Hands Up

In the field of movies involving precocious children frolicking in the countryside, the French are world leaders, and this rabble-rousing immigration drama from Romain Goupil is another fine addition to this swelling sub-genre. The film offers an unsentimental look at 10-year-old Chechen girl Milana (Linda Doudaeva) who’s living in Paris illegally with her family and who is threatened with extradition. Egged on by the wide-eyed pleas of her scampish young son, Blaise (Jules Ritmanic), world-weary Cendrine (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) decides to take Milana under her wing to help her evade the cops. Part dystopic political satire, part ‘Just William’-esque ode to the purity of childhood, Goupil’s film manages to ooze charm, mood and romance as it angrily denounces a political system built on a bedrock of false ideals.