User reviews

Right intentions, but rather awful execution.

I'll start off by saying I do believe the intentions of the filmmakers were positive. There are undoubtedly minors being exposed to similar themes to that of the film, so it's imperative that people - particularly parents - are made aware of this.

With that said, 'Cuties' goes about it in entirely the wrong way. The message, which does become clear at the end, is to stop the exploitation of children - yet here they are doing just that. There are scenes and/or camera angles that simply should not have been filmed and shown. There is no need for certain shots.

More should've been left for the viewer to work out, as opposed to shoving it into our faces and therefore practically doing what they are criticising. For example, they could've zoomed away at particular points or got an extreme close up of the characters' eyes when they were doing sexualised things.

For what it's worth, I will say I respect the performance of lead Fathia Youssouf (Amy) - I felt a fair amount of emotion from her at certain points. None of the other cast members stick out in my memory, though none produce anything negative.

I've spent a long time thinking about how I was going to word my review, much longer than I usually would at least. It's slightly tricky as, as mentioned, I do believe it intended to do the right thing. Unfortunately though, it ends up - in my eyes - doing what it's trying to say is bad.

There are some extreme thoughts on this film, not all of which are right in my opinion. However, as said, it isn't a good watch - even if only judging on film merits.

Sometimes movies have to tell an uncomfortable story, sometimes movies have to depict uncomfortable trurh. Despite all storytelling shortcomings Cuties has - I can agree that it at least has a valid point about children oversexualization these days. But you don't have to depict it so bluntly! Some may say that this is the point, you have to watch it and think to yourself: "Damn, this is sickening". But this is just mental gymnastics at its finest. You don't have to depict a litetal murder to tell that "murder is bad", you don't have depict real, unacted abuse, rape, torture to say that these things are bad! I get it, maybe Cuties story never could've worked if they haven't depicted oversexualizing scenes. But if that's the case - this movie shouldn't even exist. It should be a book, an animation with adult actors, whatever. Just something that doesn't take this message too far into reality.

The people who did this movie should be accused of child abuse, together with the people who let this happen. As a parent of young girls, this thing is unacceptable.

Its one thing to try and describe underaged children being subjected to sexual behavior, its another thing to actually enact that behavior.

This is simply a movie for perverts who like underaged children, and somehow it got through all checkpoints and got published.

I initially thought that most of the people who where outraged by this movie where exaggerating, as that is the case for a lot of other questionable movies, so I decided to have a look at it, and I am utterly disgusted, did not even make it through the whole movie.

Ever hear of a discretion shot? Implied content? Suggestive camera angles? No one involved in the making of this movie did. Here's a hint: most of the "naked" scenes in movies involved clothed actors being shown from the shoulders up, so you get the idea, without flashing the studio and theater. You can ALLUDE to things happening but for the love of all that's good, DO NOT actually show despicable content on camera. Because then you're not teaching a lesson to change things. You're just exasperating the exact problem you're trying to solve. You can have child actresses, or you can have sexualized content. You can't put the two together and claim moral superiority.

Cuties fails the very ones it claims to want to protect in the worst possible way. That not one person making the movie realized this, is almost comically sad.

Shaming this movie for what it depicts it's like blaming a thermometer because it says we have fever. This is just a picture of our horrible reality.

I don't really care who you are this is not okay. To raise awareness of an issue (like children being exposed to sexual content) is one thing but to then show the explicit thing you are trying to erase defeats the whole purpose of said mission. Even if the writers intentions were in the right they severely botched all they were trying to accomplish and that's ONLY applicable if they had the write intentions.

Hands down this has to be one of the worst movies to ever exist. The girls in this movie are KIDS and they are being overly sexualized and portrayed like grown women. This movie was very uncomfortable to watch (I couldn't even finish it) and what ever message that the director was trying to say could have been said in a very different way. If you enjoy this movie you are sick and twisted.....honestly, very disgusting!!

