Synopsis

During a restless summer on the French Riviera, fifteen-year-old Orso survives through pickpocketing and petty crime while dreaming of owning a gun. He meets fourteen-year-old Marie, a rebellious girl drawn to sailors, parties, and fantasies of America. Their intense romance leads them to seek refuge on a secluded island, but Orso's attraction to danger and violence threatens their fragile escape.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was inspired by the real-life experiences of young people whom the filmmaker spent a year researching. Some came from difficult suburbs, reform schools, and prison.

• The screenplay received the Prix de Rome, a prestigious French award supporting artistic projects.

• The story is deliberately rooted in the mythology of the French Riviera, blending romance, delinquency, wealth, and the region's association with gangsters and glamorous outsiders.

• The film was presented in the Tiger Competition at the 1998 International Film Festival Rotterdam.

• The production took five years to bring to the screen.

• Festival material identified the film as part of a tradition that includes Jean-Luc Godard's "Pierrot le fou" and "A bout de souffle," as well as Francois Truffaut's "The 400 Blows," while describing it as distinctly a film of the 1990s.

• The Formula One footage comes from the 1995 Monaco Grand Prix.

• The film was released in France on March 4, 1998, and in the United States on June 19, 1998.

• It was also released under the English title "Angel Sharks."