Games of Love and Chance (2003) L'esquive (original title)

Director:

Abdellatif Kechiche

Writer:

Ghalia Lacroix (adaptation)

Release Date:

7 January 2004 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Interview | Absent Father | Classroom | France | School Play

Awards:

15 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Osman Elkharraz	...	Krimo
Sara Forestier	...	Lydia
Sabrina Ouazani	...	Frida
Nanou Benhamou	...	Nanou
Hafet Ben-Ahmed	...	Fathi
Aurélie Ganito	...	Magalie
Carole Franck	...	French Professor
Hajar Hamlili	...	Zina
Rachid Hami	...	Rachid
Meryem Serbah	...	Krimo's Mother
Hanane Mazouz	...	Hanane
Sylvain Phan	...	Slam
Olivier Loustau	...	Policier
Rosalie Symon	...	Policier
Patrick Kodjo Topou	...	Policier
Lucien Tipaldi	...	Policier
Reinaldo Wong	...	Le couturier
Nu Du	...	Couturière
Ki Hong	...	Couturière
Brigitte Bellony-Riskwait	...	Couturière
Ariyapitipum Naruemol	...	Couturière
Fatima Lahbib	...	Couturière
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alexandre Bataille
Maria Beloso-Hall	...	Institutrice
Abdelkrim Benabdeslem	...	Oiseau
Jawad Benabdeslem	...	Oiseau
Mohamed Benabdeslem	...	Copain de Krimo
Leslie Bernardin	...	Elève
Virginie Bourvieux
Maureen Béchet	...	Oiseau
Fabio Camoes	...	Copain de Krimo
Julie Cassama	...	Elève
Philippe Chou	...	Oiseau
Eliane De Macedo	...	Elève
Sidi Dembélé	...	Elève
Anice Djebali	...	Elève
Mounir El Kebeh	...	Elève
Warren Gautran	...	Elève
Driss Haddane	...	Elève
Lydie Houchène	...	Soeur de Zina
Sonia Houchène	...	Soeur de Zina
Kama Kotta	...	Elève
Mamou Kotta	...	Elève
Ruddi Koutodjo-Foly	...	Elève
Nassima Mous	...	Elève
Melissa Osmani	...	Oiseau
Nabil Osmani	...	Copain de Krimo
Djamel Ouazani	...	Copain de Krimo
Ahmed Ralah	...	Elève
Mariam Sangare	...	Elève
Fatou Sano	...	Oiseau
Nafisatou Sano	...	Oiseau
Linda Sef	...	Elève
Baba Traoré	...	Elève

Directed by
Abdellatif Kechiche

Writing credits
Ghalia Lacroix		(adaptation and dialogue)

Produced by
Franck Cabot-David	....	associate producer
Jacques Ouaniche	....	producer
Charles Taris	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
Lubomir Bakchev		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ghalia Lacroix

Casting by
Monya Galbi

Production Design by
Michel Gionti		(as Michel-Ange Gionti)

Costume Design by
Maria Beloso-Hall

Production Management
Jacques-Emmanuel Astor	....	unit manager (as Jacques Emmanuel Astor)
Jean-François Gomis	....	assistant unit manager
Mireia Ibars	....	post-production manager
Emeric Le Jouan	....	trainee unit manager
Eric Nebot	....	trainee unit manager
Benoît Pilot	....	production manager
Kamel Saadi	....	assistant unit manager
Nasser Seddik	....	assistant unit manager
Benjamin Treussard	....	supervising unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Carlo Da Fonseca Parsotam	....	first assistant director
Monya Galbi	....	assistant director
Sylvie Peyre	....	assistant director: preparation
Bettina Sanchez	....	second assistant director

Sound Department
Christophe Bourreau	....	foley artist
Sophie Bousquet-Foures	....	sound editor (as Sophie Bousquet)
Jérôme Chenevoy	....	boom operator
Emmanuel Croset	....	sound mixer
Christophe Gagnot	....	post-production sound
Jérôme Pierrot	....	boom operator
Nicolas Waschkowski	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Cecile Ancelin	....	assistant camera
Sofian El Fani	....	camera operator (as Sofian Elfani)
Loïc Malavard	....	still photographer
Frida Marzouk	....	assistant camera
Mathieu Normand	....	additional first assistant camera

