Rent Girlhood (2014)

A good film that totally goes off the rails in the last third - Girlhood review by TB

After the masterpiece of Tomboy, Celine Sciamma stays within a town, but this one is much more vibrant and full of youthful attitude & energy. The plot follows the life of a group of young black French women, primarily Marieme, as they grow up in a rough and dangerous part of Paris.

The film looks at the lack of opportunities for them and how they must adapt to be able to survive. There is an excellent soundtrack and as much as France has been repeatedly filmed in different ways, this does genuinely add a new and fun-filled view to the capital city. Whilst there was no doubt to Sciamma's incredible ability within film, this film reinforces her stunning talent.

However, this film then takes a totally stupid and random course of action for the last third: Marieme, from out of nowhere, makes a decision (no spoilers here,) which any sane and thoughtful person would never do in a million years. This decision is absolutely disastrous and the film totally loses its way because of it. And when that happens, I just lost all interest in it and, although I made it to the end, felt that it was ruined.

As much as there is lots to love and I would say to watch this film, sadly I cannot recommend it, despite the excellent beginning and middle.

In the banlieue - Girlhood review by joannajuki

This was an excellent depiction of a good girl growing hard, to keep pace with her social needs. Who could resist wanting to be with the terrible foursome when they were having fun? Who could resist playing bad girl? Puts a darker slant on believing in yourself, in line with everything I've seen about poverty in urban, multicultural society.

Brilliant of coming of age film - Girlhood review by CM

This is a brilliant coming of age film Karidja Toure' is an extremely rare actress, excellent at conveying vulnerability sadness loneliness and toughness at times.

The young girl has a rotten home life and has been left with so few options school and education seem to not be accessible, having been told by the school that she did not have enough grades to stay on at high school.

The journey to adult hood is a difficult one.

It was interesting to see that the director casted an all black cast and the socio economic circumstances that were in it was a brilliantly told story.

My favorite is the Rihanna scene

The main lead was absolutely flawless in her performance. I suspect Karidja will end up being quite an upcoming Star

I love the cinematography and music the use of blue and purple backgrounds at times really emphasised just how awesome the beautiful this actress was.