Divinas

'Divines' is the debut film and the only feature film made so far by French director Houda Benyamina. Presented at Cannes in 2016, it made an excellent impression, receiving the Camera d'Or award, followed by nominations and distinctions at other festivals and three Cesar awards that year. Well deserved, because it's not only one of the best directorial debuts I can remember, but also about a painful and emotional film about love and youth in a world that doesn't give too many chances to those on the fringes of society. The film ends with a violent demonstration and a confrontation between the police and young people in the 'banlieus' - the suburbs of the metropolis - such as we often see on television about Paris and other major cities around the world. This seemingly meaningless violence is what most of us get from the news. Houda Benyamina's film, largely inspired by her own experience including participating in demonstrations and violent riots in 2005, describes one of the possible paths that lead to what we see in the news and live in the contemporary world.

"Divines' is a film that tells a lot about the economically and socially disadvantaged, about the cosmopolitan and violent world of the 'banlieus' but it is and or maybe especially is a film about friendship. From this point of view, it reminded me of the movie with which Cristian Mungiu had conquered Cannes a decade before - '4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days'. There as well the painful social theme was doubled by that of the friendship between two girls trying to survive on the margins of society and despite its laws. In 'Divines' Dounia (Oulaya Amamra), the daughter of a Roma prostitute, and Maimouna (Déborah Lukumuena), coming from a traditional African Muslim family, are two teenagers who join forces to try to escape from the social condition of the periphery and from the family environments of each. The only solution they have at hand is to get involved in the local crime scene - starting with small stealing from the supermarket, continuing with drug trafficking and reaching larger scale thefts. Their dreams are the dreams of any teenager, but the solutions to honestly reach a change do not seem to exist, or in any case none is considered by the girls. Even when the opportunity for a change appears for Dounia, embodied by Djigui (Kevin Mischel), a dancer in a modern dance troupe, with whom she starts a timid relationship that seems to have a chance at some point, the odds are against. The chances of escaping their conditions for young people in their category look in this film minimal or non-existent. Is this the reality or self-destruction? Hard to tell.

Director Houda Benyamina manages to combine the assertive sincerity of social messages with the careful construction of characters and situations.The in-depth knowledge of the environment that she brings to the screens and of the typology of the characters is obvious. In the role of Dounia Oulaya Amamra is impressive, a combination of street intelligence and survival instinct, determination and vulnerability. The friendship between the two teenagers will stay in the memory of the viewers. The two hope and dream, they make mistakes like any teenager and they break the law , but they are primarily victims of social pressures and suffocating family environments. The scenes in which the two girls walk the streets of Paris, in imagination and reality, are among the best of the film. I don't know what director Houda Benyamina has done since 'Divines'. Her filmography is empty since then. I hope that she prepares her future films. After such a debut, my expectations are high.