Girlhood (Bande de filles) (2014)

Drama

Director: Céline Sciamma
Writer: Céline Sciamma
Starring: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré

It's got nothing to do with Richard Linklater's Boyhood. The original French title translates roughly to "Gang of Girls" and it's about a black teenage girl growing up in a rough suburban neighborhood outside Paris, whom we find having trouble both at school and at home. She becomes involved with a small group of local girls and she finds and embraces a new life, changing her name, her style, she starts cutting school, steals and gets into fights, and eventually becomes totally immersed in her new gang identity, which seems to give her a new meaning and a purpose.

Made under the helm of writer-director Céline Sciamma (Tomboy), Bande des filles features naturalistic performances by its non-professional cast, especially the magnetic central performance from its lead, Karidja Touré. It is about as grim as movies get, but it's showing something real, illustrating the ways an indifferent society boxes in the people who grow up in project-style boxes, but also tells the story of how a young girl hardens herself as she struggles to figure out whom she wants to be, while never quite concealing the fragile girl inside.

Plot summary from IMDb: Oppressed by her family setting, dead-end school prospects and the boys law in the neighborhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of 3 free-spirited girls. She changes her name, her dress code, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping that this will be a way to freedom.

Awards: 11 wins & 19 nominations.
Runtime: 113 min
UNRAT