Adolescence and the importance of sorority 

Freedom and liberty

Sciamma’s film is not only a coming-of-age film, but it is also a message of independence. Strong women do not need a males counterpart to be complete or successful contrary to the roles of women in society before the 19th century. This independence is demonstrated explicitly when Marieme denies the proposal from Ismaël despite her desire to be with him. She realizes that being married and having a baby is not the life she wants to live. Instead she would rather live her life to the fullest and be only responsible for herself.

Scene: Hotel room Scene- Diamonds

Analysis: In this scene, Schiamma is working to exhibit the essence of girlhood with a lighthearted scene between friends singing and dancing to an upbeat Rihanna song showing that even in the worst of times, you can still count on your friends to cheer you up. This is also the moment when Marieme finally lets loose completely and feels connected and closer to her new friends. It’s a sweet moment that distract the viewer from the harsh reality that is her home life.

The mise-en-scene is very particular in order to create a playful vibe as far away from realism as you can get. Blue tint represents the calm and mellow mood that is presented by these girls who just want to kick back and let loose. It’s the girls’ attempt to escape the hardships of their lives so they carry on dancing in their newly shoplifted dresses pretending to be in a Rihanna music video just to have a good time. The hotel room set is representative of their desires to escape the brutality of life as none of their homes would never be as nice as a hotel room, so they intend to make the most of it.

Sound, though it is mostly non-diegetic with the song Diamonds by Rihanna, helps to create a music video like quality to the scene. for the first couple of minutes into the scene, you hear only the sound of the music playing, but towards the end there is the addition of diegetic sound with the girls’ voices singling along to the song which marks the transition from fantasy to reality as they go from being immersed into their favorite music video to singing along together in unison, as friends, as sisters.

The most compelling part of the scene is the ending shot of the four friends together with their arms around each other giggling and laughing as the song finishes. Here, is a moment of perfection. A moment so satisfying that when it happens there is a sense that life is good. Life is great. Life is perfect. A real and pure moment shared between friends that need each other to get through anything life will throw at them. In comparison with the rest of the film, this is the feel-good scene, the one that will make you want to crawl through the screen to sing Diamonds with them. A perfect contrast between the brutal reality that is the film. This scene reminds us that all you need is a good song and friends that are willing to sing along with you.