The Straight Line

Not long after former athlete Leila (Rachida Brakni) is released from prison, she's back at the racetrack, where she bumps into young hothead Yannick (Cyril Descours), who wants to continue as a runner even though a recent accident has left him completely blind. Before you can say "plot contrivance," the two are training together, though initially Yannick is unaware of Leila's background, which includes not only her prison sentence but also a young son adopted by Leila's surly brother-in-law (Grégory Gadebois), who doesn't want her near the boy.

Leila's job is not only to coach Yannick, but also to work on actually running the race completely in synch with him, guiding him through the stadium. Thus, their growing personal relationship and their work on the racetrack, er, run pretty much parallel..

Film screens in French and Arab, with Estonian and Russian subtitles.