Great movie. And this IMDb summary doesn't do justice at all to what it's actually about. In fact the whole dancer love story was the cheesiest part of the film. This is the story of one girl and her friend, featuring a side story involving a dancer.
28 Reviews
A young girl trying to escape the financial fate her mother has accepted gets involved with a local hoodlum in order to make money.
Amari-Sali20 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
If there is one reason to love Netflix it is because it gives you access to films like these in the comfort of your own home. No need to venture to your closest city and pay $13+. You can cry, laugh, yell at the screen, and not worry about someone else's watching experience while doing so. With all that said, let's talk about Divines.
Characters & Story
Dounia (Oulaya Amamra)
When you grow up in a Roma camp with a mom who is not only embarrassing but seems to lack maturity, it makes your desire for a better life skyrocket. Something past being a simple receptionist, but making big money, millions even. That is Dounia's dream and she plans on bringing best friend Maimouna (Déborah Lukumuena) right with her. Though, to get to those heights, they need to work with Rebecca (Jisca Kalvanda) who is a local hoodlum who seemingly runs a big part of their estate's dope dealings.
But, along the way to rising up through the ranks, so comes Djigui (Kevin Mischel). A dancer who originally is just someone Dounia, with Maimouna, watch from the rafters. However, after a spitting contest, and him chasing Dounia, so begins something more than either expected.
However, with a life of crime and this young man going places, which life will Dounia choose? Which life will be available to her and ultimately, can her dreams come true despite all that she has done?
Highlights
Experience Friendship
It isn't clear when Dounia and Maimouna's friendship started, but similar to Girlhood, it is beautiful to watch two girls empower each other, be ride or die for one another, and have this sisterhood like bond which is enviable. For while often it seemed Maimouna was just along for the ride, she never fell prey to just being the big black best friend. For whether it was showing us her parents, us understanding how deeply she believed in her faith and how that influenced her, she wasn't made out to be shallow.
A Cute Love Affair
Though certainly not a huge part of the film, it was hard to not swoon a bit when it came to Dounia and Djigui's relationship. For while Amamra's youthfulness made you question if Djigui was too old for her, you can't help but lose yourself in the type of romance you could see being its own movie. For their scenes dancing together and you being able to tell he is definitely her first love, oh my god it makes you want to squeal.
The Desire For More
What is always necessary, but not always done, is understanding the motive and what drives the characters. With this film, it is clear from Dounia to Samir (Yasin Houicha) and everyone in between. For whether it is Maimouna sticking with Dounia because she makes her feel wanted, beautiful and free; Samir desiring Rebecca's approval for she calls him her brother and it makes him feel good; or Djigui wanting to dance because of the feeling it gives him, everyone's motives are clear.
The one especially clear though is Dounia who between seeing her mother, a lecture from her teacher, and the environment she grows up in, sees crime and drugs as the easiest way to stability and money. So whether it is robbing someone to prove herself, figuring out how to drive a scooter to be more useful, or even how to go from a plain Jane to a seductress, she figures out a way and seeing her do so is something to watch.
Oulaya Amamra
Leading to the last bit of praise required: That for the lead Ms. Amamra. To me she is unknown and with only a handful of films before this, mostly shorts, for her to command you so well in one of her first big outings is something. I mean, she to me is the meaning of "There is strength in vulnerability" and through her eyes, you can see fear and uncertainty just as much as she can do as Tyra Banks once spoke of, in terms of smiling with your eyes.
But it isn't just all physical, in a way it is mental too. There are many a beautiful actress out there but how many can get a reaction out of you with their clothes on? Amamra does that for whether it is hoping love will be true with Djigui, that she doesn't end up dead working for Rebecca, and that Maimouna doesn't abandon her when she needs her most, she gets you so emotionally invested.
Criticism
A Cheap & Rushed Ending
Thus making me wonder why the ending that was done was chosen? I get it is supposed to represent her reaping what she sows, but it left me so frustrated. For one, it seemed like a climax and then something was done with a character to get a cheap and quick reaction out of you. Which, considering all that preceded, honestly the ending seemed like the writers either didn't want you to have closure or decided to end things there for otherwise this movie would be ridiculously long.
Overall: Worth Seeing
I hope, similar to Lea Seydoux, this introduction to Oulaya Amamra is her invitation to the world stage. For there is this versatility to her that not many young actresses have anymore for, so it seems, they are only cast due to having pretty faces and marketable bodies. And while she may have been the main focus of my praise, overall the cast each bring something to the film where while they are largely in support of her, you can't say a single negative thing about them. Well, besides their part in the ending.
Characters & Story
Dounia (Oulaya Amamra)
When you grow up in a Roma camp with a mom who is not only embarrassing but seems to lack maturity, it makes your desire for a better life skyrocket. Something past being a simple receptionist, but making big money, millions even. That is Dounia's dream and she plans on bringing best friend Maimouna (Déborah Lukumuena) right with her. Though, to get to those heights, they need to work with Rebecca (Jisca Kalvanda) who is a local hoodlum who seemingly runs a big part of their estate's dope dealings.
But, along the way to rising up through the ranks, so comes Djigui (Kevin Mischel). A dancer who originally is just someone Dounia, with Maimouna, watch from the rafters. However, after a spitting contest, and him chasing Dounia, so begins something more than either expected.
