Enzo

Plot

Enzo, a teenager who rejects the expectations of his wealthy parents, takes an apprenticeship at a building site where he develops a crush on Vlad, a Ukrainian bricklayer who is struggling with whether or not to return home and fight in the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Cast

Eloy Pohu as Enzo

Pierfrancesco Favino as Paolo

Élodie Bouchez as Marion

Maksym Slivinskyi as Vlad

Nathan Japy as Victor

Vladislav Holyk as Miroslav

Malou Khebizi as Amina

Philippe Petit as Corelli

Charline Paul as Léa

Mounir Margoum as Max

Production

The film was written by Campillo, Laurent Cantet and Gilles Marchand, and was originally slated to be directed by Cantet; however, although Cantet had completed casting most of the actors, it had not yet entered photography at the time of Cantet's death of cancer in April 2024, and Campillo, a frequent collaborator with Cantet, stepped in as director.

The film is a co-production between France, Belgium and Italy. It was produced by Les Films de Pierre, France 3 Cinéma, Page 114, Ami Paris, Les Films du Fleuve, Be TV, RTBF and Lucky Red.

The film was shot in La Ciotat in the late spring of 2024.

As a result of the film's circumstances, Cantet is given an unusual "a film by" credit separately from Campillo's directorial credit, and Campillo himself describes it as Cantet's film rather than his.

Distribution

The film premiered as the opening film of the Directors' Fortnight program at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

Critical response

Peter Debruge of Variety wrote that the film "reflects how a rebel without a cause finds something to care about, if you will. In Enzo's case, his engagement is mixed up with an infatuation he's uncertain how to process, which is partly explained by a phone call every bit as moving as the one that closes "Call Me by Your Name." Enzo may not be so bright in scholastic terms, but he's far more sensitive than his family seems to realize, and there's a certain irony to the way this movie asks us to intellectualize someone operating on instinct, stumbling toward a better understanding of himself."

For The Hollywood Reporter, Jordan Mintzer wrote that "the filmmakers are never conclusive about Enzo's burgeoning sexuality nor his plans for the future, and that's clearly by design. They don't want to hem their young hero in, preferring to let the boy discover himself the way so many kids do at that age. It's an extremely honest depiction of adolescence, but one that doesn't always make for compelling drama. The result is a film that fails to pack a sufficient emotional charge, even if it leaves us longing to know where Enzo will go next."

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote that "there's something tragicomic and absurd about poor Enzo, absurd and humiliating in the way teenage yearning often is – and Enzo's dad's suspicion of self-harm turns out to be shrewder than he thought. Campillo and Cantet show us that the agonies of being young and existentially rebellious are not simply shallow and callow: they represent a state of idealism which is poignantly brief, like everything else about youth. It is another powerful, absorbing picture from Campillo and a fitting swan song for Laurent Cantet."

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 90% based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10.