Amateur movie with Big budget

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Where THE FALLING failed to engage me on an emotional level, GIRLHOOD provided that in spades. It tells the story of Marieme (Karidja Toure), a young girl on the cusp of becoming a woman. Like pretty much every person, she wants to find a place in the world and be happy, and the film is basically an exploration of how she tries to achieve those goals. The major thing standing in the way, one of the cold truths about how the real world works, is that not only is she a female, but a minority female as well. She goes through all of the usual difficulties in addition to ones unique to people of color. For instance, because of her low grades in junior high (or at least the French equivalent), an unseen school counselor suggests that she go to vocational school instead of moving on to lycee (high school), which Marieme rejects. Her path to self-realization is an arduous and emotionally difficult one in which she encounters sexism and abuse, but still manages to soldier on. Her story is the story of many young women and, for that reason, it should resonate with many people regardless of cultural boundaries. From a technical perspective, the production values were impeccable and all of the performances were perfect, with a degree of authenticity I haven't seen in a while. Every bit of dialogue felt realistic, and the actors were even able to convey a lot through equally deft physical performances. I also quite liked the score and soundtrack. The only reservation I have is that the narrative is a bit unbalanced in how much time it devotes to each phase of Marieme's "becoming," but this is otherwise a phenomenal effort from all involved. For whatever reason, this got no love from the Academy, but GIRLHOOD is definitely worth your time.

*******This review may contain spoilers*******Beautifully shot with powerful performances. I've read critics relating this movie to Boyhood, and yet to other coming of age movies. First, there is nothing like Boyhood in cinema history, and the movies do not share a similar storytelling path or shooting techniques. Second, this movie's focus is not solely the maturing of a female adolescent. Third,the English language release title may have lead people to compare both movies. However, this film's original name is "Bande de Filles" which does not stands for Girlhood. It stands for Band of Girls. The "directrice" Céline Sciamma, known for Tomboy (2011), continues her sensitive depicting of one's reality. Again, with a primary focus in the gender subject, she reaches for the main character's difficulties in a highly inhospitable environment and the dreams and wishes of any young woman. The family hardships and the obligations towards the younger siblings, the constant constraint from her brother's violent language, the absence of a present mother and the everyday chauvinism contrast with the loving relationship developed with her friends. That is what this movie is about. The Band of Girls, who although are violent, do have sensibility, do have dreams, and suffer for not being able to fully achieve them.The great achievement of this movie is to depict all of this in a very sensitive, realistic, and touching way, what would not be possible without the remarkable performances, specially by Karidja Touré.

It's easy to dismiss so much of this film as a gimmick on first-look. I mean, Girlhood... it just seems like such an obvious set-up for one of the most acclaimed films of this century. The good thing is that this film really isn't trying to follow the same structure as Boyhood. Whereas that film really embraced itself in realism, one can say that this one is trying to play with more conventional structures in terms of a 'coming of age" drama. One can say that the main character goes through more changes here, in ways that are more measurable. Perhaps in that way this film may not be as realistic, but perhaps in other ways it's more able to find something captivating in its quiet moments.

Girl power comes from French cinema in this classic coming-of-age story; female centric and empowerment driven, Girlhood is centered around 16 year old Marieme and her struggles with peer pressure and self discovery. While the tale may be repetitive, director Céline Sciamma gives fresh visuals and dramatic flare to the film, which is captivating from the very start. Set in the lower class suburbs of France, Girlhood is as much an emotional journey as it is a visual one, and a satisfying film from beginning to end.Girlhood, which, by the way, is not a female answer to Richard Linklater's Boyhood, is very performance driven and an actor's dream. Karidja Touré carries the film on her small shoulders, projecting various emotional moments with strength. One scene in particular is very special to the film; the four girls rent a hotel room and get all dressed up in formal wear to just hang out with each other and drink alcohol. Eventually, they play Rihanna's "Diamonds" and begin dancing away their problems from the outside world. This moment in the film is captured so beautifully, it could have (and should have) been Rihanna's official music video. The blueish tones of the room, the general feeling of sisterhood, and the miming of the lyrics while dancing around in beautiful dresses show the girls' dreams of a better life, but making the most of what they have in that moment. It's a very powerful scene, which ultimately gives Girlhood its authenticity as the perfect portrait of the undeniable complexity of adolescent life.