Freddy is young, unemployed and suffers from epilepsy. He spends his days riding scooters with his friends or hanging out with his girlfriend Marie. An Arab family arrives in town, setting off the racist prejudices of his gang. Marie ignores them and takes up with Kader, the immigrant boy.

The visionary debut of arthouse provocateur Bruno Dumont, The Life of Jésus casts a caustic (yet still empathetic) light on rural French life. It combines a bracing precision of form with an interest in the philosophical and spiritual turmoil of its characters: a hallmark for future masterpieces.