‘Divines’: A Foreign Film to Watch on Netflix
The winner of the César Award for Best First Feature Film and the Caméra d’Or at Cannes, Netflix’s French-language film, Divines, chronicles the hustle of a money hungry teen trying to come up in life.
Dounia lives in a poor estate on the outskirts of Paris and a flashy neighborhood female drug dealer named Rebecca inspires her to put her chase for money first. Dounia along with her best friend Maimouna become drug runners for Rebecca. She whispers promises of riches in their ears if they complete her missions, and Dounia especially becomes enamored with the fast money she pulls in. She meets a male dancer that offers her a different path in life, and throughout the film, she constantly decides how far to go in the pursuit of money and puts the other aspects of her life in perspective.
The actress Oulaya Amamra, the younger sister of the director Uda Benyamina, brings the character of Dounia to life along with Déborah Lukumuena as Maimouna and together they create compelling performances to witness. Both actresses won a César award for their performances, with Amamra winning for Most Promising Actress and Lukumuena getting Best Supporting Actress.
Check this film out on Netflix for a refreshingly real depiction of teen girls trying to raise themselves out of the ghetto by chasing money.
My mother delivered me in Wiesbaden, Germany. I have an African-American father and German mother. I lived there until I reached around age 8 and we moved to Saint Louis, MO. I now attend Truman State University in Kirksville, MO aiming to complete an English major with a Film Studies minor since I enjoy thinking of creative concepts and analyzing film.
