
About the Film
Lila Dit Ca”Lila Says” is based on a book that caused much controversy in France. Nineteen-year-old quiet poet Chimo (Mohammed Khouas) falls for Lila (Vahina Giacante), a gorgeous, blonde girl who just moved in with her creepy aunt in an Arab ghetto. One day Lila asks Chimo to look up her skirt — if he can handle it. Meanwhile, Mouloud (Karim Benhadou), the loud leader of a rival gang, also sets his sights on Lila. Their game of sexual discovery leads to an unexpected look at tolerance, self-hatred, and machismo. It also questions the fantasy that permeates the film with fun and danger.
Set in Marseilles, this coming-of-age tale centers on a Lolita-esque teen who is a big tease to a shy Arab kid. Lila is a gorgeous 16-year-old girl who has just moved, with her rather strange aunt, into a poor neighborhood populated primarily by Arab families. The two leaders of the suburb’s main gang fall in love with her. One is the film’s poetic narrator, a quiet boy with a talent for writing named Chimo; the other is Mouloud, a headstrong punk. One day, Lila dares Chimo to look up her skirt — if he can handle it — and by doing so, puts into motion a sequence of raw, devastating events. The ensuing maelstrom that develops out of this romantic triangle reveals the dangers inherent in sexual game playing.
About the Story
Chimo (played by Mohammed Khouas) is a nineteen-year-old self-described loser who lives in an Arab ghetto with his mother in post-9/11 Marseille. Unemployed, he turns down an opportunity to study (free of charge) at a writers’ school for teenagers in Paris despite showing real promise as a writer.
Instead, he wastes his day hanging around with other unemployed and aimless “losers”. He falls for Lila (Vahina Giocante), a beautiful blonde sixteen-year-old who just moved into the neighborhood with her eccentric and sexually abusive aunt. Lila is a self-styled “bad girl” who presents an overtly sexual persona; they begin a tentative romance after Lila invites him to look up her skirt while she rides a swing.
Meanwhile, Mouloud (Karim Ben Haddou), Chimo’s best friend and leader of their band of friends, also sets his sights on Lila. He begins to sexually harass Lila, not allowing her to walk the streets of the neighborhood unmolested. Chimo’s disgust at Mouloud’s behaviour towards Lila creates a huge rift between them. Mouloud, resentful of Chimo’s changing attitude toward him and Lila’s sexual indifference, vents his aggressions by attacking Lila and her aunt at home and raping Lila.
Chimo is broken when he discovers Lila was in fact still a virgin, despite her stories of outrageous sexual adventures. This is confirmed by finding her scrapbook showing the sources of the titillating, but fictional, stories she told him. Lila is taken away by her aunt, leaving Chimo heartbroken.
He eventually manages to convince a police detective to let him telephone Lila, whereupon he simply says “I love you” and she says “I know”. It is implied at the end that he plans to meet Lila who is in Poland for the summer. However as he remembers his experiences with Lila, he writes about them, winning the writing scholarship he scorned earlier, and ultimately changing his life and allowing him to escape the poverty of his home city and to study among the best in Paris. Lila changed Chimo’s world, as he did hers.
Continue Reading and View the Theatrical Trailer
Lila Says (2005)
Lila Dit Ça
Directed by: Ziad Doueiri
Starring: Vahina Giocante, Mohammed Khouas, Karim Ben Haddou, Lotfi Chakri, Hamid Dkhissi, Carmen Lebbos, Stéphanie Fatout, Barbara Chossis, Dominique Bluzet
Screenplay by: Ziad Doueiri, Mark Lawrence, Joelle Touma
Production Design by: Yves Bernard
Cinematography by: John Daly
Film Editing by: Tina Baz
Costume Design by: Pierre Matard
Art Direction by: Arnaud Le Roch
Music by: Nitin Sawhney
MPAA Rating: R for strong sexual content, language and a brief violent image.
Distributed by: Samuel Goldwyn Films
Release Date: July 1, 2005
Views: 368
