De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté: France: Movies

De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté (The Beat My Heart Skipped) is a fascinating, edgy movie that exposes a grittier side to Paris than our correspondents could tolerate. Complete with Russian mobsters, concert pianists, adultry, drugs, violence and even some immigrant evicting, the movie reveals a darker corner of the city of light. A brief synopsis from BBCi:

"The Beat That My Heart Skipped stars Romain Duris as Tom, a thuggish loner in thrall to a delinquent father but fast becoming his carer. He seems doomed to walk in his dad's footsteps until a figure from his past, the former manager of his concert pianist mother, offers Tom the chance to audition . . . But drifting away from the mean, brutal world he inhabits is not simple. Though he feels the pull of the piano, an instrument that rekindles a bond with his late mother and exposes a gentleness he'd forgotten he had, he cannot easily escape his reality. No sooner does he make a breakthrough with his attractive female piano tutor than he is drawn into his father's violent business feuds. "

As well, the soundtrack, which won an award at the Berlin Film Festival is one of the best in recent memory and is full of euro-electro tracks and vibrating guitar rifts.
+US Release: DVD: Beat My Heart Skipped [amazon].
+UK: London: Showtimes: The Beat My Heart Skipped.