Leolo MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +1/2 Content: -4

According to the dictionary, the word "entertainment" is synonymous with "enjoyment," "merriment," "recreation," "fun" and "amusement." Since none of these elements are included in LEOLO, it rates a zero for entertainment. It's the depressing story of Leolo (Maxime Collin), a young boy from Montreal, Canada, who lives in abject poverty with his parents and siblings. It recounts his vivid fantasies and struggle to save his sanity in a make-believe world. It also reflects the sordid reality of his family and the moral vacuum of their lives. Much of it is narrated and many a scene takes place in the bathroom. However, the film shows some compassion for Leolo's brother who is a scared, bullied boy and his sister whose mind wanders off. It is indeed heartbreaking and disturbing to watch the tragedy of LEOLO unfold.

Leolo's role models include his sister who loses her sanity, adolescent friends who experiment with animal sex, and a grandfather who tries to strangle him. The grandfather also has an affair with an adolescent neighbor who prostitutes herself. Not surprisingly, Leolo is obsessed with pornography, fantasizing about voluptuous nude women and tries to drown his grandfather. His mother slaps a child who plays with his food. Also, a grown man breaks a young boy's nose in a bloody incident. Along with the graphic sex and child abuse come many obscenities and crudities. While LEOLO might be appropriate as a case study for sociologists or psychologists, its hopelessness and sordid subject matter will offend just about everybody.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: Fine Line Features, 888 7th Ave., 20th Floor, NY, NY 10106