This movie at its core is about the performative expectations of young women in modern society and the conflict those expectations can cause. The main character, Amy, is raised in a traditional Senegalese household and is taught that the exposed female form is to be derided and shamed. On the flip-side she is also a child in the late-2010's bombarded with the expectations of social media, and modern culture at large that prizes raw sexuality and fetishizes youth.

Through the course of the film Amy finds that no matter which side she attempts to please or conform to, she finds herself fundamentally unhappy and both cultures, traditional and modern, find her lacking the necessary grace to be accepted.

This film discusses the real world struggles for identity and acceptance that many girls deal with on a day-to-day basis, and highlights the stark contrast between the modern performative expectations of sexuality and a girl coming to own her sexuality in a healthy constructive way. Similarly, we see how even when cloistered from "modern society" in a Senegalese closed-community the expectations of sexual ownership and femininity are similarly fraught. This is displayed most prominently as Amy's mother finds her husband has taken a second wife without her approval and she (Amy's mother) is expected to carry this burden with grace and without protest.

As for as the over-sexualization of the child performers is concerned, I can agree that some of the filmography lingers unnecessarily. I believe a greater distance from the performers would have given the audience a better perspective on what our culture expects (See: Tiktok, Instagram) versus the youth of the performers themselves. The film does not glorify the over-sexualized actions, it condemns them. The film never encourages you to "enjoy" these scenes, but to be made uncomfortable for good reason. Young girls should not have societal pressure to be "performatively sexual enough" for society. They deserve to come to explore and own their sexuality for themselves and themselves only.

This is a nuanced film that deserves a nuanced viewing, and yes, a viewing. If you have not watched this movie in whole you should not be speaking on it. You are speaking from a position of chosen ignorance and even if your feelings about the film don't change after you have seen it, at least you have watched the source material whole-cloth.

This is a story about individuality and shrugging off the mantle of societal expectation both modern and traditional.

This is a very well told story and I give this movie an 8/10.

I decided to watch Cuties to see what the fuss is all about. While I agree with many reviewers that it is disturbing to see what these 11/12 year old girls are up to, I think it's realistic. I remember being that age, and being curious and trying to find my way. The idea that the actresses were exploited in the making of the film is an interesting question, but not really relevant in the assessment of the film itself. The film is a well done exploration of being a pre-teen/teenage girl in this day in age. For those who are disturbed by it, well yes, you probably should be. But you can't expect to surround girls with images of sexuality and not have an impact on how they perceive themselves and behave. Don't be mad at the film makers for reflecting reality -- instead go back to the media, fashion, social media and all of the other places little girls get their self image.

The story is the story of the mother, not the daughter. Yet, at a certain point somebody decided that sexing up very young women would make it a way better movie. I simply don't get French cinematography in the last two decades. So many movies who lack a plot, but are very concerned with the sex lives of people 6 to 16.

As for empowering women, this is the precise opposite. It simply plays the role of the abusive old woman who would cut the clitoris off the young woman if she were from East Africa instead of West Africa. It is about keeping women in their place, obedient and voila! you get bliss.

Right, well with the sheer amount of hate and animosity that "Mignonnes" (aka "Cuties"), its director and Netflix have been getting, of course I had to sit down and watch it.

And I have to say that there definitely is an abundance of prudes out there totally oblivious to the real world around them. Seriously?

Have these people not seen the videos that young girls post of themselves dancing on TikTok? Have they not seen the influence that the young girls are getting from social medias or by watching music videos from the biggest music stars? Can people seriously be wrapped in so much bubble wrap that they can't see "Mignonnes" for what it was, a movie depicting the realistic image of what the young girls in today's world are exposed to and influenced by?

Or have they never heard about a movie titled "Lolita"?

I have to admit that I had no problem with "Mignonnes" as it simply depicted the state of the world in terms of influence, social medias, coming of age, TikTok influence and trends, and such. It was nothing more than that. So all the wrath and hatred directed against writer and director Maïmouna Doucouré or even Netflix for that matter is just preposterous and so out of tune with the world around those spewing that bile and hate.

