Enzo (2025) by Robin Campillo: A coming-of-age drama where class rebellion meets sexual awakening on a construction site

Summary of the Movie: Desire finds direction in manual labor

The film operates in the space where bourgeois rejection meets working-class attraction, treating masonry apprenticeship as both escape route and self-discovery vehicle. It's a tender meditation on teenage confusion that asks whether wanting someone means wanting their life or just their body. Robin Campillo completes Laurent Cantet's final screenplay, blending their sensibilities—one straight, one gay—into ambiguous longing that refuses easy categorization.

Where to watch: https://www.justwatch.com/nl/movie/enzo-2025 (Netherlands), https://www.justwatch.com/it/film/enzo-2025 (Italy)

Link IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32646557/

Link Review: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/14/enzo-review-laurent-cantet-swan-song-robin-campillo-cannes-film-festival

• Genre: The film blends coming-of-age realism with class drama, using sunny Mediterranean settings and physical labor as backdrop for psychological unrest—tension builds through unspoken desire, family pressure, and the slow recognition that comfort can suffocate more than poverty ever could

• Movie plot: Enzo, 16-year-old son of bourgeois parents, rejects university expectations by starting masonry apprenticeship in La Ciotat—his world shifts when he meets Vlad, charismatic Ukrainian laborer whose presence becomes obsession masking as mentorship

• Movie themes: Class as identity prison, homoerotic awakening without explicit confirmation, manual labor as authenticity marker, war trauma intersecting with teenage angst, rebellion through downward mobility

• Movie trend: Part of French social realism examining class fluidity through sexual desire—fits alongside films treating working-class environments as sites of bourgeois self-discovery

• Social trend: Reflects conversations about class performativity, Ukrainian displacement, questioning whether sexuality can be class transgression rather than just orientation reveal

• Movie director: Robin Campillo (120 BPM) directs Laurent Cantet's (The Class, Palme d'Or 2008) final screenplay after Cantet's death from cancer—longtime collaborators merge Campillo's queer sensibility with Cantet's humanist social observation

• Top casting: Eloy Pohu (newcomer) plays Enzo with inarticulate yearning; Maksym Slivinskyi brings Ukrainian gravity as Vlad; Pierfrancesco Favino and Élodie Bouchez as worried bourgeois parents; Nathan Japy as bourgeois brother

• Awards and recognition: Opened Directors' Fortnight Cannes 2025, 71 Metascore, 6 nominations, €3.7M budget, $1.78M worldwide gross

• Release and availability: June 18, 2025 France theatrical, festival circuit including Sydney, Melbourne, BFI London, distributed by mk2 Films internationally

• Why to watch movie: For fans of ambiguous queer longing, Call Me By Your Name vibes without the resolution, class critique disguised as sexual awakening

• Key Success Factors: Enzo scores through restraint over declaration—the film refuses to name what Enzo feels, treating desire as inarticulate force that could be sexual, aspirational, or both simultaneously

Insights: Class rebellion cosplays as sexual discovery—audiences can't tell if Enzo wants Vlad or wants to be working-class

Industry Insight: Posthumous collaborations between directors create unique authorial tension—festival circuits honor late filmmakers while recognizing living directors who complete their visions. Consumer Insight: Audiences seek ambiguous queer narratives that resist explicit categorization—the refusal to confirm orientation reads as sophisticated restraint rather than closeting. Brand Insight: Coming-of-age films benefit from class displacement narratives—bourgeois kids slumming in working-class environments create built-in tension without requiring plot mechanics.

The film operates as both tribute to Cantet and Campillo statement piece, treating Enzo's confusion as feature rather than problem requiring resolution. Critics compare it to Call Me By Your Name but the resemblance is superficial—where Luca Guadagnino makes desire gorgeous and consumable, Campillo leaves it messy and unresolved. It's a 102-minute study in wanting something you can't articulate, where masonry becomes metaphor for building identity from scratch when your inheritance feels like imprisonment.

Why It Is Trending: Ambiguous desire finally gets to stay ambiguous

The film arrives as queer cinema moves beyond coming-out narratives into more complex territory. Enzo capitalizes on audience sophistication around sexuality as spectrum rather than binary, positioning class transgression as potentially more radical than sexual orientation reveal.

• Concept → consequence: Working-class apprenticeship becomes identity laboratory, reframing manual labor as escape from bourgeois expectations rather than just economic necessity

• Culture → visibility: Released during conversations about class performance and Ukrainian crisis, the film positions itself as intersection of multiple marginalizations without hierarchy

• Distribution → discovery: Cannes Directors' Fortnight opening night signals prestige positioning while posthumous Cantet credit generates emotional festival investment

• Timing → perception: Drops amid renewed interest in films treating sexuality as unarticulated rather than declared—feels contemporary in refusing explicit categorization

• Performance → relatability: Enzo's inarticulate longing and parental confusion mirror audience experiences with teenage opacity and the exhaustion of well-meaning bourgeois liberalism

Insights: Desire without declaration—audiences embrace queer narratives that refuse to resolve into identity politics

Industry Insight: Posthumous completions generate festival goodwill—Cantet's Palme d'Or legacy combined with Campillo's 120 BPM credibility creates prestige double-authorship rarely seen. Consumer Insight: Viewers increasingly comfortable with ambiguous sexual narratives—the refusal to confirm Enzo's orientation reads as mature restraint rather than evasive representation. Brand Insight: Class transgression narratives create dramatic tension without requiring explicit conflict—bourgeois families struggling with downward mobility children provide built-in stakes.