However, with a life of crime and this young man going places, which life will Dounia choose? Which life will be available to her and ultimately, can her dreams come true despite all that she has done?
Highlights
Experience Friendship
It isn't clear when Dounia and Maimouna's friendship started, but similar to Girlhood, it is beautiful to watch two girls empower each other, be ride or die for one another, and have this sisterhood like bond which is enviable. For while often it seemed Maimouna was just along for the ride, she never fell prey to just being the big black best friend. For whether it was showing us her parents, us understanding how deeply she believed in her faith and how that influenced her, she wasn't made out to be shallow.
A Cute Love Affair
Though certainly not a huge part of the film, it was hard to not swoon a bit when it came to Dounia and Djigui's relationship. For while Amamra's youthfulness made you question if Djigui was too old for her, you can't help but lose yourself in the type of romance you could see being its own movie. For their scenes dancing together and you being able to tell he is definitely her first love, oh my god it makes you want to squeal.
The Desire For More
What is always necessary, but not always done, is understanding the motive and what drives the characters. With this film, it is clear from Dounia to Samir (Yasin Houicha) and everyone in between. For whether it is Maimouna sticking with Dounia because she makes her feel wanted, beautiful and free; Samir desiring Rebecca's approval for she calls him her brother and it makes him feel good; or Djigui wanting to dance because of the feeling it gives him, everyone's motives are clear.
The one especially clear though is Dounia who between seeing her mother, a lecture from her teacher, and the environment she grows up in, sees crime and drugs as the easiest way to stability and money. So whether it is robbing someone to prove herself, figuring out how to drive a scooter to be more useful, or even how to go from a plain Jane to a seductress, she figures out a way and seeing her do so is something to watch.
Oulaya Amamra
Leading to the last bit of praise required: That for the lead Ms. Amamra. To me she is unknown and with only a handful of films before this, mostly shorts, for her to command you so well in one of her first big outings is something. I mean, she to me is the meaning of "There is strength in vulnerability" and through her eyes, you can see fear and uncertainty just as much as she can do as Tyra Banks once spoke of, in terms of smiling with your eyes.
But it isn't just all physical, in a way it is mental too. There are many a beautiful actress out there but how many can get a reaction out of you with their clothes on? Amamra does that for whether it is hoping love will be true with Djigui, that she doesn't end up dead working for Rebecca, and that Maimouna doesn't abandon her when she needs her most, she gets you so emotionally invested.
Criticism
A Cheap & Rushed Ending
Thus making me wonder why the ending that was done was chosen? I get it is supposed to represent her reaping what she sows, but it left me so frustrated. For one, it seemed like a climax and then something was done with a character to get a cheap and quick reaction out of you. Which, considering all that preceded, honestly the ending seemed like the writers either didn't want you to have closure or decided to end things there for otherwise this movie would be ridiculously long.
Overall: Worth Seeing
I hope, similar to Lea Seydoux, this introduction to Oulaya Amamra is her invitation to the world stage. For there is this versatility to her that not many young actresses have anymore for, so it seems, they are only cast due to having pretty faces and marketable bodies. And while she may have been the main focus of my praise, overall the cast each bring something to the film where while they are largely in support of her, you can't say a single negative thing about them. Well, besides their part in the ending.
So wow - one of my top French films
wickedmikehampton15 January 2022
Oulaya Amamra, the lead who is the young sister of the director, is enormously promising in this brutal coming-of-age tale, Add her counterpart, Déborah Lukumuena and you one of my favourite best dialogue/friendship duets: "He eyed you up like a Bic Mac during Ramadan."
'Divines' joins the lofty 'Les Misérables' and 'La Haine' as our best views into French inequality. It's possible that those three equal or exceed the best ghetto crime dramas that the USA has to offer (I'm excluding 'The Wire' and 'The Corner' because those dirty beauties are series).
Wonderfully, 'Divines' gives us a female perspective, going much deeper than Céline Sciamma did with 'Girlhood'.
'Divine' made me laugh and excited but the inevitable collapse gut-wrenched me because I know that darkness is a reflection of our real world where inequality, for most, is a living death sentence. That's the present and intensifying world hierarchy.
It's unfair to viewers that Director Houda Benyamina's debut hasn't had a follow-up the past 6 years. The good news is that she has received funding for 'All For One' which will hopefully appear in 2023.
'Divines' joins the lofty 'Les Misérables' and 'La Haine' as our best views into French inequality. It's possible that those three equal or exceed the best ghetto crime dramas that the USA has to offer (I'm excluding 'The Wire' and 'The Corner' because those dirty beauties are series).
Wonderfully, 'Divines' gives us a female perspective, going much deeper than Céline Sciamma did with 'Girlhood'.
'Divine' made me laugh and excited but the inevitable collapse gut-wrenched me because I know that darkness is a reflection of our real world where inequality, for most, is a living death sentence. That's the present and intensifying world hierarchy.
It's unfair to viewers that Director Houda Benyamina's debut hasn't had a follow-up the past 6 years. The good news is that she has received funding for 'All For One' which will hopefully appear in 2023.
