What with well-intentioned films about bullying currently the rage, it stands to reason there must be at least one that doesn’t construct a bully pulpit of its own to hammer home its obvious points. This rare misstep from the otherwise dependable voice of humanist André Téchiné (Alice et Martin, Wild Reeds) comes close. Damien (Kacey Mottet Klein), the last kid to be picked in high school gym class, becomes the target of hunky class bully Thomas (Corentin Fila). With dad away on a tour of duty, a family friend schools the lad in the art of self-defense when an introductory course on rough trade is more in order. Damien’s mother (Sandrine Kiberlain) does the unthinkable: taking pity on her son’s oppressor, the small-town doctor invites the rowdy to live with them. If you can buy into the premise, good luck to you. I didn’t. (2016) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.