Divines (Houda Benyamina, 2016): Country: France

Reviewed by Felix Palmqvist, Viewed at AFI Film Festival, 2016. Los Angeles, California.

This film was a down to earth film, so to say. But with a touch of Hollywood. It followed the Hollywood guidelines when it comes to creating emotions by using montage scenes with a lot of feeling, created by music and various camera/video-tricks. Also the way it was shot, visually it could be a Hollywood production, but it didn’t follow the typical stereotype. It had a European feeling in general. For example what I found really interesting is that the main characters was two poor, non caucasian young girls and they worked for a older female drug lord, who basically ruled the neighborhood, so basically flipped around with what you used to see in this type of roles.
It showed the opposite of what you are used to see in the typical “gangster” movies, how women are just objects, or maybe a helpless pretty wife or lover that just in there to look pretty. While in this movie females were the tough, ruthless criminals and guys were introduced as less powerfull.

It was really interesting to see the actual Director ( Houda Benyamina ) and listen to what she had to say, because she actually grew up in a poor project-suburban area of Paris, which was where the movie took place. And how she – like the girls in the movie – had a really rough youth with poverty and crimes. But made it thru and is now stronger then ever. One of the main characters also showed up in AFI Film Fest right there in Los Angeles,  Oulaya Amamra. She said she slept and lived in the projects of Paris through out the whole production. just to get into the role. Very cool.

The movie started with Snapchat videos that the main character shot herself, to show how she lived from her perspective, which really created a true and real feeling of who she was and where she lived. One of the first scenes was from a class where she really made it clear who she was and what she wants – she wants to get rich and move out of the ghetto. The two friends was already shoplifting and found their ways how to provide for them selfs, but since they didn’t believe in school, and the school didn’t believe in them, they started to search for heavier crimes to get more money. So the met a drug lord that lived in the neighborhood and started to work for her, slowly moving up in the world as criminals they ran into more problems.

Bitter-sweet ending to the film, but I think the motto is lose to win. You get nothing for free and you got to sacrifice to win, you will lose people along the way.
I would highly recommend this film, very different but not in that boring artistic way.
Showing the world that paris is not the romantic, peaceful as people, especially in America like to think. An eyeopening, bitter-sweet story with a lot of laughter mixed with tears is what made this film one of the best of the AFI Film Festival.

9/10 Very Good.