Raw emotional roller-coaster of clueless kids
PeterPan1585 February 2017
Wow! What I expected to be a medicare classic sentimental a girl-from-the-ghetto story, turned up to be an extraordinary experience of incredibly acted, beautifully complex, unconventionally artistic movie. If this is the director's first feature movie, I am genuinely looking for next one.
The story is about a 15-year-old Muslim girl called Dounia and her black friend Maimouna that both grow up in a poor migrant superb of Paris.They have both different characters and family situation, but they both share their insecurities and hopes with each other openly and you can feel the strength of their influence on each other even when it seems like they paths split.
They are both clueless teenage girls, that feel like they deserve more in life than what they were given by their parents or society. And it's Dounia that is more willing to risk and fight for that better future. The relationship dynamic is fascinating to watch and very well acted. There is also interesting and potentially romantic (?) relationship between Dounia and a guy who is a dancer, and whose artistic aspirations in dancing is confusing her (and her own value system). And what's more, her friend Maimonua doesn't seem to be so impressed with him as Dounia, so she acts very ambiguously toward him and even sees him as weak, even though she is not sure that what she sees as a weakness is actually a weakness after all. This split between her contradictory emotions is amazingly well acted (in my opinion by a rising star) young actress Oulaya Amamra.
The ghetto, lack of meaning, lack of guidance and respected adult authorities, lack of social (economic) opportunities and feeling of being an alien in someone else's society is the true antagonist of the story.
It drives Dounia (and Maimonua follows her in admiration) to make naive and bad choices, but at the same time you feel something very authentic and even admirable in her drive to find the most accessible way out of her frustrating situation. As there seems to be no adult that understands her feelings, she relies on her best friend Maimonua feedback and evaluation of her. But they both can only know, what they can learn from their surrounding culture and significant adults around themselves - who also seem clueless and desperate, so why should Dounia trust them at all? She has an immature drunk mother and no father. So when she drops out of school and start selling drugs, the world looks like it belongs to her (and her best friend), unable to see inevitable consequences of the path she puts herself and their friendship in.
And as the movie progress, you ask yourself how much she can get away with and will she finally learn harsh life lessons on her own or will the unusual relationship with the dancer help her to see beyond distorted values she desperately tries to believe in?
It is a matter of taste, I guess, but a Golden globe nomination, 10 minutes standing ovation and subsequent win at Cannes festival is, in my opinion, well deserved. Besides I read that the "self-thought" director Houda Benyamina herself grew up in the type of suburb she captures in this movie, so you can't accuse her of over-dramatization or stereotyping.
I've seen A Man called Ove (2016) and Toni Erdmann (2016) which are both nominated for 2017 Oscars for foreign movies, but I think Divines deserves it more. I personally, put Divines to my Top 2016 list of movies.
Highly recommend.
The story is about a 15-year-old Muslim girl called Dounia and her black friend Maimouna that both grow up in a poor migrant superb of Paris.They have both different characters and family situation, but they both share their insecurities and hopes with each other openly and you can feel the strength of their influence on each other even when it seems like they paths split.
They are both clueless teenage girls, that feel like they deserve more in life than what they were given by their parents or society. And it's Dounia that is more willing to risk and fight for that better future. The relationship dynamic is fascinating to watch and very well acted. There is also interesting and potentially romantic (?) relationship between Dounia and a guy who is a dancer, and whose artistic aspirations in dancing is confusing her (and her own value system). And what's more, her friend Maimonua doesn't seem to be so impressed with him as Dounia, so she acts very ambiguously toward him and even sees him as weak, even though she is not sure that what she sees as a weakness is actually a weakness after all. This split between her contradictory emotions is amazingly well acted (in my opinion by a rising star) young actress Oulaya Amamra.
The ghetto, lack of meaning, lack of guidance and respected adult authorities, lack of social (economic) opportunities and feeling of being an alien in someone else's society is the true antagonist of the story.
It drives Dounia (and Maimonua follows her in admiration) to make naive and bad choices, but at the same time you feel something very authentic and even admirable in her drive to find the most accessible way out of her frustrating situation. As there seems to be no adult that understands her feelings, she relies on her best friend Maimonua feedback and evaluation of her. But they both can only know, what they can learn from their surrounding culture and significant adults around themselves - who also seem clueless and desperate, so why should Dounia trust them at all? She has an immature drunk mother and no father. So when she drops out of school and start selling drugs, the world looks like it belongs to her (and her best friend), unable to see inevitable consequences of the path she puts herself and their friendship in.
And as the movie progress, you ask yourself how much she can get away with and will she finally learn harsh life lessons on her own or will the unusual relationship with the dancer help her to see beyond distorted values she desperately tries to believe in?
It is a matter of taste, I guess, but a Golden globe nomination, 10 minutes standing ovation and subsequent win at Cannes festival is, in my opinion, well deserved. Besides I read that the "self-thought" director Houda Benyamina herself grew up in the type of suburb she captures in this movie, so you can't accuse her of over-dramatization or stereotyping.
I've seen A Man called Ove (2016) and Toni Erdmann (2016) which are both nominated for 2017 Oscars for foreign movies, but I think Divines deserves it more. I personally, put Divines to my Top 2016 list of movies.
Highly recommend.
