SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Console best movie i've ever seen.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

bob the moo Growing up on an estate, young Marieme finds herself leaving education, isolated within her own community, and stressed by those many forces on her. When she gets a new group of friends, she finds herself drawn into this new group of girls, changing her lifestyle as a result.Perhaps overpraised when it was released, I was pretty impressed by this film once I got to see it. It is an odd mix and one that is defined by the music and visual heavy opening; this is an approach that the film frequently takes – which is to have fun and stylish moments amid the crime, violence, and sense of oppression that exists otherwise. In some ways one could accuse the film of glamorizing this world, however what it is actually doing is presenting it in a natural and convincing way. By letting us in on the fun and comradery of Marieme's group, the film shows us why she is drawn into it, and the contrast between what she has otherwise. This is not the film saying that the gang is a better option, or a healthy one, but it does help us understand what is going on with the characters.These moments of style and fun also prop up the feeling of the estates as a real place. The pressure on the women in the film is tangible, and the nature of the world is played out well. It is a gritty and quite raw picture and one that works. In the lead Touré does well with the journey from child, to girl, to violence, and into a place that is really none of them but is informed by a wisdom that she hard earns. She is well supported by the rest of the cast – with Sylla being one standout. As a whole the film is well balanced and delivers a natural and engaging coming of age story.

Turfseer French director Céline Sciamma's new film is called "Girlhood," probably named that way in English to capitalize on last year's similar moniker, "Boyhood." But in French, it's translated as "Girl Gang," which to my ears is a more appropriate title. Citing the lack of French films dealing with black people, Sciamma, who is white, decided to hang out with some French-African teenagers to learn more about their culture and perhaps fashion a film based on her experiences. The resulting product features non-professional actors culled from what is usually referred to in the US as "the projects," rows of drab apartment buildings in a lower socio-economic section of the city.The opening scene is most telling as Sciamma depicts a group of high school girls playing American style football. As they walk home and continually pass by groups of loud, hostile-acting males, they gradually peel off, finally leaving us with the film's protagonist, Marieme, a 16 year old teenager who later refers to herself as "Vic" (for Victory).Marieme's mother is too busy working to pay much attention to the teenager's needs and her brother is a macho creep who occasionally physically abuses her. After she fails to get into college because of poor grades (and faced with the prospect of attending a vocational school instead), Marieme develops a crush on a boy who is friends with a gang of three girls—she soon falls in with the group and gradually is transformed from a shy teenager to an aggressive rebel.The leader of the three is Lady, whom the other girls look up to. Sciamma chronicles the misadventures of the girl gang as they traipse around Paris (mainly in shopping malls), shoplifting, extorting money from other girls and acting as obnoxiously as they can. Sciamma appears to take no stand on their behavior, merely depicting their loutish shenanigans as typical of wayward, rebellious teenagers. The main plot involves Lady's fall from grace after she is beaten up in a fight with a girl from a rival gang before a fairly large group of people. Lady retreats from public review after her father forbids her to pursue further rebelliousness activities. Marieme takes up the group's mantle when she in turn beats up the teenager who defeated Lady. Sciamma's gritty depiction of the activities of the girl gang and their rivals works well--akin to some of the more interesting cinema verité efforts here in the US. Not only does she capture their anti-social side with cogent verisimilitude but also highlights the teenagers' sense of camaraderie (the highlight being the group dancing to Rihanna's song "Diamaonds").Unfortunately, Sciamma's resolution to Marieme's story is not completely satisfactory. Marieme eventually parts with the rest of her group and begins working for a local drug dealer, Abou. At one point we see her disguising herself as a boy, perhaps to avoid being hit upon by rapacious males who are part of Abou's group. Later, Abou does just that at a party and Marieme declares she's through working for him. Marieme's boyfriend's suggestion that they get married falls on deaf ears and the aimless former gang leader is rebuffed after she tries to buzz herself into the family apartment.What are we supposed to conclude about Marieme's fate? Is she the victim of a society that favors the upper middle-class and the rich? Is it all racial—that because she's black, she can't get ahead? Or is it Marieme's own choices that stymie her? Perhaps she could have gone to vocational school instead of falling in with her girl gang rebels. Sciamma again perhaps takes no sides but her tale feels incomplete— perhaps we'll have to wait for the sequel to find out what happened to her.

bedao *******This review may contain spoilers*******Beautifully shot with powerful performances. I've read critics relating this movie to Boyhood, and yet to other coming of age movies. First, there is nothing like Boyhood in cinema history, and the movies do not share a similar storytelling path or shooting techniques. Second, this movie's focus is not solely the maturing of a female adolescent. Third,the English language release title may have lead people to compare both movies. However, this film's original name is "Bande de Filles" which does not stands for Girlhood. It stands for Band of Girls. The "directrice" Céline Sciamma, known for Tomboy (2011), continues her sensitive depicting of one's reality. Again, with a primary focus in the gender subject, she reaches for the main character's difficulties in a highly inhospitable environment and the dreams and wishes of any young woman. The family hardships and the obligations towards the younger siblings, the constant constraint from her brother's violent language, the absence of a present mother and the everyday chauvinism contrast with the loving relationship developed with her friends. That is what this movie is about. The Band of Girls, who although are violent, do have sensibility, do have dreams, and suffer for not being able to fully achieve them.The great achievement of this movie is to depict all of this in a very sensitive, realistic, and touching way, what would not be possible without the remarkable performances, specially by Karidja Touré.

LadiesAndMovies Just saw the movie yesterday and absolutely loved it. I took to IMDb to read up on the director and actresses etc., as I often do when I like a movie. Imagine my surprise when the first review I saw was a long winy 'exposé' of calling the director a pervert in different ways. Say what? Also because the director is lesbian she must hate men, no other evidence needed really according to the author. While that's obviously laughable for anyone who's not a raging homophobe and anyone in their right mind will ignore that review I thought I'd offer my views since there are sadly so few others around here (yet). First I might disclose that I do have a weak spot for movies dealing with female friendships, and as the movie reminded me of Show me Love (Fucking Åmål), Marie Antoinette, Frances Ha and other female centered movies, it was hard for me not to love it. The friendship between Vic and Lady is especially touching, from Lady taking Vic on as a young shy protegé, to them bonding after Vic's victory in the fight she fought for Lady or for Lady's acceptance of Vic leaving. The scene where they are dancing all together or playing mini-golf reminds me of some of the few good scenes of The Bling Ring and perhaps The Spring Breakers, that unquestioning best friend kind of relationships that are never as strong as during your teenage years. Then of course you have Vic's close relationship and protectiveness of her younger sister. I almost cried when Vic sat all ashamed in the train reaching for her sisters hand, and then her sister finally forgave her. And then that final scene...If the only thing you get out of this movie is that you're watching the bodies of a group of young women, then you might want to take a serious look at yourself and how you relate to women. The only sense of any kind of possible objectification or sexual tension that occurred in my mind was when Vic was telling her boyfriend to undress.I could perhaps see that some, a handful, of the straight men watching this movie would confuse it's undertones of sisterhood for something else. After all if you've been feed movies where women are never friends (consider the Bechdel test), only possibly lovers for the male gaze to enjoy, then it might be hard to interpret this movie. It might be frustrating to see young women presented in any other way than the normal and since it doesn't fit your sensibilities interpret that as the 'lesbian gaze'. As a straight woman on the other hand I applaud this movie and wish there are many more like this one to come!