Standing Tall

Malony is six when his mother leaves him in a juvenile judge's office and walks out. Years later the same judge sees the same child in front of her; he is sixteen, steals cars and listens to nobody. The film follows his adolescence alongside the persistence of the judge and a youth worker. The subject is not crime but how many chances a child can be given. The system does not let Malony go; instead of prison an educational centre, then prison again, then education again. The film asks whether the cycle works and leaves the answer open. The form is close and tense. The camera stays on the boy, scenes run long without cutting, and the eruptions of anger arrive unprepared. The courtroom scenes are the spine. The most striking element is the lead. Rod Paradot was not an actor; he was studying carpentry and was found at an audition. He won the César for most promising actor. The film opened the Cannes festival in 2015, and how rarely a woman director had opened the festival was discussed that year as well. Catherine Deneuve plays the judge, Benoît Magimel the youth worker and Sara Forestier the mother. Emmanuelle Bercot directs. Who it is for: viewers who like French social drama and discoveries of young actors. Who it is not for: anyone expecting resolution; the film closes nothing.