First Take Classics: Girlhood- this film is very much born independent

SYPNOSIS:

A girl with few real prospects joins a gang, reinventing herself and gaining a sense of self confidence in the process. However, she soon finds that this new life does not necessarily make her any happier.

So, here we are revisiting the film that gave us the distinct sound of our 2019 brand trailer. Girlhood is a very difficult film to get your head around, particularly with the subtitles, but Celine Sciamma has directed a very fine piece of foreign cinema to cap off her little trilogy of films about French youth in the modern age.

The script that Sciamma has written really embodies the ideas of the French New Wave, but in a more modern setting- and that is before you can even start digging into this film. My only issue was the pacing of some sections, but that adds to the episodic nature of this film’s plot- coming in at a rounded 1 hour 53 minutes, this film tells its story very well indeed, and Sciamma plays to her strengths directing it. It’s shot extremely well by Crystel Fournier, and the music, both in terms of the score from Para One (I swear I’ve heard music from this one somewhere else) and the licensed soundtrack, fitted the setting of the film perfectly.

The performances in this film are amongst the most rounded and honest portrayals of everyday character types I’ve seen for years, with newcomer Karidja Toure’s performance as Marieme, or Vic as she is known at the end of the film proving to be very convincing in this effective coming of age drama- supporting her is a cast of unknown talents (picked by Sciamma literally on the streets of Paris- adding to that sense of realism), which includes Assa Sylla, Lyndsay Karamoh and Marietou Toure; and once this cast come together, the characters alone make this film really come alive.

THE VERDICT

Girlhood is one incredible piece of filmmaking. With an emphasis on honesty and the truth of growing up in the slum-like environment of France’s lower classes, Sciamma has made a film that harks back to the ideals of pioneers like Godard and Truffaut- could we be on the verge of a new New Wave?

Rating- 5/5