GarnettTeenage The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Bene Cumb Social and religious contradictions, gay/lesbian secrecy, and all this in an Islamic/Arab country - plenty of intriguing stuff to issue from and complete with. True, it is difficult to fit it all in a film less than 1.5 hours, and that is probably the reason why the film seemed a lightweight walk over the issues, with the director's apparent desire of being brave and progressive, but not too provoking in showing love and affection (Mehdi Ben Attia comes from Tunisia where the film is shot). The second half or so is less interesting and even more perfunctory, and the ending is rather odd, characteristic to Bollywood films rather than French creations.The aged Claudia Cardinale has somehow lost her charm, and all other performers did not impress me much; I did not fix them in my memory, and their accomplishments did not make me look for films with their presence...Thus, just an average film to me, 1-2 additional points for boldness and pleasant Tunesian scenes - not often shown in films widely available in the Western world. As for gay films, you might want to see respective German and Scandinavian films with meaty approach.

esjara97 The film was all right, but the soundtrack was so horrible that it ruined so many scenes. The whole string thing didn't make much sense, they could have skipped it, although it did show the progress that the character made throughout the movie. I thought that Malik's father's appearances were very odd at times, for example when he was talking to Malik's mother about his (Malik's) homosexuality. The ending was also very odd, since Malik and Bilal were together and Siryne and Leila were together, it didn't make much sense that Malik and Siryne got married. It would have made much more sense had they just been parents together, but nothing more. It wasn't like they were hiding their homosexuality, so the marriage didn't have any obvious reason.The acting was terrific, though. I loved Malik's mother, she was a wonderful character and Claudia Cardinale portrayed her wonderfully. I loved Malik and Bilal's relationship but, again, I don't understand why Malik had to get married. I also loved Siryne and Leila's relationship, it wasn't the most typical relationship, and I liked that. Siryne's father, even though he merely appeared in one small scene, was wonderful and very well portrayed.

guil fisher For this film, directed and written by Mehdi Ben Attia does that very thing. It doesn't preach a message, it doesn't force people to sacrifice their lives or dignities. It just tells a story of two men who fall in love and live happily ever after. Why not? Why can't there be such films? My hat is off to those responsible for making this happen. Writers, director and a wonderful cast.And how wonderful to see Claudia Cardinale again. Still with those beautiful eyes and looking smashing as the mother of one of the boys who fall in love. She also gets to go through all the moments that most mothers go through in finding out their son is gay. Cardinale is terrific. As her gay son, Atonin Stahly, too, is wonderful. He didn't miss a beat in this. From the frustrated son coming home to dealing with a possessive mother to falling in love. As his love interest, Salim Kechiouche seems perfectly fitted for the role. A beautiful, sensitive young man bringing much passion into his role. At first you feel something is going to happen. Something will go wrong. This is too beautiful to last. As in most gay love stories, it usually does. But in this is doesn't. The ending is so beautiful and touching, you want to stand up and cheer. Thanks for a lovely romantic love story between two men.

howie73 Le Fil(aka The String) promises much but delivers little. This directorial debut by Mehdi Ben Attia is confused by what it wants to be. Starting as a commentary on quasi-French colonialism vis a vis Tunisian servitude, Le Fil then dabbles unsuccessfully in a range of conflicting cinematic genres – from melodrama to thriller to comedy. It seems to favour melodrama but masters none. Ultimately, the film wants to satisfy every genre but ends up a dissatisfying mess. The editing also feels rushed as if the film has to be under 90 minutes. There is not much of a plot to drive the narrative. What starts of as a restrained gay version of Mommie Dearest soon becomes something altogether different.Claudia Cardinale is maniacal enough to maintain her bitchiness as the archetypal overbearing mother, whose closeted French-Arab architect son, Hakim returns home to live with her in Tunusia. Soon enough conflicts arise between both, and the Oedipal attachment is soon erupted by the son's longing for the Tunusian handyman, Bilal. The son is torn between his mother's approval and his desire to live as a gay man in Tunisia. The fact that he could easily have moved back to France with his handyman is not even mentioned. Instead we are treated to a dubious moral fable about the importance of family – the ties that bind can imprison us, but they also liberate us at a price: the façade of social conformity.I also found the conceit of the string, real and imagined, was rather crude. As a symbol of the umbilical cord it might have a Freudian significance, but it felt clumsily realised and out of touch with the film's penchant for realism. The film feels like a reflection of many gay men's reality by saying that gay men must compromise their lives to live in a heterosexist world. In spite of the happy ending that reaffirms the conservative values of family, Le Fil climaxes as a depressing tale for gay men who want to be free of the strictures of family life.