I love film festivals. Something makes film festivals the perfect place to indulge in movies that you wouldn’t necessarily pay for, or even watch at home. There’s ART in the air. And there’s a certain mystery lended to films whose previews are unavailable online. You often need to just go off of a few sentences that summarize the plot and—if you’re lucky—a thumbnail image of what the aesthetic looks like.

I’ve attended the NYFF back in 2014, the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the TCM Film Festival, and particularly love our local hero, The Philadelphia Film Festival. And don’t sleep on the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, which is still going on with half of the films available online (including a documentary featuring my fiance)!

L’Innocent was screened as part of the Philadelphia Film Festival a few weeks ago. All I knew going in was that it was French and that it was supposed to be kind of fun, a lighthearted heist movie about a man whose mother falls for an inmate and what happens when he’s out of prison. It’s a live-action movie, and it was written and directed by the leading man.

To expand a bit on the plot after having seen it, the lead character, Abel, is exasperated with his mother. She has just married an inmate at the prison where she teaches drama, and he’s annoyed. Who is this guy? What kind of person is he? Will he take care of her? But his mother is helplessly head over heels, and she is nothing but annoyed with her grouchy son. We learn that Abel’s wife died in a car accident a few years earlier and his best friend his is wife’s old best friend, Clémence. After enlisting Clémence’s help to get to the bottom of this guy’s character, things seem to start calming down: his mom’s new husband, Michel, is a better person than he bargained for. But adjusting to life on the outside is no small feat for a lifelong crook, and despite his stepdad’s good intentions, Abel is soon swept up in a heist that will set up he and his mother for life—as long as they don’t get caught.

First of all, I have to say that I’m obsessed with the four characters in this movie. The women are hilarious and so well-meaning, it’s deeply sweet, and it’s dear to watch. Even the guarded Abel and the well-meaning Michel are sweet. Everyone’s intentions are in the right place, and even the delusional rose-colored-glasses of Abel’s mom and stepdad make every scene so sincere. This chemistry between characters also has a large hand in the funniest scenes in the movie. They’re hilarious because of how well-meaning everyone is, impulsive or not.

Plot-wise, the heist angle is slow to come to fruition, as the audience mulls over Michel as a person and tries to figure out if he’s the real deal or not. When it does come, it’s equal parts farcical and shudderingly realistic. There’s a lightheartedness that’s cut through with reality that is so damn FRENCH it’s hard to put into words, but there you are.

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The only thing I didn’t love about this film was the ending.

Just when they get through ALL of the hubbub of trying to set up a heist of this precious caviar and everything has kind of resolved itself, they get caught. And the whole conclusion of the film is basically a mirror image of the beginning, except this time, instead of his mother marrying an inmate, the inmate is Abel and he’s wedding Clémence. Sigh. Which, okay, that part is nice, but then on top of Abel being in jail, Abel’s mom and Michel have split up, which also just…really bummed me out.

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So. In conclusion.

3 outa 5 stars. I just love love and I wanted a classic happy ending, sue me.

(Also sorry, the only trailer I could find is in French with no subtitles.)