Three brothers – ex-con Christophe, hard-case Marco and the youngest, Olivier – struggle to come to terms with their Algerian mother’s death and dead-end small town life. Christophe, who was in jail when their mother died, is determined to make a life for himself, while Marco, more damaged by his mother’s death and his father’s helplessness, is living more and more dangerously. As for the sweet-natured, capoeira-obsessed Olivier, discovering the joys of gay sex seems to offer a way out, but the pull of his allegiance to his dysfunctional family may prove more powerful than the claims of his lover.
The multi-cultural criminal milieu is reminiscent of La Haine, while the camera dwells lovingly on the beauty and grace of their bodies in a way that nods to Claire Denis’ Beau Travail. Starring gorgeous French superstar Nicolas Cazale, Stephane Rideau (Presque Rien) and Thomas Dumerche, this slow-burning tryptych builds an intense and homoerotic portrayal of modern masculinity and the power of the family over one’s sense of identity.