Les Misérables

Comparable to La Haine, this ambitious debut from Ladj Ly is based on his experiences growing up in the Parisian suburb of Montfermeil. An area of poverty and brutality in which the teenage inhabitants face a life of crime and neglect from the state, it’s also the key setting in Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name. The community in which the film takes place, depicted with realism and authenticity, acts as a microcosm for the tinderbox nature of French society.