** FREE SCREENING AS PART OF THE DIVERSITY WEEK FILM FESTIVAL. CLICK http://www.anufg.org.au/read/7585/diversity-week-film-festival-2012-august.html[HERE] FOR MORE DETAILS. **

Michaël has just moved into the neighbourhood with his family and, after initial reservations and skirmishes, starts to fit in with the local children. He especially attracts the attention of Lisa, who becomes smitten with him. However, Michaël struggles to contain a secret...

...a secret that is revealed in the first reel, but if you feel like you want to be surprised by the denouement (and it could be quite a surprise), then stop reading.

For the rest of you... Michaël is actually Laure, who stays as Laure around her parents and little sister, but plays at being Michaël around her friends. (Yes, it's a secret that is probably given away by the title, but still...)

This is an endearing French film that, in my opinion, is one for the family (although it's not as jovial as your typical 'family' film, it's still not a depressing adult movie either), covering themes of identity, love and truth that all ages can identify with. The focus is also on the children, with the adults being support or minor characters only glimpsed briefly. This film is sweet, it's original, and the younger sister is one of the cutest kids you'll see on screen this semester. Come along and be charmed.

** FREE SCREENING AS PART OF THE DIVERSITY WEEK FILM FESTIVAL. CLICK http://www.anufg.org.au/read/7585/diversity-week-film-festival-2012-august.html[HERE] FOR MORE DETAILS. **

Cyril is a young teenage boy who is casually betrayed by his father; who abandons him and sells Cyril's treasured bike for not-particularly-needed cash, letting him believe the bike was stolen. While the abandonment may technically be the greater betrayal, Cyril hasn't lost much of a father, but the bike is an important part of his life, his only true form of independence.

Cyril is unofficially adopted by Samantha (De France), a young hairdresser who doesn't really know why she decided to perform this act of kindness - but it's more than a whim; something deep ties her to him. His ties to her, on the other hand, are tragically fragile, and he's soon making a royal nuisance of himself - and spending more and more time with the local gang of petty criminals, who are only a year or two older than him.

Because this story takes place in a small and rather well-run town in Belgium, not Los Angeles, the 'gang' members don't amount to much: mugging a local merchant seems to be the highlight of their careers. But this adds to the tragedy - or potential tragedy, because the Dardenne brothers are no more committed to an unhappy story than they are to a happy one. Cyril is tempted exactly as a rootless teenage male would be tempted; and somehow, like Samantha, we're hooked into caring what happens to him.