Don't let the IMDb blurb fool you
TheRedLippedReviewer26 November 2017
This is not a boy-meets-girl story. This is a heart-wrenching and breathtaking story, with some of the best acting I've seen all year. An unparalleled coming of age tale full of beauty and sadness and truth. This is worth every single minute and then some. An absolute must watch-- you won't regret it.
A welcome punch in your face, Every. Step. Of. The. Way.
joaophilippe-mb-monteiro19 September 2016
This is a welcome sight. This is not an easy one. Scene after scene, the characters, the settings, the relationship, each and every element comes in your face with incredible strength; from classroom argument to daughter-mother interaction, nothing is easy and nothing doesn't hurt. And for all that, the movie still manages to be fun, to make you laugh (albeit often at someone's painful expenses). Praise must of course go towards the main character, surprisingly multifaceted, rich and intense in about any moment of the film. She will draw you into her hopes, values and experience, her very own; morals, logic, conventions be damned! The talent from the young cinematographer at work here is to project all this with that incredible force; you will be happy when the characters are, you will cry when they do. And you will hope with them of a better tomorrow, however twisted. The synopsis here doesn't do justice to the scenario, this is much more about survival, and progress, only with the meagre supply of solutions and resources available to the heroes where they where born, in the limited scope of perspectives such life can offer them. They will not accept their fate, they will fight it, and we will be entranced by them.
Gender is not everything
thebadgeresss6 July 2019
A movie does not necessarily get any better, just because you take girls instead of boys for the leading roles.
In the end it's all the same. We should all just come over all that gender fussing.
It's OK to watch (quite violent and disturbing though...), but not a must-see.
Must see
cinephiley26 September 2016
I go to the cinema to laugh, cry, hate, feel. This what "Divines" provided me. Actresses can be describe with only one word: Amazing. I didn't expect anything special seeing this movie and what a slap in the face. A wonderful pleasure, the kind of cinema I haven't seen for a decade. I felt so many emotions. I was among the character and not on a sit. Divines is magic and Divines was the movie that deserved an Oscar for 2017. A must see, you won't regret it. This movie is all about friendship and has nothing to do with Paris' Suburb. The suburb is only a decor. A detail. All actresses and actors did an amazing job.£ Thank you Houda, the film maker for making us such a beautiful movie.
bourgeoisie!
rohitsetia16 September 2021
Real emotion bottled and presented in a distilled form
nick9496517 November 2016
This is one very affecting movie, a type of film that fills you with a sense of real people feeling real emotions --nothing is fake, all the characters and all their needs are as real and painful as it gets. And just as in life, nothing is resolved in a satisfying ending.
The lead actress is one very ambitious young lady, Oulaya Amamra, who will make her mark on cinematic history soon, but you might want to catch her in her early stage to see how she progresses quickly to Meryl Streep (or at least Jennifer Lawrence) status. Her character's name is Dounia, and she is a daughter of the town slut in a Roma (Gypsy) camp.
Her best friend, Maimounia, a black girl, daughter of a Muslim priest, is as lovable as they come. The two of them conspire to become rich. Even though they achieve the goal, it eludes them in a way that is completely unfair, yet realistic. There is no simple resolution, and therefore, the film is just like life: it is completely and utterly unfair.
Although the plot seems simple, it is extremely more complex and a summary of the action doesn't do justice to the story. Dounia has a love-hate relationship with a male dancer that takes too much away from the rest of the film, and the scenes of the dancer are way over long and unnecessary, but thankfully it is the relationship that she has with her best female friend that is the true heart of the film.
To say more would detract from one's enjoyment of the twists and turns that ensue during the course of the film. Rest assured, you will be glad you spent time in the company of the actresses and the female director of this very impressive film.
The lead actress is one very ambitious young lady, Oulaya Amamra, who will make her mark on cinematic history soon, but you might want to catch her in her early stage to see how she progresses quickly to Meryl Streep (or at least Jennifer Lawrence) status. Her character's name is Dounia, and she is a daughter of the town slut in a Roma (Gypsy) camp.
Her best friend, Maimounia, a black girl, daughter of a Muslim priest, is as lovable as they come. The two of them conspire to become rich. Even though they achieve the goal, it eludes them in a way that is completely unfair, yet realistic. There is no simple resolution, and therefore, the film is just like life: it is completely and utterly unfair.
Although the plot seems simple, it is extremely more complex and a summary of the action doesn't do justice to the story. Dounia has a love-hate relationship with a male dancer that takes too much away from the rest of the film, and the scenes of the dancer are way over long and unnecessary, but thankfully it is the relationship that she has with her best female friend that is the true heart of the film.
To say more would detract from one's enjoyment of the twists and turns that ensue during the course of the film. Rest assured, you will be glad you spent time in the company of the actresses and the female director of this very impressive film.
This narrative is a great example to me that fairy tales don't come true.
rgsalinas23 December 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Winner of the 2016 Audience Award for New Auteurs at AFI Fest, DIVINES is a feature film loaded with emotion that pivots from one side of the spectrum to the other. It is not a coming of age story but rather, a story about two girls that are best friends and the lead's, Dounia, conflict of her soul. Director Hounda delivers a touching piece of cinema that blurred my emotion of how I feel about the lead character played by Oulaya Amamra. The protagonist's circumstances and choices make for a masterful narrative story that ultimately leaves you feeling the characters emptiness and guilt.
