Filles de joie

We follow the daily lives of French women who prostitute themselves in Belgium to make ends meet. The film is very moving. It's a slice of the daily lives of these women, each with their own personal, domestic or family problems, their problems of precariousness, but also with their common problems linked to their activities as sex workers in Belgium, sometimes the two coming together.

The dramaturgy may not be subtle, but that wasn't necessarily obvious. The actresses are formidable, Sara Forestier and Noémie Lvosky in the lead, but also Annabelle Lengronne in a moving character. It's a perfect example of dramatic comedy. Comedy, because we smile regularly. And dramatic, because these characters are constantly confronted with elements in their lives that disrupt their ambitions. They fight to get out of their situation and make a better life for themselves. The script regularly integrates small societal elements that disrupt everyday life.

All in all, a fine piece of work by Frédéric Fonteyne and Anne Paulicevich that avoids the sordid while not hiding much.

Belgium's Oscar submission, Frédéric Fonteyne and Anne Paulicevich's delightful and insightful Working Girls, is about a trio of French women who are sex workers in Belgium when they're not at their day jobs. The empowering film shows how men still think they own women and how three of them decide to fight back. All three leads are fantastic (I especially loved Noémie Lvovsky) as is the deft and swift direction (but never at the expense of the character nuances) and smart script. This film deserves recognition.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this film - I hadn't actually read up on it beforehand, and only knew it was an Oscar contender. After having seen it, I'm very happy I did, and recommend it to others. The acting was utterly superb, from all three stars. The film has a way of introducing and going into each character that I feel worked very well. We basically get the perspective of each character, and any characters we may not initially feel so connected to are quickly given layers as their life is revealed, so that we strongly empathize with them. These characters and their situation are extremely complex, and yet no matter what is done, we end up completely understanding where they are coming from. It's very easy to write certain characters as stereotypes, but nearly everyone in this film is given sufficient depth, which keeps the audience engaged and interested the entire film. The pacing was excellent, all the way through, and I have to really commend the writer for how well-written each scene was. The direction, as well, felt very natural, and fluid, keeping strongly with the tone of the film. All around, I very much recommend this film, and am very happy to see this subject matter be handled so well and compassionately.

WORKING GIRLS isn't a film about prostitutes, it is a film about women who work, heroines of the real world who bring food on the table for their families by crossing the French / Belgian border everyday together to work in a brothel. It is a compelling and moving story and the film successfully conveys the special bond between the three main characters who share a secret life.

Everything seems to have been written and all films seem to have been made on some topics, and yet they never cease to surprise with different points of view and approaches. The subject of prostitution, of its legal status, of the women who are forced by life to choose this 'oldest in the world' profession, is complex and practically inexhaustible. 'Filles de joie' ('Working Girls') directed by Frédéric Fonteyne and Anne Paulicevich (who also wrote the script), a film that represented Belgium in the 'best foreign film' category at the 2020 Academy Awards is another example. The two filmmakers, supported by an excellent team of actors, manage to bring to life an environment and a bunch of characters that capture the attention and the sympathy of viewers, and to highlight some of the key questions about prostitution, life and violence around it, without falling at any time in rhetoric or melodrama.

The heroines of 'Filles de joie' are three women who live in France and cross the border every day into Belgium, where prostitution is legal, to work in a brothel. Each of them faces problems and traumas in her private life. Axelle (Sara Forestier) is the young mother of three children who goes through a traumatic divorce from an obsessive and violent man. Conso (Annabelle Lengronne), a girl of Senegalese origin, dreams of having a child, but she also got into trouble with the wrong man who is also married on top of that. Dominique (Noémie Lvovsky), the eldest of the three, has to support her family comprised of an aging husband, and two teenage children, a boy and a daughter who shows signs of rebellion. For each of them, the practice of prostitution solves, perhaps, some of the financial problems, but the traumas of the profession and of the associated way of life infiltrate in the personal lives. The consequences are dramatic.

The film manages to realistically and credibly portray the social environment and the psychology of the characters. The dialogues are excellently written, with humor mixed with sadness. The narrative moves from one character to another, presenting in turn the perspectives of the three women, with some events related from different points of view. The three actresses create true and moving portraits, and the involvement of the spectators has the effect that the social message, although not explicitly stated, crosses well the screen. 'Filles de joie' is a well-made and true film, sincere and cruel, like the realities it describes. Recommended viewing.