Girlhood – TIFF 2014 review

The movie follows a group of young girls in the high rise subdivisions of Paris who navigate their limited future in the confusion of peer pressure and societal difficulties. Although this sounds like a familiar storyline, I have never seen a coming of age film cast entirely of Black girls, with a female director. I don’t expect it to be as violent or sophisticated as Set it Off, a movie made in the USA with an all Black female cast that I will review later. I do expect the same harsh situations that force good people to make bad decisions.

What I thought of the movie after seeing it

The first thing I have to mention is the performance by Karidja Touré. She starts out as a shy,16 year old girl who is devastated when her grades keep her from getting into high school. In the social prison of the monotonous architecture of housing projects, strip malls and concrete plazas in the suburbs of Paris, she finds emotional support with a band of girls who exhibit their aggressive behaviour soon after she joins their rank.

The four have a believable relationship but it’s Toure’s performance as Mariame that dominates. Karidja was present at the screening I attended and shared that she was discovered by an acting scout while at an amusement park in France. She had never acted before, and worked with the director to create her character and the ensemble relationship that comes across as very authentic onscreen.  I found this to be remarkable, as Mariame is in almost every scene, transforming slowly from naive, devoted Sister and Daughter, to a street smart young woman who’s choices gradually take her from the safety of her family, to increasingly dangerous situations.

I liked the way this film developed the relationship between the girls. You feel the youthful energy they have that could be guided to positive results, being expensed in any way available to them, usually in the wrong direction. The foursome feeds off each other, going from girlish lipsynching, playing dress up, to fights and confrontations to preserve street credibility. As they find their power through misguided decisions, I felt their desperation to figure a way out of the degrading, antisocial maze of limited options and the racism of low expectations.

When the movie was over, one member of the audience stated in the Q&A that she was disappointed at the stereotypes of young Black girls in gangs, being unwed mothers, and dropping out of school without viable options. Unfazed, Karidja Touré responded that the film reflected the reality of life for many young women in Paris and other parts of the world, and the film accurately shows the entrapment of a system girls live in today.

The value of this movie is how well it illustrates the passive racism of low expectations. The banality of life as a young person who should have a promising future, is crushed daily by defeating realities. It’s more documentary than fiction, more call to action, than just a story.

Karidja Touré at the screening’s Q and A