He Even Has Your Eyes (2016)

When French-African couple Paul and Sali discover the longed-for baby they are about to adopt is white, family chaos and confrontation ensue.

Director:

Lucien Jean-Baptiste

Writers:

Marie-Françoise Colombani (original idea), Sébastien Mounier (scenario)

Stars:

Lucien Jean-Baptiste, Aïssa Maïga, Zabou Breitman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lucien Jean-Baptiste	...	Paul Aloka
Aïssa Maïga	...	Salimata Aloka
Zabou Breitman	...	Claire Mallet
Vincent Elbaz	...	Manu
Michel Jonasz	...	Monsieur Vidal
Naidra Ayadi	...	Anna (pouponnière)
Marie-Philomène Nga	...	Mamita, la mère de Sali
Bass Dhem	...	Ousmane, le père de Sali
Delphine Théodore	...	Prune
Marius Benchenafi	...	Benjamin (4 mois)
Mathéo Perard	...	Benjamin (1 an)
Valérie Moreau	...	Madame Perez
Grégoire Bonnet	...	Baptiste Mallet
Guillaume Faure	...	Mathias
Sara Mortensen	...	Kristina

Storyline

Paul is married to Sali. Everything would be fine if they could get a child. Until the day when Sali receives the call that they have been waiting for so long: their adoption file is approved. He is adorable, he is 6 months old, his name is Benjamin. He is blond with blue eyes and white. They - are black.

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Plot Keywords:

baby | adoption | couple | singing in a car | blowing out candles on a birthday cake | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

France Belgium

Language:

French Wolof Romanian Norwegian

Release Date:

18 January 2017 (France)

Also Known As:

Ele Tem mesmo os seus Olhos

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,755,458

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nolita Cinema, TF1 Droits Audiovisuels, Union Générale Cinématographique (UGC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Ils ont fumé quoi à la Ddass?
Performed by Vincent Elbaz, Lucien Jean-Baptiste
(p)© 2016 Deux minutes trente

User Reviews

Both highly enjoyable as well as thought-provoking

This is a fantastic film I wish would receive more recognition outside of Europe. There are several ways to approach the subject of racism of course and one is to highlight it with humor. In this case it worked exceptionally well as the humor was tasteful and toned down for the most part. On the one hand you have the racism from the native French people, like the social worker, towards the Senegalese parents, and on the other end of the spectrum you encounter racism towards the ("white") baby from his own adopted family (grandparents). We are so used to seeing people of a European background adopt Asian or African babies for example - we think nothing of it. But think: Have you seen many immigrants adopt babies with a European background? No. We haven't really gotten used to seeing this and so we assume that they must be the children's nannies, babysitters or other. And why would immigrants come to European countries if some of them could react with such outrage and disgust as the grandmother? Is it surprising that more immigration means more of a melting pot, being more accepting and forming new families, traditions and so forth? It's great to see that racism isn't just overt, cruel and ill-meaning but it can just happen out of circumstance, out of habit basically. And it can come from people or groups of people you wouldn't suspect. All of this - and more - is what the film tackled in a very subtle and lighthearted manner and with incredible performances by the leading and supporting actors and actresses. A truly unique mixture between entertainment and social critique!