Dir.: Bruno Dumont; Script: Bruno Dumont; Phot.: Philippe Van Leeuw; Ed.: Guy Lecorne; Mus.: Richard Cuvillier; Cast: David Douche, Marjorie Cottreel, Kadder Chaatouf, Geneviève Cottreel, Sébastien Delbaere, Sébastien Bailleul, Samuel Boidin, Steve Smagghe; Prod.: Jean Bréhat, Rachid Bouchareb, 3B Productions, 70, rue d'Assas, 75006 Paris (France), tél.: (01) 45 48 44 75, fax: (01) 45 49 17 85; Sales: Celluloid Dreams, 24, rue Lamartine, 75009 Paris (France), tél.: (01) 49 70 03 70, fax: (01) 49 70 03 71 ;Dist.: Prima Films.

Freddy lives with his mother Yvette in Bailleul, in the north of France, where she runs the "Au Petit Casino" café. Self-conscious about his epilepsy, for which he is being treated at a local clinic, Freddy spends most of his spare time -- and he has plenty of it -- hanging out with his buddies. The boys have had little schooling and at twenty are already chronically unemployed, whiling their empty days away on souped-up mopeds. Despite his handicap, Freddy is luckier than the others, with a pretty local supermarket cashier, Marie, as his girlfriend. Freddy and Marie make out in his room over the café (with Mom's blessing), or just spend hours leaning up against each other on the sidewalk, he seated on his moped, she standing against him, wordlessly, as if in prayer. For entertainment, Freddy and his pals have moped races, around town and in the countryside, or pit their trained finches against each other to see whose bird can chirp the most. On Sundays they venture as far as Dunkerque, to bathe or march in the municipal band. Then an Arab family enters the picture, and Kader, their teenage son, makes eyes at Marie. The daily chronicle of Freddy's life becomes the framework for a story that lurches toward tragedy... "While I was writing this story, I knew I was dealing with ambiguous characters and an unconventional plot. I knew it and I was compelled to continue. This is the very material of the film. I was reaching into the creases of human nature, the junctures... It's all about love and hate, and their power." -- Bruno Dumont "An uncompromising portrait of thwarted emotions and small-town tedium, THE LIFE OF JESUS is a luminous and disconcerting feature debut..." -- Lisa Nesselson (Variety)