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France · 2018
1h 46m
Director Jean-Bernard Marlin
Starring Dylan Robert, Kenza Fortas, Idir Azougli, Lisa Amedjout
Genre Drama, Romance, Thriller
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!7 year old Zach, right out of juvenile detention, starts hanging out in the streets of Marseille after being rejected by his mother. He meets and falls for a young sex worker Shéhérazade as he works as her pimp. Eager to prove himself to her, Zach begins to make bad choices similar to those that sent him to juvenile detention in the first place.
Shooting in a color-streaked vérité style and coaxing terrific performances from his non-pro cast, Marlin clearly has a promising future ahead. What keeps Shéhérazade from ranking higher in the pantheon of streetwise French crime dramas is the story’s overall familiarity.
On the pages of the script, it could come across as forced, but thanks to good direction, editing, and the performances by Robert and Fortas this love story works.
The Hollywood Reporter by Deborah Young
The gritty environment and the non-pro cast are convincingly directed by Marlin, a native of Marseille, particularly in the pic's stronger second half.
The New York Times by Helen T. Verongos
It’s rare that a director’s first feature film, accomplished with an ensemble of nonprofessional actors, proves to be as quietly powerful as Jean-Bernard Marlin’s simple but lyrical “Shéhérazade.”
Los Angeles Times by Robert Abele
Shéhérazade wins us over with what we love about love: its strength in even the direst of circumstances.
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