Post by Vits on Oct 1, 2020 21:01:09 GMT
In MIGNONNES (CUTIES), an 11-year-old girl named Amy lives in a conservative home and she notices how her popular classmates wear sexy outfits. She befriends them and joins their dance crew. Yes, it's a concept we've seen before, but the execution is compelling and it puts a new spin on its tropes. Is it true that the actresses are over-sexualized which contradicts the message? Well, sort of. It's not about the content per se but the presentation. A couple of times, when the title characters dance, the camera moves up and down (like we, the audience, are supposed to admire their bodies from head to toe). Yes, it made me feel uncomfortable, but not in the way I think it was intended. This actually would've worked better with a different approach, because the girls record some of their practice sessions with their phones. If they had sat down to watch their own videos and the footage was presented to us exactly the same as it is now, it would've been a valid in-universe reason. It would've meant that whoever was holding the phone was trying to make her friends look hot. Luckily, in most scenes, the shot composition is more "matter of fact," making the distinction between fiction and reality more clear. At times, there are point-of-view shots with not that much editing, which makes sense since the protagonist appears in every minute and the entire plot consists of her reactions to each event. A good chunk of the running time consists of these little ladies playing games, pulling pranks and even acting goofily for no reason. It shows that they should stop fighting against their innocence, because it's always present. I laughed my ass off at their factually wrong conversations about sex, which highlight how far from adulthood they truly are. I'm sure this all sounds like a predictable story, but there are a lot of surprises.
8/10
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For instance, we all expect the friends to make Amy do more and more extreme things until she reaches rock bottom, right? Well, without anyone telling her, Amy decides to take nude photos of herself and publish them online. Her (slutty) friends act like even that's too far for them and they kick her out of the crew. We all expect Mariam (Amy's mother) to be a Muslim extremist who gets angry at Amy for everything that seems improper, even before finding out about her new hobby, right? She's actually very patient. Amy stabs a pencil in a boy's hand (after he touched her ass) and it's the only time Mariam yells at her and slaps her. Granted, it could've occurred before, because we're never shown what happens after Amy throws a phone out the window, or after Amy lets her little brother Ismaël out of her sight, resulting in their apartment getting flooded. I'm sure that reading a list of Amy's bad deeds might make you think she's a villain who doesn't deserve happiness. No, aside from another girl almost drowning after being pushed by Amy into a lake (my jaw was on the floor!), she does what lost children do when they act out. That's why, at the end, Mariam steps outside allowing Amy to decide if she wants to join her at a ceremony. She doesn't even say "Change from your dance uniform into that traditional dress!" Letting her daughter do whatever she wants in general isn't the answer (honestly, she had already been doing that), but Mariam is giving her a choice in this particular situation. Amy never wanted to have sex or anything like that; she wanted to be noticed and treated like a person. Mariam sees that she still needs to grow up, but her levels of intelligence and maturity are still high enough to know certain things. While Amy's not an adult, she's also not a baby. This is when the main theme is revealed: Just because you're only given 2 paths to choose from, it doesn't mean you can't create a 3rd one. Amy leaves both her uniform and her dress on her bed. She puts on normal clothes that she's comfortable with. And instead of keep tying her hair up or keep straightening it, she lets her lovely curls loose. She goes outside to play with the neighborhood kids. Not every loose end is tied, but that's OK. The movie isn't saying that she has become a better person, but rather than she has realized who she is (flaws and all). Will she suffer the consequences of her actions off-screen after the end credits have rolled? Definitely, but we don't need to see that, since this journey has been completed. Now, going back to the idea of finding a middle ground... Usually, Islam is either condemned or glorified by the media. This film is surprisingly somewhere in between. Yes, there's the critique of how women are treated and how girls are considered "marriage material" the moment they get their period. No wonder Amy is so confused: Everywhere she turns, someone is telling her to be a sex object (in different ways). Anyway, other aspects are portrayed positively. For example, Mariam calls a priest to make sure that Amy's behavior isn't caused by a spiritual possession. Obviously, this guy will be even more of a traditionalist than everyone else, right? No, he tells Mariam "I know that your husband has chosen a second wife and I can see that you're in pain. Just so you know, you can end your marriage if you want." Seriously?! He's religious enough to approve of polygamy but not enough to view the female gender as inferior?! Who would've guessed that?!
8/10
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