Exiles in Lotusland

The beckoning road west in search of self. Like a quarter of Vancouver's itinerant youth, Mélo and Ti-criss made the trip all the way from Quebec, seeking escape and adventure, maybe the meaning of life. For now, their only certainty is love. From east to west, from the streets to a hotel, with a welcome interlude in the country, they seek their place in society, but often find only boredom. Getting high doesn't always chase away the tedium. The pair return to Montreal. Ti-criss can't stick with his youth centre and heads back out west with Mélo. After a life of hard knocks and unbearable wounds from a painful childhood, he chooses his ultimate solution: suicide. From this shocking end to their strange odyssey, Mélo emerges bruised but stronger. In this unsettling look at youth living on the edge, the filmmaker's approach is neutral, acknowledging street kids for who they are and treating them with the humanity they deserve. In French with English subtitles.