The film trends because it flatters audiences by treating them as sophisticated enough to not need explicit answers. Campillo and Cantet trust viewers to recognize homoerotic tension without spelling it out, positioning restraint as artistic choice rather than representational failure. It's trending not because it provides clear queer narrative but because it refuses to—the ambiguity becomes the point, making audiences feel intellectually engaged by interpreting rather than just consuming.

What Movie Trend Is Followed: Ambiguous queer European coming-of-age

The film operates within continental cinema treating sexual awakening as unarticulated yearning rather than explicit declaration. This trend emerged through Call Me By Your Name's sensuality and matured with films treating desire as atmospheric rather than plotted—stories where wanting someone remains mysterious even to the person doing the wanting.

• Format lifecycle: Queer coming-of-age evolved from explicit coming-out narratives (Beautiful Thing, Brokeback Mountain) through aesthetic queer cinema (Call Me By Your Name) into fully ambiguous territory where sexuality might not be the actual point—Enzo sits where class and desire become indistinguishable

• Aesthetic logic: Mediterranean sun and physical labor create sensuality without explicit eroticism—the film uses bodies at work rather than bodies in intimacy to generate tension

• Psychological effect: Audiences experience confusion as intentional rather than narrative failure, accepting that teenage desire resists categorization even when observed closely

• Genre inheritance: Borrows from French New Wave adolescent opacity (The 400 Blows), Call Me By Your Name's unarticulated longing, Dardenne brothers' working-class realism, and Cantet's humanist social observation to create hybrid class-sexuality study

Insights: Sexual orientation becomes optional detail—the longing matters more than what it's called

Industry Insight: European festivals reward ambiguous queer narratives over explicit identity politics—restraint reads as artistic sophistication rather than representation failure. Consumer Insight: Audiences comfortable with unanswered questions about character sexuality—the ambiguity allows multiple interpretations that feel more realistic than declaration. Brand Insight: Coming-of-age films differentiate through what they refuse to resolve—leaving sexuality ambiguous creates discussion rather than just representation checkbox.

Enzo demonstrates ambiguous queer cinema's maturity by refusing the phone call resolution that Call Me By Your Name provided. The film ends with Enzo still figuring things out, treating 16 as too young for self-knowledge rather than perfect age for sexual awakening clarity. This trend succeeds because it mirrors actual teenage experience—most 16-year-olds can't articulate what they want, and films that pretend otherwise feel like adult projections rather than adolescent reality.

Trends 2026: Ambiguity becomes the sophistication marker

Audiences increasingly value films that resist resolution, treating unanswered questions as mature restraint rather than narrative failure. The shift reflects broader cultural comfort with spectrum thinking across identity categories.

Implications: Not knowing becomes the point instead of the problem

• Enzo signals movement toward films trusting audiences to tolerate sustained ambiguity without demanding resolution

• Viewers accept that some stories shouldn't conclude with clear answers about identity, desire, or life direction

• This reshapes coming-of-age filmmaking from providing clarity to documenting confusion as permanent state

• The trend suggests cinema functioning as question rather than answer, valuing observation over explanation

Where it is visible (industry): European festivals reward restraint over explicit representation

• Film festivals prioritize ambiguous queer narratives as sophisticated alternative to identity politics storytelling

• Posthumous completions and director collaborations create unique authorial tensions that festivals celebrate as artistic events

• French social realism maintains dominance through class analysis intersecting with sexuality exploration

• International distribution favors prestige positioning through festival pedigree rather than mainstream accessibility

Related movie trends:

• Unarticulated queer desire - Films treating same-sex attraction as atmospheric rather than plot point, where homoerotic tension remains unresolved and unnamed

• Downward mobility narratives - Stories about bourgeois characters seeking authenticity through working-class immersion, treating manual labor as identity escape route

• Posthumous director completions - Filmmakers finishing deceased collaborators' final works, creating dual authorship that festivals treat as memorial events

• Mediterranean sensuality without sex - Sun-drenched European settings using physical labor and landscape to generate erotic charge without explicit intimacy

Related consumer trends:

• Spectrum comfort - Audiences accepting that characters don't need to declare orientations or resolve into identity categories

• Interpretive viewing - Consumers valuing films requiring active interpretation over passive consumption, treating ambiguity as engagement invitation

• Class consciousness aesthetics - Growing interest in stories examining bourgeois guilt and working-class romanticization as psychological phenomena

• Grief-informed reception - Viewers approaching posthumous works with emotional investment in honoring late creators' visions

The Trends: Ambiguous queer coming-of-age hits because audiences are tired of orientation declarations masquerading as character development

Viewers seek films acknowledging that desire often remains mysterious even to people experiencing it. The trend resonates because it validates actual teenage experience over tidy narratives—most 16-year-olds can't explain what they want, and films admitting this feel more honest than those providing clarity. Enzo's appeal lives in refusing to resolve whether Enzo's attraction is sexual, aspirational, or both—the ambiguity becomes sophistication marker letting audiences feel mature by tolerating unresolved tension.

