Film - Bad Seeds

Another French film, this one about an unlikely duo Monique (Catherine Deneuve) and her adoptive son Wael who are running petty rackets to scam people out of their shopping. They don’t seem to be particularly in need of money so this seems like something to help Wael forget his troubled past as a kid orphaned by war. 

Wael gains a chance to work with a group of excluded teens and he uses his scamming skills well, until he learns a bit more about the kids and becomes genuinely interested in their futures.

Bad Seeds (Mauvaises Herbes) tackles heavier subjects than it’s marketing images suggests with refugees, child abuse, excluded kids, manipulation and bent coppers all featured. However, it is a comedy-drama so not as heavy as Dangerous Minds.

The most touching scenes other than Wael starting to care about his young charges are the flashbacks of him as a kid, ducking and diving to survive in a world where everyone is doing the same.

8/10