Director Céline Sciamma's Girlhood centers on Marieme (Karidja Touré), a black teenager living in the projects in northwest Paris, who works part-time and helps to look after her two younger sisters when her mother and brother are away. Marieme wants to attend high school, but her grades are too low, so a counselor suggests vocational courses (Marieme has already repeated a grade). Feeling down, Marieme hangs out with a girl gang led by Lady (Assa Sylla), as they visit the mall, shoplift, and trade insults with other girls. Under their influence, Marieme learns to stand up for herself, but while it's heartening to see her having fun, it's also distressing to see her making choices that are likely to negatively impact her already-precarious future. To make matter worse, she can't date the boy she likes, because he is friends with her brother. Sciamma portrays Marieme's journey in a style that alternates between realistic and cinematic (including black screens that mark scene transitions). A blue-lit sequence in which the girls sing along to Rihanna's “Diamonds” is a high point, but the good times don't last long. After a series of setbacks, Marieme realizes that she has to make a change if she doesn't want to end up being a cleaning woman like her mother. Sciamma's powerful film illustrates how Marieme's society (which discards the poor) and community (which values men over women) leave her with few options. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include an interview with actress Karidja Touré (3 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for this powerful foreign drama.] (K. Fennessy)
Girlhood
Strand, 112 min., in French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $27.99, Blu-ray: $32.99, May 19 Volume 30, Issue 3
Girlhood
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