In everyone’s eyes, Az (Yasin Houicha), who works for an oyster farmer, is fragile. That is to say that he expresses his emotions without shame and does not play the little macho like his friends Raphaël (Raphaël Quenard), Ahmed (Bilel Chegrani) and Kalidou (Diong-Keba Tacu). So he cries all the tears in his body when Jessica (Tiphaine Daviot) refuses his marriage proposal after choking on the ring he had hidden in an oyster. Later, Az learns that the latter is dating Giaccomo (Guillermo Guiz), her partner full of himself in a (bad) local detective series.
So what to do to win her back? What if he learned to dance? After all, as Lila (Oulaya Amamra), the only girl in the group, tells her, girls like boys who can dance. The result will be such that even his show-off friends will want to learn how to loosen their pelvis to raï tunes under the direction of Lila. A little superficial? Certainly, but why sulk his pleasure?
With Fragileher first feature film, the Franco-Algerian director Emma Benestan, whose short film Bacon flavor had been shortlisted for a César in 2018, has the sole claim of paying homage to the romantic comedies of his youth and of sketching the portrait of a young man who does not correspond to the virile clichés conveyed by the cinema. We can easily imagine that dirty dancing is part of his list of favorite films since dance plays an important role in this film soaked in the sun of Sète. We even have the right to a scene where Az and Lila repeat the famous carried in the water.
More than a sentimental comedy, Fragile is a story of self-affirmation. Forced to return to live with his grandmother (Tassadit Mandi), his mother (Samira Sedira) and his sister (Holy Fatma), three strong-willed women who enjoy sucking his pipe, Az will never have to he other choice than to reconcile with his nature, his environment and his origins. And in the process, to discover its true value.
If it does not have the qualities of other notable films shot in the region of Brassens, such Grandpa the Moko, The short tip, Caesar and Rosalie Or the grain and the mule, Fragile can pride itself on taking advantage of its Mediterranean climate with its wide shots, day and night, where Sète deploys its picturesque charm and exudes an invigorating warmth. Although there are intimate moments, the filmmaker keeps her camera at a distance from her actors, all of a confusing naturalness, as if she wanted to capture incognito the summer tribulations of a carefree youth, to offer a peaceful picture of a young people of immigrant origin, ignoring the political climate prevailing in the south of France.
Having assisted Abdellatif Kechiche in the editing of The Life of Adele and of Mektoub, my love, Emma Benestan never pours into the sulphurous nor into the explicit scenes. Quite the contrary. Story of love emotions at the height of a sensitive young man, Fragile exudes a certain innocence, a healthy sensuality and a contagious good mood.