Worth: $18.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Riadh Belaïche, Marwan Amesker, Dycosh, Pascal Légitimus, Christine Citti, Loubna Abida
Intro:
An inspiring story with a strong feelgood factor …
This involving French film makes you feel deeply – and it does so without the filmmakers resorting to the emotionally manipulative tricks sometimes found in Hollywood fare.
Billed as a dramedy (isn’t almost everything?), Sugar & Stars is better described as a feelgood-drama. It tells the inspiring true story of Yazid Ichemrahem, a Frenchman of Moroccan descent who overcomes a rough start thanks to a passion for pastry and all things sweet. The kitchen scenes, when Yazid gets into ‘the zone’, are creatively put forward – the world around him fades into darkness and there’s just him and the beautiful dessert he’s concocting.
Beautifully realised by first time feature director Sébastien Tulard and based on Yazid’s autobiography, the story hops from one time frame to another and back again, and the non-linear storytelling creates a good pace.
One moment, we’re a couple of hours east of Paris in Épernay and Yazid is a child (played by Marwan Amesker) with a loving foster family, already showing talent in the kitchen. Next moment, we’re in another kitchen – belonging to a posh Parisian eatery – where a teenage Yazid (now played by Algerian-born social media personality Riadh Belaïche) has hustled his way into an apprenticeship, working under the tutelage of a chef he idolises. He’s living in a boys’ home, sneaking out to go to work. Then he’s a child again, this time with his not particularly loving mother (Loubna Abida). A little later, he’s a man sleeping under the stars that shine above the French Riviera (and its gorgeous scenery not wasted by the filmmakers).
The acting is natural, with Belaïche very likeable in the central role. The genial Yazid, who has more than a dash of chutzpah, does have the occasional volcanic outburst and Belaïche is excellent at playing the whole range. There’s also a storyline about a friendship here, with Yazid’s chef mate Manu (played by comedian Dycosh) also bringing a little humour into the tale.
Yazid is a kid with the dream of winning the pastry championship, and you can guess where this is going not long after the film starts, but the journey there is engrossing, and the film’s home stretch is so exciting and well-crafted that it will give you goosebumps.
An inspiring story with a strong feelgood factor – it’s just the kind of film Tinseltown likes to remake. See it before Hollywood gets a hold of it.