WATCH: A rebellious teen & his older crush explore their desire in ‘Enzo’
In the new French coming-of-age film "Enzo," the titular teen (newcomer Eloy Pohu) just wants to work—he’s a spoiled rich kid who wants to get his hands dirty, to feel like he’s got some purpose in the world.
Mark
There’s a long history of teenaged rebels without causes on screen, though usually these young and restless protagonists are bucking the system by slacking off, causing trouble, and chasing their pleasures.
But in the new French coming-of-age film Enzo, the titular teen (newcomer Eloy Pohu) just wants to work—he’s a spoiled rich kid who wants to get his hands dirty, to feel like he’s got some purpose in the world.
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In the south of France, 16-year-old Enzo lives in a beautiful home where anything he could ever want is right at his fingertips. His wealthy parents (played by Maria‘s Pierfrancesco Favino & Wild Reeds‘ Élodie Bouchez) aren’t even forcing him to follow their footsteps, instead encouraging to pursue his clear talent as an artist.
So when Enzo decides he wants to quit school and takes up work as an apprentice for a construction crew, it baffles his mom and dad. The funny thing is: He’s not especially handy or helpful on work sites, and is dismayed to find his new colleagues still treat him like the spoiled rich kid he is.
It’s only the ruggedly handsome Vlad (Maksym Slivinskyi) who seems to talk to him like an actual adult. Ukranian, Vlad is conflicted over his decision to live and work in beautiful coastal France, when he could be back home fighting alongside his fellow countrymen in the ongoing Russian conflict.
In Vlad, Enzo sees a man who’s life is filled with actual, dramatic, grown-up stakes, and he can’t help but be entranced. Of course, there’s also a deeper feeling that keeps him gravitating toward his more mature friend—and attraction he’s only beginning to understand.
As their bond deepens, Enzo explores the knotty feelings of youthful desire, both of the erotic nature, and in the ways our teenaged years are marked for the desire for something more, something greater.
In that sense, it’s a bit like Call Me By Your Name—focused on the impressionable feelings a young queer man has for another a few years his senior—if Elio resented his privileged upbringing.
Though billed as “a film by Laurent Cantet,” Enzo was directed by Robin Campillo, the French filmmaker best known for the incredible period piece 120 BPM, which followed members of ACT UP Paris during the AIDS crisis of the early ’90s.
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The late Cantent (director of the Cannes Palme d’Or winner The Class) was diagnosed with cancer in 2023 just as he began work on the film. He passed in April 2024, shortly after he had cast his lead actors, but instead of letting the project fall apart, Campillo stepped in for his longtime friend and collaborator to see it through production.
“Jumping into filming right away prevented me from diving into sadness,” Campillo told Screen Daily earlier this year. “It wasn’t a film on commission, it was the film of a friend, a friend who is responsible for bringing me into the world of cinema.”
It’s fitting then that Cantent’s final film—one finished by a dear friend—is a story of the formative friendships that shape us and set us on the course for the rest of our lives.
Enzo premiered earlier this year in the Director’s Fortnight section of Cannes, and next heads to international film festivals in New Zealand and Melbourne this month. There’s no word yet on when it might screen stateside (stay tuned for updates!) but in the meantime you can check out a new trailer below:
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