Eastern Boys (Robin Campillo, 2013): France

Reviewed by Antwon Calhoun, viewed at the Santa Barbara International film Festival Metropolitan 4.

This film is about group of troubled boys from different countries in Europe like Russia and Romania. The group of  boys has a leader who has them all staying in a motel in Paris. The leader of the group takes the boy to steel from people’s homes,this is how they make a living. This movie made me shocked a couple of times because some of the scenes but it was a alright movie. The director of this film is Robin Campillo and the stars of the film is Olivier Rabourdin who plays Daniel, Kirill Emelyanoy as Marek, and  Daniil Vorobyoy as the leader of the group of boys. I saw this movie at in Santa Barbara , Ca at the Metro 4.

The begins in Paris at some sort of train or bus station. You see all the boys hanging out and moving around the area. You know from the beginning who’s the leader of the group because the boys are always around him. One of the boy meets up with an older man. They begin to negotiate how much for sex after they come to agreement he gives the old man give him a location, the location is his home. The next day one of the boys in the group knocks on his door. The older man realizes that the boy who came to the door is not the boy he made a deal with its a younger boy who makes a threat to call the law enforcements. Next thing you know the eastern boys come and they take over his home by dancing, drinking and socializing from there  they rob him.

I was really shocked by the acting in this film because the actors they had didn’t really have that much experience as actors but they were great. I was able to understand the emotion that was given from everyone actor in the film. I had a chance to see how some immigrants live like in some European countries. I really didn’t understand some things in the film. For example, the relationship with older man and the boy? I wasn’t sure if they were in a relationship or he took care of him like a son? Another thing was the beginning of the film when eastern boy was robbing the old man’s home that scene was way too long of nothing. During the film i notice they had some good camera angles. This movie was my first subtitle movie i have ever scene and first French movie ever. This was something new for me as a up coming filmmaker.

I do recommend this film if you have never seen a french its a different kind of film. It has a lot of powerful scenes that gets you thinking about whats going to happen next and how it ends.