Blame it on VoltaireN/C 15+

This may just be the best film you’ve never heard of. The debut feature by Abdellatif Kechiche, director of Couscous, it won two awards at Venice but was never distributed in the UK. Jallel is a Tunisian immigrant who illegally enters France to make money to send back to his family. He follows the classic poor-immigrant trajectory, living communally and working at subsistence level. But the film deviates from the blueprint by filling in the contours of his life, focusing on his relationships with his new community – including two turbulent love affairs – and refusing to portray Jallel as either a hapless victim, or angry rebel. Wonderfully acted, its social realism leavened with touches of humour and a vibrant energy, this is a special film.