The best coming-of-age films in recent years are typically those about girls and filmed far from Hollywood. The Iranian ‘Persepolis’, the Swedish ‘We Are the Best’, and the Georgian ‘In Bloom’ are joined by the French film ‘Girl’.
Although it deals with slightly older teenagers, almost on the brink of adulthood, the connections are hard to miss. The heroines’ maladjustment to social norms, their rebellion against tradition, and the search for identity are recurring themes in all the mentioned works.
French girls of African descent excel in their debut roles. They present authentic looks and perspectives, and they are most impressive when beneath the image of hard-core gang members, female tenderness and girlish naivety emerge. Although as a whole ‘Girl’ by director Céline Sciamma is not equally strong in all its parts (especially noticeable in the last third), the scene where the girls sing Rihanna’s hit ‘Diamonds’ in a rented hotel room under blue neon lights elevates the film to a completely new level.
