“Girlhood” (French title “Bande des filles”), directed by
Celine Sciamma, has only an accidental parallel in name to “Boyhood” (July 19,
2014), but that coincidence was enough to compel me to see it, today at the
Angelika Mosaic in Merrifield VA, before a small Saturday afternoon
audience.
The film does give an idea of what leads youth in Europe
(France specifically) to become disenchanted, without actually ever mentioning
Islam. All of the main characters are
black (which may suggest ancestry from north Africa, which France had
colonized), and live in high-rise developments, probably subsidized, in
reasonable shape physically, but somewhat boring in appearance, compared to the
Paris that tourists see (as I did myself in 1999 and 2001).
Marieme (aka Vic), played by Karidja Toure, seeks to free
herself from the “boys” rule of her neighborhood by joining a “gang” with three
other young women. The men, of course,
resent any behavior that challenges their “right” to have women when they “want
them.” Marieme migrants towards flexible
bisexuality, lesbianism that is more out of just affection than passion. (Funny,
“Chess Quotes” just tweeted, “The Truth about Girls”.)
The film shows some impressive shots of modern Paris
commercial and defense centers, especially “The 4 Temps” (link). The music score tends to break into
song-like episodes, as with a formal musical, and there are some stage songs,
such as “Diamonds in the Sky” (which really exist in the atmosphere of
Neptune!)
The official site (Strand Releasing) is here.
Wikipedia attribution link for “La Defense” business
district in Paris, by Dimitri Destuges, under Creative Commons 3.0 Share Alike
License. I drove past it in a rental car in 1999.
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