Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Young dancers face challenges; language, drinking.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Break
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Lucie (Sabrina Ouazani) and her boyfriend Julien (Maxime Pambet) love to dance suspended from supports high along a tall Parisian building in BREAK. During one aerial dance, Lucie's harness breaks, sending her into a coma. When she awakens, she realizes that Max (Hassam Ghancy), the biological father she never knew of, visited her in the hospital. Once she's well, she searches for him, leading her to his low-end hotel where he runs a rehabilitation program for ex-cons like himself. There she meets ex-con Vincent (Kevin Mischel), a talented break-dancing b-boy working his parole. She asks him to train her and Julien for a competition, then quickly breaks up with Julien to pursue the reluctant Vincent. The two learn from each other while Max works out his regrets and ultimately apologizes to Lucie for leaving.
Is It Any Good?
Break has a compelling cast going for it, but the performers can do little to rescue a script that's a retread of other dance and sports competition movies. Lucie trains hard, and tries new moves while an impatient coach barks at her failure to deliver, a tired scenario that could describe dozens of movies. As in other such fare, romance blooms unsurprisingly on the side. Only the French language and Paris setting might make this seem if not original at least somewhat exotic for an American audience.
Ouazani and Mischel are attractive and compelling together even if the story sometimes feels forced and overwrought. Will love conquer all? It's hard to say. Lucie's mother points out that she, too, failed to "save" the convict Max, just as Lucie is trying to do with the moody Vincent. On the dance side, for a movie focused on the power of freestyle movement, choreography feels repetitive and unoriginal, and surprisingly tame. With few exceptions, the dancers are male, competing in a testosterone-fueled frenzy, showing off stamina and endurance rather than artistry.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how it would feel to learn that the man who raised you isn't your biological father. What do you think propels Lucie to search for her biological father?
What do you think about the choices Max made regarding fatherhood? Do you think he hurt Lucie, or helped her? Why?
Lucie enjoys an upper middle-class upbringing and privileges. Do you think she can create a future with someone from a world so different from hers? What are the things she shares in common with Vincent? What are their differences?
Movie Details
- In theaters : July 18, 2018
- On DVD or streaming : December 3, 2020
- Cast : Sabrina Ouazani , Kevin Mischel , Slimane , Hassam Ghancy , Maxime Pambet
- Director : Marc Fouchard
- Inclusion Information : Middle Eastern/North African Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 96 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : December 21, 2020
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