Dounia is an ambitious girl who lives in a gypsy camp in Paris with her mother, who is considered the camp slut. The fact that she is a bastard child, affects her temperament when she is amidst her peers. This is a burden that Dounia carries around with her that shapes her attitude and choices. The only person in her life that brings light and joy is her friend Maimouna. With ties to her Islamic faith, Maimouna is positioned to have better sense than Dounia. However, paired together their childlike wonder and fantasy of becoming rich is enough to lure them into participating in a world of licentious behavior.
Hounda's directing, clever scene selection and storytelling through the lens, created the opportunity for me to participate in Dounia's and Maimouna childlike wonder. Throughout the film I am constantly changing my mind on how I feel about the two friends. Credit to Hounda use of cleaver devices in her narrative story telling in particular the cinematography. Accompanied by brilliant acting from Oulaya. Hounda sister in real life, Hounda visuals brought me in when the girls were fantasizing about driving a Ferrari. She successfully captured their childlike wonder that allowed me to imagine alongside the characters as if I was a child riding in the car with them. This creative storytelling provided me the opportunity to care for the girls despite their wicked and edacious actions.
The pacing of the film is superb doubling down on Dounia's disturbed circumstances and poor decision making motivated by disease only money could cure. I often found my emotion being teeter- tottered. On one side, my inner child wants Dounia and Maimouna to succeed in obtaining the riches they desire, even through indecent means. On the other end of the spectrum, Hounda pulls me back to reality through the unfolding of each scene. The harsh reality of Dounia's choices surrounded by the reality of a young girl involved in street life and her motivation of easy virtue slowly pulled me back ultimately lead me to judge the character as immoral.
In the end I was left feeling empathy for the characters. This narrative is a great example to me that fairy tales don't come true. The happy ending presented for Dounia was just that a fairy tale. Her choices fueled by her ambition for money lead her down all the wrong paths that striped her of her essence. The characters motivation provided her heart and soul with meaning but ended up being the very thing that left her heartless and empty in the end.
Dounia is an ambitious girl who lives in a gypsy camp in Paris with her mother, who is considered the camp slut. The fact that she is a bastard child, affects her temperament when she is amidst her peers. This is a burden that Dounia carries around with her that shapes her attitude and choices. The only person in her life that brings light and joy is her friend Maimouna. With ties to her Islamic faith, Maimouna is positioned to have better sense than Dounia. However, paired together their childlike wonder and fantasy of becoming rich is enough to lure them into participating in a world of licentious behavior.
Hounda's directing, clever scene selection and storytelling through the lens, created the opportunity for me to participate in Dounia's and Maimouna childlike wonder. Throughout the film I am constantly changing my mind on how I feel about the two friends. Credit to Hounda use of cleaver devices in her narrative story telling in particular the cinematography. Accompanied by brilliant acting from Oulaya. Hounda sister in real life, Hounda visuals brought me in when the girls were fantasizing about driving a Ferrari. She successfully captured their childlike wonder that allowed me to imagine alongside the characters as if I was a child riding in the car with them. This creative storytelling provided me the opportunity to care for the girls despite their wicked and edacious actions.
The pacing of the film is superb doubling down on Dounia's disturbed circumstances and poor decision making motivated by disease only money could cure. I often found my emotion being teeter- tottered. On one side, my inner child wants Dounia and Maimouna to succeed in obtaining the riches they desire, even through indecent means. On the other end of the spectrum, Hounda pulls me back to reality through the unfolding of each scene. The harsh reality of Dounia's choices surrounded by the reality of a young girl involved in street life and her motivation of easy virtue slowly pulled me back ultimately lead me to judge the character as immoral.
In the end I was left feeling empathy for the characters. This narrative is a great example to me that fairy tales don't come true. The happy ending presented for Dounia was just that a fairy tale. Her choices fueled by her ambition for money lead her down all the wrong paths that striped her of her essence. The characters motivation provided her heart and soul with meaning but ended up being the very thing that left her heartless and empty in the end.
A beautiful piece of crying art
demeymelanie23 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
An incoherent review of emotions experienced after watching this movie:
Every emotion is felt so strongly by the watcher. Dounya's story is one that many in the world have to live through. So unfair, so alone in her despair... A drunken mother whom she has to lay in bed, whom she has to see 'fucking' around. No father. No one to look to for guidance.. except for Rebecca - a fallen girl. It's impressive how D. defends herself and how she learns to protect herself. Self-pity isn't present. There's room only for survival. She has her mind set on the goal: money - which she mistakes for freedom. This is her downfall. To refuse to let anyone through her iron shell of emotions and "unfairness" is to refuse the escape of this life she (and so many others) is stuck in.
From an artistic point of view, this movie is beautiful. A pure reflection of life itself. The images and the music are real. The movie is honest and certainly deserves true attention.
Every emotion is felt so strongly by the watcher. Dounya's story is one that many in the world have to live through. So unfair, so alone in her despair... A drunken mother whom she has to lay in bed, whom she has to see 'fucking' around. No father. No one to look to for guidance.. except for Rebecca - a fallen girl. It's impressive how D. defends herself and how she learns to protect herself. Self-pity isn't present. There's room only for survival. She has her mind set on the goal: money - which she mistakes for freedom. This is her downfall. To refuse to let anyone through her iron shell of emotions and "unfairness" is to refuse the escape of this life she (and so many others) is stuck in.
