Nino ★★★★

Released: 19 June 2026

Director: Pauline Loquès

Starring: Théodore Pellerin, Salomé Dewaels, Jeanne Baliba

Being plunged in to the setting of a medical appointment with a close up of the eponymous Nino is one way to instantly raise a film’s emotional stakes. This is the exact technique employed within the film enabling the main character’s confusion to be shared by audiences. Whilst Nino’s introduction has him entering a makeshift hospital unit – a potentially subtle reference to under-resourced medical facilities, he believes that he is awaiting some medical results whilst the hospital’s records note a different course of treatment for him. From the outset, Nino highlights difficult questions and health concerns from an engrossing perspective rarely seen – the diagnosis is for a young man. Having been the recipient of several Césars and Lumière Awards, for both the film and the lead actor, it’s a breathtakingly profound and sympathetic depiction with a captivating, sensitive lead performance by Théodore Pellerin.

From Friday to Monday, we are transplanted within Nino’s life as he grapples with the outcome and next steps to proceed, following his medical diagnosis. His life has changed within minutes, he has been given two medical tasks to complete by Monday, but nothing has changed for anyone else within his milieu, who continue with their daily routines. This change is strikingly referenced within a wordless, panoramic zoomed out shot of Nino walking in a busy zone surrounded by other commuters with an overground metro driving past – he is part of the commuter experience but is also now distant from it by virtue of his new reality. A simple but effective scene serving as a marked example of the excellent dramas, exploring the human condition and angst, that French cinema produces effortlessly.

Surprisingly, Nino refuses to resemble a bleak kitchen sink tale. Instead, Nino attempts to continue with his existing weekend schedule, without sinking into melancholy, by meeting friends and family. The agonising decision whether to reveal his medical condition is an omnipotent conundrum, and we are privy to this journey with him. As such, these moments provide a voyeuristic perspective regarding the relationships in his life. His interactions with his mother are intimate and capture a close mother and son bond, where Nino feels comfortable discussing some aspects of grief and life’s fragility.

Along the course of the weekend, his birthday occurs, which exposes that shift in his dynamics as he subtly analyses his peer’s actions and his family too within a different fragility. His diagnosis alters his interactions – he is now recommending that family members stop smoking. Yet, he doesn’t reveal to them why it’s a concern thereby resulting in some genuinely heartfelt moments shared with the audience who share his secret and therefore possess more knowledge about Nino’s life than his own inner circle.

Director Pauline Loquès has captured a delicate perspective encompassing reproduction and mortality with a male protagonist. For a debut feature, it is extremely impressive to witness her assured command to adopt a thoughtful, affecting approach to a tale about youth with a journey through Paris. She has subverted the expectations for a coming of age tale, full of friendship woes and parties, to produce this stylish but substantial drama questioning the way that we tackle conversations about long term illnesses. Close ups and claustrophobic settings further accentuate the contrasts between the external beauty of Paris on display and the internal challenges and decisions being faced by Nino.

What also remains impressive throughout is the captivating principal performance by Théodore Pellerin delivering a combination of bewilderment, diffidence and vulnerability as Nino. His expressions capture a multitude of emotions during silent moments and endear his character further!

Thus, Nino represents that winning balance of a human interest story coupled with the humorous introspective on life that’s the preserve of the youth. Utilising an engaging storytelling perspective, Nino takes us through an emotional rollercoaster, anchored by that powerful central performance by Pellerin, which continues to have an impact beyond the film’s final credits. Nino causes us to pause, reflect on our sense of mortality and to realise the importance of not taking our personal relationships for granted. Fortunately, Loquès’ moving debut offers us a glimmer of hope for the future in the process.