Sure, I have to say that "Mignonnes" somewhat fell short of being the type of movie that I usually sit down to watch, given the concept of this being a coming of age for a teenage girl movie. But of course with the slander, bad publicity, the hatred and the sheer fact that the movie would rile up such an angry mob just made me want to watch it.

The acting performances in the movie were good, as the actors - both young and adult - put on good performances with realism to it, and definitely helped to tell the story in a convincing manner. I wasn't familiar with anyone on the cast list, but then again, I am not well traversed in the French cinema.

I am sure that there is an audience out there for a coming of age movie such as "Mignonnes" turned out to be. Just don't get influenced by the sheer vile words that circulate about the movie and watch it to form your own opinion. Personally I saw nothing even remotely close to what the movie, Netflix and the writer/director was being accused of presenting here.

All in all, then "Mignonnes" was watchable, sure, but this movie was not within my particular watching spectrum. But now I have seen it and can check it off of my to-watch-list. But the storyline actually turned out to be somewhat intersting enough.

My rating of writer and director Maïmouna Doucouré's 2020 movie lands on a five out of ten stars.

I just finished watching the film in its entirety. Outside of the dance scenes, this is an incredible film. The acting was amazing and the story was very compelling. I empathize with Amy and her friends. My heart broke for her mother's struggles. The cautionary theme surrounding the effects of technology and social media on pre-teens was on-point.

That said, the dance scenes were downright stomach churning and, in my opinion, did not need to be anywhere near as graphic as they were to support the plot. I'm not going to pretend that pre-teen children aren't beginning to discover their sexuality at this age. It's a natural part of life and, in an appropriate fashion, is reasonable to address in a coming-of-age story. But to have child actresses dance more provocatively than many women in music videos crossed the line and ruined the film for me.

I get the message, the filmmakers wanted to convey but there are many objectionable actions and camera angles that could have been avoided without even affecting the efficacy of storytelling...

Couldn't even bring myself to fully watch this outrageous and clichéd subject matter. I quickly hit stop and watched a horror film. It was less horrifying.

I went into this movie expecting to be disturbed. I'd heard all of the commentary on it, but I wanted to watch the film in its entirety before passing judgment.

This movie is actually very impressive. The acting is incredible; the directing and cinematography are great. The message is important. Despite what people say, at least 50% of the film is about a Muslim family's customs, traditions, and lifestyle. The other half is about a young girl rebelling.

The startling imagery is meant to be just that - startling. It is meant to send a message to the audience about the way sexuality permeates younger and younger demographics.

In conclusion, I did not expect to be impressed but I was. There is a lot more meaning to this film than what the critics are claiming.

This is a pretty decent but not great movie.

This is NOT a family film. It is NOT about sexual exploitation. The backlash against it is ridiculous. I suspect a lot of people don't watch a lot of movies based on what I'm reading here. Stuff like this comes out often, perhaps just not as publicly as Netflix, but more like late at night on an HBO sub channel and it rarely gets noticed.

This is a coming of age film about a girl whose friends and their dancing and modern less traditional behavior conflicts with her family's very traditional way of life and religion as she reaches her puberty and her teen years when girls would possibly experience a similar situation. The story is about her internal and external conflict and emotional development in regards to this.

The film is decent in that regard, it's a little over the top but you're using young actors and actresses for the most part. Some of the stuff is obviously intended to be presented the way it is to create a more extreme picture of her conflicted mindset.

I'm not really sure if people are even actually watching this or just bandwagon jumping against Netflix.

I've seen this movie because of its controversy, wanted to see if it's really as shocking as everyone says. I don't know, maybe I grew up in Indonesia's culture, so it's so provocative for me. Good coming of age story, but no matter the "message" of a story, for sexualizing children (even in acting) is wrong, but it's 2020 after all.