From an artistic point of view, this movie is beautiful. A pure reflection of life itself. The images and the music are real. The movie is honest and certainly deserves true attention.
Emperors new clothes.
redx170817 December 2016
Hmmmm, a Golden Globe nomination for best foreign movie ?? Can't have been a good year for foreign movies. We have this girl living in a Roma camp in some Paris suburb, so we know this is a social drama. They add some social stereotypes around her, a slutty mother, a friend with very religious Muslim parents, a local gangster/drug dealer, (well, you get the drift i'm sure), all people with no real prospect of a future. On top of that we get a high-strung dramatic musical score that sets in occasionally to remind us that this is serious stuff, oh and a kind of romance between the girl and a dancer that doesn't really add to the plot, but merely serves as an excuse for some fancy camera footage of dancers, so we can cut back and forth between violent scenes and scenes with dancers in motion. Does that make it art ? Well it seems the Globe jury bought the premise, but in my opinion this movie is 90 % window dressing to cover the fact that it's not much of a story. The girl is obsessed with making a lot of money, but she's also completely clueless and goes from one stupid plan to another, without realizing that there might be consequences for her actions. And that's pretty much it. To me it seems like some new director straight out of film school, and determined to make an impression just piled a lot of clichés on top of each other and forgot that really great movies are driven by good stories.
A masterpiece
sonysubedi24 July 2017
I never write movie reviews, but I had to write one for this one. This is undoubtedly one of the best movies I've seen. It is raw, touching, and exceptionally well directed. The acting by the main character (Dounya) is phenomenal, and I am hoping to see her in more films in the future. Overall, its a must see film that shows the dark realities many people around the world face. WATCH IT NOW.
One of the most well written movies I've ever seen
Msdsmith0021 January 2017
I never write reviews so take this one as a reason to must see this.
This would have been an incredible book to read. I recently visited Paris and this movie really shed light on the crime rate that I hear so much about in the states. As a tourist, you don't experience that side of things. From the story line, to the actors, to the scenery, to the video quality this movie should easily rise to the top of the charts. My first language is English and I was skeptical at first with watching the entire movie reading the subtitles but surprisingly, I didn't even realize I had read the entire movie until the last minute.
This film hooks you in with it's incredible versatility of both of the main actress in the film (Kudos to them). I would love to see more pieces by the writer.
Incredible.
This would have been an incredible book to read. I recently visited Paris and this movie really shed light on the crime rate that I hear so much about in the states. As a tourist, you don't experience that side of things. From the story line, to the actors, to the scenery, to the video quality this movie should easily rise to the top of the charts. My first language is English and I was skeptical at first with watching the entire movie reading the subtitles but surprisingly, I didn't even realize I had read the entire movie until the last minute.
This film hooks you in with it's incredible versatility of both of the main actress in the film (Kudos to them). I would love to see more pieces by the writer.
Incredible.
Raw,exceptional acting,storyline
samyuktaguntreddy8 June 2019
The lead characterization is raw,pure & beautiful!!! The friendshops, relations & portrayed well. How the choices you make define your path is shown well!!! The dancer works hard to make a different path in life while the girl choses a short cut for quick success but loses the most important person in her life!!! What a direction!!! The lead actress is so powerful in her acting!!!
a striking first film
dromasca23 June 2020
'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.
"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.
Wonderful
emiliomb3 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The film was spectacular!
It cautched my attention from the beginning to the end.
One of the best I have watched!
The film incites who's watched it into a reflection about life and about the system we live!
When the film ended I felt like I lost a part of me! I was still wanting to watch it and see the main character's fate.
Has Dounya learned with her mistakes and afterwards followed with better choices? Or she persisted again in her ganancy for money?
One of purposes was to just to keep the telespectador thinking about it and I am still.
I love the soundtrack. The Mozart's Requiem in the film was as divine as the movie was!
It cautched my attention from the beginning to the end.
One of the best I have watched!
The film incites who's watched it into a reflection about life and about the system we live!
When the film ended I felt like I lost a part of me! I was still wanting to watch it and see the main character's fate.
Has Dounya learned with her mistakes and afterwards followed with better choices? Or she persisted again in her ganancy for money?
One of purposes was to just to keep the telespectador thinking about it and I am still.
I love the soundtrack. The Mozart's Requiem in the film was as divine as the movie was!
Money money money!
lion_month16 December 2016
I watched "Divines" carefully. When you follow the story of the movie, a few questions are coming up and the most important one is What the movie was trying to say to audiences? Well, the movie is trying to point out that achieving money in any dirty deal cannot buy a good true friendship. That is what I speculated. Family and society have very important roles in educating children and forming their characters. We see Dounia who has different troubles in her life including her family. She dreams for having money to change her life and her mother's too. But the way she went through it was not right. By making wrong decisions, she lost her best friend. However, she did regular crime acts to favor herself. The movie has a few extra plots and scenes. Moreover, it doesn't show what happens after murdering the boss guy (I forgot his name) for stealing his money from his home.If the story could be going on, then Dounia had to be arrested by police. However, this could be shown in the movie instead of extra dancing scenes!
