Divines

In a Romani camp on the outskirts of Paris, fifteen-year-old Dounia (Oulaya Amamra) and her best friend Maimouna (Déborah Lukumuena) dream of escaping their poverty-stricken lives. Rejecting the path of low-wage labor offered by her school, Dounia sets her sights on the local drug dealer, Rebecca (Jisca Kalvanda), convinced that money is the only path to dignity and power. Nicknamed "Bastard" due to her mother's reputation, Dounia uses her fierce intelligence and fearlessness to climb the ranks of Rebecca's operation.

As Dounia descends deeper into the criminal underworld, she simultaneously discovers a window into a different world through Djigui (Kévin Mischel), a security guard and contemporary dancer. From the catwalks of a theater where she spies on his rehearsals, she finds herself torn between the brutal, materialistic allure of Rebecca's world and the transcendent, physical beauty of Djigui's art. The film hurtles towards a devastating climax where these conflicting desires collide with the harsh realities of their environment.

Director Houda Benyamina describes Divines not just as a film about the suburbs (banlieues), but as a "humanist" and "political" tragedy about the quest for dignity and recognition in a society driven by consumerism. The film critiques a world where young people feel that "to exist is to have," leading them to adopt the ruthless values of capitalism to survive.

Benyamina juxtaposes the spiritual (represented by dance and the "divine" bond of friendship) with the material (money, drugs, violence). The ultimate message warns that the pursuit of power without spirituality leads to destruction, yet it also celebrates the indomitable, "divine" life force of its heroines who refuse to be invisible.

While the ending is undeniably tragic, some critics view it as a radical political statement rather than just a sad conclusion. The state's failure to save Maimouna (firemen waiting for police) can be read as a direct indictment of how French society views bodies in the banlieues as "expendable."

Others interpret the film as a Greek Tragedy or an opera (emphasized by the use of Vivaldi in the score), where the characters are driven by fatal flaws (hubris/greed) toward an inevitable doom, elevating their street struggles to the level of myth.

Divines made a significant splash in French cinema, often being cited as a female counterpart to La Haine (1995). It was praised for bringing a female gaze to the banlieue film genre, which had historically been dominated by male narratives. The film sparked discussions about intersectionality, highlighting the specific struggles of women of color who face both racism and sexism.

The "clitoris" speech at Cannes became a viral moment for feminist cinema. The film's success on Netflix helped bring the specific reality of the French projects (cités) to a global audience, challenging stereotypes by showing the characters' humor, dreams, and humanity alongside the violence.

Praised: Audiences and critics universally acclaimed the explosive energy of the two leads, Oulaya Amamra and Déborah Lukumuena. The film's raw emotion, humor, and the chemistry between the friends were highlighted as its strongest points.

Criticized: Some viewers felt the second half veered too much into melodrama or "action movie" tropes, and the ending was seen by some as overly punishing or manipulative. A few critics argued it relied on some clichés of the "hood film" genre despite subverting others.