"The way the women use the local boys seems almost acceptable, yet if the position was reversed, middle aged men with young girls it would rightly cause an outcry, though of course unfortunately it does happen in a few parts of the world."

You mean locally (the outcry, that is)? Either way, black or white, men or women, it's always the poor who get taken advantage of.

Agreed but there's a climate where a young boy having a sexual experience with "the older woman" is almost seen as "rite of passage" and not as some sort of paedophilic act whereas if the roles were reversed...........

I'm a little surprised that you didn't mention any of Cantet previous three films: Time Out, Human Resources and Les Sanguinaires. (The obvious reason would be that you simply haven't seen them, though that'd also be a surprise.)

I have seen the first two, indeed I have the dvd's. There was no reason for not mentioning the previous films, It didn't really cross my mind but I'll write some notes next time I watch them.

Heading South was adapted from three short stories by Haitian-Canadian writer Dany Laferrire, which might be the cause of a certain unevenness in the script. But it starts strongly, with Cantet meticulously mapping out the emotional, physical, and psychological terrain. The way he showcases the bodies with all the desires they embody is almost Denis-like (who probably could've made a masterpiece from this material).

Totally agree re Denis, also thank's for the info re Dany Laferrire. Did you see Heading South in the cinema or on dvd?

Cheers Trev.