In addition to the explanations stated above, the action of players was OK, specially Oulaya Amamra as Dounia. Sound, make up and music were fine. All in all, I was expecting a better movie. My big problem about this movie is its story. I know people who read my review may not be find it useful because I criticized it from the point of my view in a way they disagree. My rate is 5/10.
In addition to the explanations stated above, the action of players was OK, specially Oulaya Amamra as Dounia. Sound, make up and music were fine. All in all, I was expecting a better movie. My big problem about this movie is its story. I know people who read my review may not be find it useful because I criticized it from the point of my view in a way they disagree. My rate is 5/10.
A broken promise
ersbel6 December 2016
The director, like the main character, wants success. And she did it. Only by opening the door out not the door in. She got the big prize. And that is about it. The bureaucratic machine has eaten her whole. Don't get me wrong. I hope I am wrong.
I have seen comments about the rush ending. The ending is not rushed. It is a natural consequence. And the whole script is made following a opera or simple drama. Only both classical drama and the opera are the ways white Europeans see as the highest refinement in entertainment. The film was made to please the eyes and the minds of old f*rts that fill the juries and the commissions that are specialized in turning the taxpayer money into alms for those who know how to please.
There are social statements, but they are void and not offensive, like the small exercise in accountancy at the beginning: "how much you make? 1000? The rent is 800. Pay the food and at the end of the month you have nothing." It is true. It is said. Yet it says nothing about the system. Police brutality is never touched. And the final confrontation with the cops is a ballet rehearsal.
I have loved how expressive and full of life Oulaya Amamra can be. But her character has a split personality. In a country where when you can boil an egg on the asphalt the women still wear a bra and two tank tops, she can go to a club with no bra and a generous cleavage. She can in one scene have a hard time coping with the promiscuity of her mother pointing out her decision to fight that, and in another scene go lure a violent man with sex.
In the end there is no story. What does the character want? That's easy. Money. But money to do what? And here is where the director-writer fails. All these are stock characters from television. The youngster with no future. The girls who sell a vagina hoping for the better. The opportunist drug peddler. The unfit mother who god forbid has sex with more than her lawfully given husband and does not read books on parenting. All these are silhouettes on TV. And the story is not on screen but in the white old man's mind, the one who handles the taxpayer money. Sure, there are drugs in the movie. But these are only a device. The stereotype of the easy money. The drugs are not escapism from the ugly world outside, as there is no ugly world outside. The high rise building is only the backdrop to remind the viewer of the 5 o'clock news.
It could have been a 100 minutes story on a budget with only Oulaya Amamra, Déborah Lukumuena and Jisca Kalvanda. Without state money it could have been done precisely a decade ago when the director's association was made. But that association is another way to make a living dancing with the state and tearing the stories apart while moving from place to place to please white old men in power. Of course Cannes wouldn't have looked at such films. But who knows? In that dreamt reality 2016 would have been the production year of a third or even a fourth feature movie on a budget.
Yamina Benguigui has started much better. Stronger films, more accessible stories. And today she is yet another bureaucrat managing other people's money. She has more than one boss and she has to please to receive the money she hands down. Her last work was for TV and that was 7 years ago. And she is not the only one eaten by the machine.
A sad broken story made into a ladder.
Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch
I have seen comments about the rush ending. The ending is not rushed. It is a natural consequence. And the whole script is made following a opera or simple drama. Only both classical drama and the opera are the ways white Europeans see as the highest refinement in entertainment. The film was made to please the eyes and the minds of old f*rts that fill the juries and the commissions that are specialized in turning the taxpayer money into alms for those who know how to please.
There are social statements, but they are void and not offensive, like the small exercise in accountancy at the beginning: "how much you make? 1000? The rent is 800. Pay the food and at the end of the month you have nothing." It is true. It is said. Yet it says nothing about the system. Police brutality is never touched. And the final confrontation with the cops is a ballet rehearsal.
I have loved how expressive and full of life Oulaya Amamra can be. But her character has a split personality. In a country where when you can boil an egg on the asphalt the women still wear a bra and two tank tops, she can go to a club with no bra and a generous cleavage. She can in one scene have a hard time coping with the promiscuity of her mother pointing out her decision to fight that, and in another scene go lure a violent man with sex.
In the end there is no story. What does the character want? That's easy. Money. But money to do what? And here is where the director-writer fails. All these are stock characters from television. The youngster with no future. The girls who sell a vagina hoping for the better. The opportunist drug peddler. The unfit mother who god forbid has sex with more than her lawfully given husband and does not read books on parenting. All these are silhouettes on TV. And the story is not on screen but in the white old man's mind, the one who handles the taxpayer money. Sure, there are drugs in the movie. But these are only a device. The stereotype of the easy money. The drugs are not escapism from the ugly world outside, as there is no ugly world outside. The high rise building is only the backdrop to remind the viewer of the 5 o'clock news.
It could have been a 100 minutes story on a budget with only Oulaya Amamra, Déborah Lukumuena and Jisca Kalvanda. Without state money it could have been done precisely a decade ago when the director's association was made. But that association is another way to make a living dancing with the state and tearing the stories apart while moving from place to place to please white old men in power. Of course Cannes wouldn't have looked at such films. But who knows? In that dreamt reality 2016 would have been the production year of a third or even a fourth feature movie on a budget.