Editorial Department
Antonella Bevenja	....	negative cutter
Christophe Bousquet	....	color timer
Violeta Fernandez	....	assistant editor (as Violeta Fernàndez)
Frida Marzouk	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Antoine Banville	....	music editor
Raoul Cepelnik	....	musician
Hasni	....	musician
Dario Ivkovic	....	musician
Zahouania	....	musician
Branislav Zdravkovi	....	musician

Other crew
Stephanie Altamirano	....	production secretary (as Stéphanie Altamirano)
Hadra Kemon	....	administrator
Ghalia Lacroix	....	script supervisor

Thanks
Yannick Bernard	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Lola Films
• Noé Productions
• CinéCinéma (participation) (as CinéCiméma)

Distributors

• Rézo Films (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• FSK Kino & Peripher Filmverleih GmbH (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Filmcooperative (2004) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• IFA (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Mikado Film (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Mikado (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• New Yorker Films (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• TVA Films (2005) (Canada) (theatrical) (Québec)
• Notro Films (2005) (Spain) (all media)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2007) (Argentina) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Bogard  camera equipment provided by
• Cinéma l'Ecran  thanks
• Ex Machina  remote video recording
• Excalibur  end titles
• Go Sport  thanks
• La ville de Saint Denis  thanks
• Les Audis Jackson  sound recording studio
• SMJ de Bobigny  thanks
• Transpalux  lighting equipment

Also Known As:

"L'esquive" - France (original title)

Runtime:

France:117 min | USA:123 min | Argentina:117 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Finland:K-11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:NC-16 | Hong Kong:III | New Zealand:R13

Company:

Lola Films

Trivia:

The movie is dedicated Slaheddine.

18th Century French Classic Effectively Transposed to Immigrant Kids Today

"Games of Love and Chance (L'Esquive)" is an involving experiment in giving classic French comedy of errors relevance to today, in a dramatic demonstration of "Plus ça change, plus c'est la meme chose" -- the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Writer/director Abdellatif Kechiche juxtaposes the titular 18th century work by Marivaux with junior high kids in a poor, inner city Arab immigrant neighborhood, for an effect that crosses Larry Clark's "Kids" with "Mad Hot Ballroom." Like any period farce, the real relationships are dizzyingly circular: A loves B who loves C who is in disguise with D. A threatens C, B changes places with D to pursue his suit and use Marivaux like Cyrano, C can't make up her mind, friends of B and C misunderstand everyone, and the course of true love doesn't run smooth.

While marred by wincingly heavy-handed intellectualizing on class social criticism by the literature teacher who is directing the kids in the play and a deus ex machina insertion of biased cops, the frank life and death-ness of adolescent romance strongly comes through in comparison to Marivaux's mannered floweriness, even as these kids communicate amongst each other with four letter obscenities, bluntly crude slang (that may not be too well represented in the English subtitles but I'm sure French subtitlers likewise have trouble with the patois in movies such as "Four Brothers"), heart-tugging looks of longing, painfully hurt tears, and, finally in frustration, physical action.

It is not clear if "the blonde" as she is referred to in the English subtitles (played by the excellent Sara Forestier, who seems to have been the only member of the cast with some previous experience before the cameras) is also from an immigrant family or Muslim, or if she just picked up use of a couple of Muslim catch phrases in her slang as to whether Kechiche is adding another layer of social commentary. Or she could just be part of the trend in French cinema to fixate on pouty young blonde temptresses, viz. "La Petite Lili," "À Tout de Suite (Right Now)," "Lila Says (Lila dit ça)."

This film has a lot of parallels with "Lila Says (Lila dit ça)," not just about sex and social setting, though it dealt with older kids, but also how literature can be an escapist outlet yet also a threat that brings hidden emotions to the fore.

The grim mise en scene makes wonderful use of a crowded, high rise neighborhood where the kids hang out chilled because they have little privacy at home, some fathers are in jail, their loving mothers try to keep tabs on them, and cell phones are their expensive lifelines.

While the film goes on a bit too long as scenes meander, probably because it isn't clear how much has been scripted and how much the kids are very effectively improvising particulars around a basic story line, their relationships are enthralling, both the romances and the friendships. Each teen actor creates an indelible and different character.

270 years since Marivaux and the human heart hasn't changed.