Milla (Valere Massadian): France

Reviewed by Samantha Mendez, Viewed by Samantha Mendez

In Valerie Massadian film “Milla” was an excellent film. We look into the life of a young girl named Milla and her boyfriend, Leo, who are very unstable financially and are always moving around and stealing just to make ends meet. And though things seem to be getting better an unfortunate turn of events happens leading to Leo’s death while he is away at work; leaving Milla alone to raise their son. One thing that I found particularly interesting, was the emphasis of the color red. Red has multiple meanings; yet it typically associated with love and relationships.

If you noticed the color red stood out a lot such as the red curtains, red lipstick, red wine, red clothes, red blanket, yet most of all the red nail polish. In my opinion it really ties into Millas emotions throughout the whole film; that being said very passionate about Leo and with her son Ethan and with life; even though it may seem bad, . Take the red nail polish again for example, she paints her sons nails red, that displays the love she is giving to her son.

The acting from Severine Jonckheere was amazing done, her being able to really capture the sort of childish vibe in the very beginning was well done. She was always laughing and sort of playing around, yes she was enjoying life, but there was still a lack of maturity. But in the turn of events, she begins to grow and she starts to take things just a bit more seriously and really develops; she becomes more  mature.

What was also a good touch was the camera shots of the ocean. For example in the very beginning of the film Milla and Leo are sleeping in a car and as they drive back to town there’s an hold on the ocean and everything is peaceful. Let’s keep in mind the ocean represents a form of peace. And towards the end, she goes to the beach with her son and they’re both happy and having a good time throwing rocks and really enjoying the moment. This shows that in the end when she was at peace and through all the chaos she was able to find peace again.

Overall I would highly recommend this film. It’s very touching to watch and really teaches you to value life because some people have to work harder than others and get put in tough situation. With the amazing scenery and great acting it’s hard to stop watching.