Yamina Benguigui has started much better. Stronger films, more accessible stories. And today she is yet another bureaucrat managing other people's money. She has more than one boss and she has to please to receive the money she hands down. Her last work was for TV and that was 7 years ago. And she is not the only one eaten by the machine.
A sad broken story made into a ladder.
Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch
Mathieu Kassovitz "La Haine" meets Céline Sciamma "Girlhood"
elvira986 October 2019
Wow! Love it. Really similar storyline to "Girlhood" by Céline Sciamma but still different. Oulaya Amamra is really the reason to watch this movie - such a compelling performance. Love the celebration of female friendship which, is the main love story of the movie really.
Happy to have found this gem!
acrobaticblood21 September 2018
I absolutely loved this movie! I wasn't expecting too much of it, I watched it randomly on Netflix late at night when I was too bored lol
The story got me hooked from begining to end.
For me, the best things about this movie are:
The mean character, she's great, maybe it's just me but I really liked her.
The friendship between the two girls is lovely, especially in such a hostile environment.
The end blowed my mind, I didn't expect it at all.
Those "magical" moments dancing.
I give it 10 stars because it has moved me to tears (only a few lol) but that's quite a feat in my case.
Really good movie: good story, good characters, good actors and good end.
Also, the movie teaches you a lesson about avarice ;)
I give it 10 stars because it has moved me to tears (only a few lol) but that's quite a feat in my case.
Really good movie: good story, good characters, good actors and good end.
Also, the movie teaches you a lesson about avarice ;)
Fabulous crie de coeur
ReganRebecca3 January 2017
Houda Benyamina's stunning debut Divines immediately reminded me of Céline Sciamma's Girlhood. The two films follow similar protagonists, both 16 year old girls growing up in the rough banlieu of Paris. But while Girlhood was the story of a girl growing up in the ghetto told by someone who wasn't from that area, Benyamina is someone who came from those places and understands it intimately and as a result her film feels more vibrant and multi- dimensional.
Divines is focused on Dounia (Oulaya Amamra, phenomenal), a plucky young teen who lives in makeshift tent camp with her mother who drinks too much and sleeps around. As a result Dounia had to grow up fast. Like a teenage Robin Hood she shoplifts from grocery stores bringing basic necessities to her neighbours and friends. While at school she is treated with condescension by a teacher, trying to inform her how to behave in order to get the low wage entry level positions she'll probably be doomed to occupying her whole life and decides that that isn't for her. Instead, thinking only of money, she hustles her way into getting a job with Rebecca, the neighbourhood drug dealer.
Now in another movie (like Girlhood) this would be represented in a very moralistic fashion but Benyamina shows how for someone like Dounia, working her way up to drug dealer is probably the quickest, most interesting way for her to achieve her goals. And while Dounia does some morally dubious things the movie understands why and never judges her.
Benyamina also has some fun playing with her characters and her style and there are some dance and fantasy sequences that make this play like a ghetto fairy tale. But she never forgets her serious side either. Divines is ultimately a film about forgotten people trying to make it anyway they can and Benyamina makes sure that you remember them.
Divines is focused on Dounia (Oulaya Amamra, phenomenal), a plucky young teen who lives in makeshift tent camp with her mother who drinks too much and sleeps around. As a result Dounia had to grow up fast. Like a teenage Robin Hood she shoplifts from grocery stores bringing basic necessities to her neighbours and friends. While at school she is treated with condescension by a teacher, trying to inform her how to behave in order to get the low wage entry level positions she'll probably be doomed to occupying her whole life and decides that that isn't for her. Instead, thinking only of money, she hustles her way into getting a job with Rebecca, the neighbourhood drug dealer.
Now in another movie (like Girlhood) this would be represented in a very moralistic fashion but Benyamina shows how for someone like Dounia, working her way up to drug dealer is probably the quickest, most interesting way for her to achieve her goals. And while Dounia does some morally dubious things the movie understands why and never judges her.
Benyamina also has some fun playing with her characters and her style and there are some dance and fantasy sequences that make this play like a ghetto fairy tale. But she never forgets her serious side either. Divines is ultimately a film about forgotten people trying to make it anyway they can and Benyamina makes sure that you remember them.
A Magnificent film...
bostonkenpo15 December 2016
I stumbled upon this film tonight on Netflix and was so happy I did. This is one of the best films I have seen and I have seen a lot of great films. If I was to list all of the things that the director/writer, Houda Benyamina did well with this film I would be writing for days, so to name a few, the story was fascinating and unique, the acting was better than superb and with the entire cast, the cinematography was outstanding, choice of musical composition was just perfect for the film and the story progression was just awesome and left the viewer guessing the entire time with what will happen next. The lead actress, Oulaya Amamra, should be nominated for an academy award or something of that level. She was so amazing and just nailed her role throughout this entire film. I am a critical with films and with acting and I have found faults with many of the best films of all time. I didn't find even one with this film. I give this film a 10/10 and only because there isn't an 11 that i can check off. One of the best I have ever seen...
Quite an Adventure!
pangipingu8 June 2020
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