Imagine "La Haine" made as a romantic comedy and you get some inkling of what this movie might be like.
It is the story of four "losers" - that is the word that is used in the French dialog; more franglais - who have been living off welfare for 3 years. It doesn't seem to bother them, though it bothers their families very much. One of them, the male lead, played by Salim Kechiouche, hears his nephew say that his family considers him a "loser," and this cuts him deep. He decides that he needs to come up with a job, and he decides to become a babysitter.
This raises all sorts of problems in his very traditional Marseille community, which cannot understand why this 33 year old man would undertake "women's work." There are lots of ins and outs to this story. But what makes it very endearing is that the four main characters, the "losers," though they may be goof-balls, all have hearts of gold. You root for them, and you want them to succeed.
This is not deep social commentary, like "La Haine." But it is a movie that can deal with residents of the banlieu as real people and not social stereotypes.
No film class will ever show this. There's nothing innovate about the film-making. But it is a good story, even if the end is obvious - it's a made for TV movie, and that shows at the end. Until then, it's an interesting ride, and one worth seeing.
