Nenette and Boni (1997)

In the wake of their mother's death, teenage siblings Nenette and Boni, estranged due to their parents' divorce, find themselves on a collision course. Boni (Grégoire Colin), ensnared in the mundane cycle of baking pizzas for a quirky couple, fills his days with the spicy heat of the oven and his nights with torrid fantasies about a nearby baker (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi). His life takes an abrupt turn when his sister Nenette (Alice Houri), a runaway from her boarding school, arrives on his doorstep, her belly swollen with a life he wants no part of. Against his wishes, Nenette makes a home in his mother's house, her presence an unwanted reminder of the familial ties he'd severed long ago. The reluctant Boni finds himself accompanying Nenette to doctor's appointments, where they discover the clock has run out for an abortion. As the reality of becoming an uncle begins to thaw his icy demeanor, Nenette contemplates a Jane Doe birth, a path that would allow her to bestow life and relinquish it, all in the same breath. But when Boni's harsh words bruise her resolve, Nenette takes matters into her own hands, leading to a harrowing, near-fatal attempt at a home abortion. The hospital becomes their battleground, where Nenette, armed with her right as a mother, bars Boni from witnessing the birth of his nephew. Undeterred, Boni returns, his determination now as lethal as the gun he wields. In a desperate bid to reclaim what he deems his, he kidnaps his newborn nephew, setting the stage for an unexpected, touching tableau of a man who, despite his initial reluctance, chooses to wear the mantle of caretaker, forging a bond born out of crisis with his vulnerable sister and her child.

Nenette and Boni is a drama movie featuring Grégoire Colin and directed by Claire Denis.

Nenette and Boni is currently streaming on Criterion Channel.