24 year old Jerume Bonnell's debut recalls the wry morality tales of Eric Rohmer, as a teenager struggles to resolve feelings that have been clouded by his obsession with the beauty who works in a small-town bookshop.
In fact, Olga (Delphine Rollin) is only a fleeting presence, as Julien (Benhamdine) learns that true love often comes from the least expected direction.
Bonnell adroitly uses episodes from Charlie Chaplin's The Circus and the crises faced by Julien's widowed father (Riaboukine) and sexually confused sister (Loiret Caille) to demonstrate that solitary yearning and tongue-tied emotion are not exclusive to adolescent lads. The odd scene rings hollow, but this is a poignant study of coming to terms with life.