Mignonnes (2020)

Directed by: Maïmouna Doucouré | 96 minutes | drama | Actors: Fathia Youssouf, Médina El Aidi-Azouni, Esther Gohourou, Ilanah Cami-Goursolas, Myriam Hamma, Maïmouna Gueye, Mbissine Thérèse Diop, Demba Diaw, Mamadou Samaké, Bilel Chegrani, Canelle Brival, Jean-Paul Castro, Hakim Ferhi

Amy’s real name is Aminata. The 11-year-old girl lives with her mother and brother in France, her roots are in Senegal. Amy hardly has any friends at school, but that changes when she meets her pleasantly deranged peer Angelica and her posse. These girls want to enter a dance competition where they get their inspiration from sexually oriented dance clips on the internet. And so Amy and her friends practice moves and poses that are definitely age-appropriate.

Fortunately, in the French drama ‘Mignonnes’, the dance competition is only a side issue. ‘Mignonnes’ mainly revolves around the dangers of social media, growing up in a strict religious family, the sexualization of society and the fun and misery that young children experience together. We see how a group member is rigorously removed from the group, how the girls panic when a condom is found, how Amy navigates between the extremes of an Islamic upbringing and the unhinged girl group.

With ‘Mignonnes’, director/screenwriter Maïmouna Doucouré proves that she fully understands the psyche of a budding teenage girl. We immediately believe what we see. That the girls imitate what they get on the internet. That they are solidarity and hyper-egoistic at the same time. That the group is part of their identity. ‘Mignonnes’ could have been a film by Céline Sciamma (‘Naissance des pieuvres’, ‘Bande de filles’). He also sketches the world of young girls with ruthless honesty.

Cinematically, ‘Mignonnes’ is a delicacy. The film alternates frayed arthouse with beautifully stylish images. There are some magical-realistic elements and there is a beautiful scene in which we see the girls returning from an afternoon of shopping under classical guidance. Although the girls are played by debutantes, the acting looks completely natural.

All this makes ‘Mignonnes’ a very successful film, but this is not an easy one. It is not easy to watch children dance like adult rompers, with all the suggestive and sexual movements that entails. Yet those images are necessary. In this way, the viewer is confronted with the consequences of unlimited freedom and with what social pressure can do to children. ‘Mignonnes’ is uncomfortable, confrontational and forces the viewer to think about things he would rather not think about. Arthouse from the book so.