Urchin

The primary meaning of "urchin" is "sea urchin". In Charles Dickens’ day, this was the name given to Fagin’s urchins, the leader of a gang of child thieves in Oliver Twist. They ran fast, their hands were small and nimble, they could sneak into anywhere, they were always under suspicion and almost never caught. Today, it means ‘people living on the streets’, like Mike, the protagonist of this film.

Notable points: we have seen Harris Dickinson act in Ruben Östlund’s "Triangle of Sadness" and Halina Reijn’s "Babygirl"; this film marks his directorial debut. Frank Dillane, the lead actor, won the Best Actor award at Venice in the ‘Un certain regard’ section. The credentials are there, and—what a lovely surprise—the film is too. Although it’s not exactly the right sort of film—let’s be clear—for a Saturday night with a new girlfriend whose tastes we don’t yet know. Mike sleeps rough; he doesn’t even know how long he’s been doing so.

He tops up his mobile in cafés that allow him to stay for a quarter of an hour. A kind passer-by offers him a sandwich and a drink; Mike attacks him in a tunnel, stealing his money and watch – he denies it, but there were CCTV cameras. It is worth noting that the Italian title is “Ramingo”, so it is advisable to watch the film in the original language with subtitles. Police arrest Mike for the robbery, and he is sentenced to 14 months in prison. Upon his release, he secures a position as an assistant chef, but customer complaints soon surface. He returns to working as a street cleaner, and a young woman offers him a smile. Will things go better this time?