Girlhood: Opens This Friday at Bell TIFF Lightbox

Unlike Boyhood (its cheery American counterpart), Céline Sciamma’s Girlhood (Bande de filles) paints a grim, unflinching picture of coming of age in a boy’s world – one that’s indifferent at best, hostile at worst.

16-year-old Marieme (Karidja Touré) lives in a stark grey slab of an apartment building in the banlieues of Paris. Inside, she looks after her younger sisters and contends with her brutally overprotective brother while her mother slaves away at a menial cleaning job. Outside, groups of boys lurk around every corner, intimidating Marieme and her friends into silence.

When her grades start to suffer, she drops out of school. She starts hanging out with a new trio of girls,  intent on proving their toughness. She changes her hair, gets dolled up, learns their dance moves & mimics their bravado.

For these disenfranchised girls, the need to be respected is king. Any perceived slight must be addressed with verbal or physical altercation. Humiliation is worse than being invisible. When the foursome’s leader, Lady, is beaten in a fight, Marieme avenges her. She slices off the bra of her opponent as a final trophy.

Back at home, word has gotten back to her brother that Marieme has slept with a neighbourhood boy. He tears into her, screaming; “You fucked like a slut! Know what people will say about you?” In this ruthless realm, being dubbed a ‘slut’ carries an onerous burden. Marieme packs her bags and leaves home. Soon, she takes a job as a drug dealer with a local pimp. She cuts her hair short and starts binding her breasts. But when he too tries to take advantage of her, she takes matters in her own hands.

Marieme faces the cards that she is dealt. She is eminently adaptable, and she demonstrates unwavering strength in the face of grave difficulty. Girlhood is a remarkable portrait of self-determinism. Ultimately, she relies solely on herself. In a culture where teen girls are largely viewed as vapid, vain and shortsighted, Girlhood is a refreshing antidote.

 Girlhood opens at TIFF Bell Lightbox this Friday, February 27.