French Film GIRLHOOD Dir by Celine Sciamma

The French coming of age film about 14 year old Adiatou (a tour de force performance by Kindsay Karamoh) captures that apex between adolescence & adulthood blending the exuberance of youth with the harshness of life.  The film opens with a hard fought football game between 2 teams revealed as all female who revel together post game.  Who won?  It doesn't matter; they all win.  The film begins in a celebration of young female empowerment.   The girls walk home arm & arm with a warm afterglow which fades as the night falls and an ominous foreboding sets in.  The girls break off to their apartment units.  They pass a group of young males that shifts their lighthearted faces downward.  Adiatou is the last girl left alone.  We're relieved when she arrives safely to her apartment where she lives with 2 younger sisters she loves deeply.  Their mother does janitorial work most nights and Adiatou is responsible for caring for her siblings.  There's an intimate & tender taunting between Adiatou & her sister regarding the sister's developing breasts.  This sisterly exchange ends with Adiatou playfully peeking under her sister's T-shirt but then warning her not to let Djibril (Cyril Mendy) know, "wear baggy tops" she advises.  Djibril is their older brother.  He's physically abusive at home & part of a dangerous neighborhood gang.  At school, the principal informs Adiatou she will not be promoted to high school.  Her only option is vocational training. Adiatou's desperate pleas to continue her education is denied as we watch the dejection & feistiness in her eyes.  Adiatou is met outside the school by 3 girls who beckon her to join them.  At first Adiatou resists their overtures but soon joins them uncovering the great joys & infallibilities felt amongst female friendships as well as youthful promiscuous behaviors. Dir. screen/writer Celine Sciamma is a highly regarded & rewarded filmmaker ("Portrait of a Lady on Fire").  This artfully shot picture paints a realistic picture of how brutal life can be for teens living in these impoverished areas outside Paris.  The midnight blue tonal hues casts a sense of overwhelming melancholy.  Yet, this accomplished film is an affirmation of tenacity, resiliency and most poignantly, a testament to relations formed in our youth and their bearings on humanity.