Four young men from the Paris suburbs talk about their own masculinity—both their macho facades and the fundamental desire for love that their posturing seeks to hide. The men act in a way society and their friends expect “men” to act. Their interior monologues, however, reveal other desires.

Brutal yet empathetic, Alice Diop’s César-winning documentary short lays bare how macho ideals have corroded the minds and souls of young men. Born out of prejudiced disenfranchisement, the cage of toxic masculinity seems inescapable, yet moments of tenderness gesture towards a hopeful future.