Trend Type	Trend Name	Description	Implications
Core Movie Trend	Ambiguous queer European narratives	Films treating same-sex attraction as atmospheric tension rather than identity declaration to be resolved	Cinema moves beyond representation politics into observation mode where sexuality remains one of many unarticulated adolescent confusions
Core Consumer Trend	Interpretive sophistication	Audiences preferring films requiring active interpretation over clear resolutions, treating ambiguity as intellectual engagement	Consumption patterns favor restraint over explanation—viewers feel smart when films trust them to tolerate unanswered questions
Core Social Trend	Spectrum normalization	Cultural acceptance that identities exist on continuums rather than binaries, making ambiguous narratives feel realistic	Society treats uncertainty as mature rather than closeted—not knowing becomes acceptable permanent state rather than phase requiring resolution
Core Strategy	Restraint as prestige signal	Filmmakers positioning ambiguity as artistic sophistication rather than representation failure or narrative incompleteness	Brands and festivals recognize that what films refuse to resolve creates more discussion than what they declare
Core Motivation	Reality validation	Audiences need permission to experience desire as confusing—films acknowledging this validate lived experience over tidy narratives	Media provides emotional permission structure for sustained uncertainty, normalizing confusion rather than demanding premature clarity

Insights: Not declaring becomes the declaration—ambiguity signals sophistication in post-binary landscape

Industry Insight: Festivals reward posthumous completions and ambiguous queer narratives as prestige combination—Cantet legacy plus Campillo restraint creates double authorial credibility. Consumer Insight: Audiences comfortable with films that don't resolve orientation questions—the refusal to categorize Enzo reads as respectful observation rather than evasive representation. Brand Insight: Coming-of-age films differentiate through what they won't explain—ambiguity creates interpretive communities more engaged than demographic representation checkboxes.

The 2026 landscape reveals audiences treating ambiguity as feature rather than bug. Enzo succeeds because it refuses to clarify whether Enzo's obsession with Vlad is sexual attraction, class aspiration, or working-class authenticity fetish—the film trusts viewers to recognize that 16-year-olds rarely know themselves well enough to articulate these distinctions. This trend suggests cinema evolving from answer-providing to question-sustaining, where not knowing becomes the sophisticated response rather than narrative failure.

Final Verdict: A posthumous meditation on wanting without knowing why

Enzo functions as both Cantet tribute and Campillo statement, treating teenage confusion as permanent state rather than problem requiring resolution. The film's cultural role sits at the intersection of queer ambiguity and class critique, offering audiences permission to recognize that desire often makes no sense even when experienced intensely.

• Meaning: The film argues that wanting someone doesn't require understanding why—sexual attraction, class aspiration, and authenticity seeking can be indistinguishable at 16

• Relevance: Arrives during post-binary cultural moment where audiences accept orientation as spectrum rather than declaration requiring resolution

• Endurance: The film's staying power depends on continued appreciation for ambiguous narratives—if explicit representation cycles back into dominance, this reads as evasive rather than sophisticated

• Legacy: Establishes posthumous completion as viable festival event, proving collaborators can honor late directors while adding their own sensibilities without betraying original vision

Insights: The film sells confusion as maturity—audiences pay to watch teenagers who can't explain themselves

Industry Insight: Posthumous completions generate festival goodwill when authorial tensions enhance rather than compromise vision—Cantet/Campillo collaboration reads as dual perspective rather than artistic compromise. Consumer Insight: Viewers embrace ambiguous queer narratives as sophisticated alternative to coming-out stories—refusal to declare orientation validates actual adolescent experience over political representation. Brand Insight: Coming-of-age films benefit from restraint positioning—what films won't explain creates interpretive engagement that explicit narratives can't match.

Enzo's cultural role is validating teenage opacity rather than demanding premature clarity. It lets audiences feel sophisticated by accepting that Enzo might not know whether he wants Vlad sexually, wants to be Vlad socially, or just wants to escape his bourgeois family through any available exit. Campillo honors Cantet by maintaining his humanist refusal to judge characters while adding his own queer sensibility that treats desire as mysterious rather than explicable. The film succeeds not because it provides answers about adolescent confusion but because it documents how confusion feels—positioning cinema as observation tool rather than explanation machine, where watching someone figure themselves out matters more than them ever actually figuring it out.