An exotic locale in beautiful Portugal, an unaffected and powerful performance by a star actress and existential worriment. This is what you can expect from “Frankie,” an ensemble film directed by Ira Sachs that’s asthmatic and lacks energy but fascinated me, nevertheless, because of its main actress Isabelle Huppert and her incredible on-screen presence.Huppert is one of France’s biggest names.

Cyril (Thomas Doret) is an unruly twelve-year old who moves into an orphanage after being abandoned by his father (Jérémie Rénier). The kid is obsessed with finding a father who's gone missing and who also sold the boy’s beloved bike. His path crosses Samantha’s (Cécile de France), a hairdresser who will eventually become his surrogate family and accept to take the boy in on weekends. She buys back his bike, helps him find his father