With war poised to crush Sri Lanka, a trio of Tamilian strangers assume the identities of a dead family and flee to France, only to discover that a different type of civil unrest awaits. The adults find work, as custodian and caretaker, respectively, in a gang-controlled housing project; the rebellious orphan girl looks upon her pre-fab “family” as the enemy. It’s what the kids today would call a “slow burner,” yet all I could think of while watching the first two-thirds of the picture was Italy after WWII. Shooting on actual locations and with a cast of nonprofessional actors, writer-director Jacques Audiard (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Rust and Bone) keeps the neorealism pumping until a third act concession to conventionality (and vigilantism) leads it in the direction of Cannon Pictures. Is the ending a dream or reality? Considering the number of bullets fired without changing the clip, I’m inclined to go with the former. In English, French and Tamil with English subtitles. (2015) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.