De L'Amour

Highly acclaimed director of Mesrine Jean-Francois Richet co-wrote this story of troubled youth. A personal project for Richet, who grew up in the projects surrounding Paris, De L’amour follows young Maria (Virginie Ledoyen) as she navigates through the bleak suburbs. Bright and attractive, she takes up a job at a factory putting together cushions for chair. Finding this mundane, she leaves with aspirations to start her own restaurant. However, her career path is quickly halted as she spontaneously steals some lingerie and attempts to lies her way out of hot water. Failing this, she’s taken to jail dealing with more trouble than she first imagined.

Richet’s style often denotes urban dramas full of grit and depth. Previous works such as Etat des lieux and Ma 6-T va Crack-er draw common comparisons to La Haine and De L’amour is no exception.  A realistic depiction of a lost woman struggling to stay on track, the film also stars hip hop artist Stomy Bugsy, who appears as a drug dealer and shows that the French rappers can hold their own screen like many US counterparts.