Divines (2016)

A street teenager from a dysfunctional family from a banlieue (HLMs) in Paris comes across a young dancer who turns her life upside down.

Director:

Houda Benyamina

Writers:

Houda Benyamina (adaptation), Houda Benyamina (dialogue)

Stars:

Oulaya Amamra, Déborah Lukumuena, Kevin Mischel

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 14 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Oulaya Amamra	...	Dounia
Déborah Lukumuena	...	Maimouna
Kevin Mischel	...	Djigui (as Kevin Mishel)
Jisca Kalvanda	...	Rebecca
Yasin Houicha	...	Samir
Majdouline Idrissi	...	Myriam, la mère
Bass Dhem	...	Monsieur Camara
Mounir Margoum	...	Cassandra
Farid Larbi	...	Reda
Maryama Soumare	...	Madame Camara (as Mariama Soumaré)
Wilfried Romoli	...	Rachid
Tania Dessources	...	Madame Labutte
Mounir Amamra	...	Gars cité
Samir Zbrouki	...	Gervais
Mohamed Ourdache	...	Agent de sécurité

Storyline

Dounia, a teenager living in the slums and her friend Maimouna start working for Rebecca, a successful drug dealer in order to escape their poverty. Her meeting with Djigui, a sexy dancer, makes things complicated, but leaving Rebecca is not easy..

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Plot Keywords:

doused with gasoline | gun in mouth | banlieue | dancer | f rated | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

France Qatar

Language:

French

Release Date:

18 November 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Divinas

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

€2,440,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Easy Tiger,France 2 Cinéma,France Télévisions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Because the role was so physically demanding, Houda Benyamina had Oulaya Amamra train for a year in parkour and dance before filming began.

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Connections

References Hot Fuzz (2007)

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Soundtracks

Maimouna la mécanicienne
(Guerrière I)
by Demusmaker
© 2016 Easy Tiger

User Reviews

A welcome punch in your face, Every. Step. Of. The. Way.

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.