Hidden Kisses

At times this does rather stretch the bounds of plausibility at a school in 21st century France, but the sentiment behind it is quite worryingly potent. A photo emerges of a kiss! We know that one of the kissers is "Nathan" (Bérenger Anceaux) but who is the other? What piques the curiosity of his schoolmates is that the other kisser is also a boy! Drunken game? Wind-up? True love? What now ensues does hit the stereotype skids once or twice as we discover his dad is a policeman (Patrick Timsit), largely unimpressed with his son's behaviour and somewhat pre-occupied with the gossip he faces at work. We now see a school where the boy is bullied and beaten with alacrity despite what I would have thought would have been intervention from an headmaster who seems more worried about perception than about a bloodied pupil wandering the corridors. When we do finally discover the identity of his paramour, the emphasis now shifts to that boy's parents. His father is frankly a rather odious individual, a doctor, who is disgusted by the apparent sexuality of his son and is determined to stop it in it's tracks. This latter scenario ultimately - as happens in many families - pitches one parent against another in a battle of wills as to the best way to respect or control the burgeoning identity of a child that is loved but maybe not as unconditionally as we might require or hope. It's the youngsters who make this film. Anceaux contributes strongly and convincingly as does Jules Houplain ("Louis") who also turns in an emotionally powerful performance. Some of the ample toxicity this film engenders is well portrayed by those who are his classmates - boys and girls - who epitomise a small-mindedness and a bigotry that the film quite successfully showcases then tries to hold to count and to shame. It's a ninety minute television movie, so it's unlikely to be intended to profoundly move the dial on attitudes of intolerance and homophobia significantly, but the lads on screen here deliver a poignant story that does make you think about what schools teach us that isn't in books.