The New Kid
2015 · Directed by Rudi Rosenberg
Original language: French
- comedy
The story
Benoît, the new kid at school, is bullied by a gang of arrogant boys. Determined not to be pushed around, Benoît organizes a big party, but only three students turn up. What if this bunch of losers was to be the best gang ever?
What it’s like
Bright, unfussy daylight and warm interiors of a Paris apartment and school corridors, shot with a steady, observational eye that lets young faces and awkward silences breathe. The mood is light and wry with a soft undertow of loneliness: a comedy of small humiliations and quiet resolve, played with a kind of deadpan sincerity rather than slapstick. Sound leans on pop-leaning incidental music and the chatter of schoolyards, with the ordinary Parisian street noise filling the gaps. Pacing is easygoing and episodic, letting scenes of boys trying to look cool or failing at it unspool at their own speed. Intensity is low: bullying and some cruelty are present and sting in an embarrassing, school-yard way, but there is no real violence, gore, or sexual content, and fear stays small and social. The emotional arc follows a newcomer who, lonely and stubborn, gathers an unlikely group of misfits and slowly finds belonging. Well suited to a relaxed afternoon or a gentle family-friendly watch, and to viewers who enjoy coming-of-age comedies about friendship, awkwardness, and the first flush of being accepted.
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