Sempre Garotas

Absolutely obsessed with Shuchi's work-what an incredible talent! I loved "Girls Will Be Girls" from start to finish. There were some truly scream-out-loud moments (I even got shushed in the theatre at Sundance London). The sharp social commentary on mother-daughter relationships was brilliantly executed (the chai scenes broke my wee heart). The 'realness' of young female sexual awakening (the teddy scene) was amazing as it's so rarely seen on screen! The characters were complex and relatable, making the story both engaging and thought-provoking. I can't wait to watch and analyze it all over again. The cinematography, in particular, was exceptional, capturing the nuances of each scene beautifully. Shuchi has truly crafted a masterpiece with this film.

The movie has your attention from the first scene, they get everything right the casting, the location, the costumes, everything!!, But this movie takes its time to build up to what it's trying to tell you. How a young girl Mira is exploring her sexuality and love in this patriarchal world. Yet, it is one of the best school romances made in India.

Plot of th movie revolves around Mira, the head prefect of her school, she dealing to meet with her, her parents and her teacher's expectations of her school results, maintaining a decipline in her school irrespective of them being her friends but at the same time she is exploring herself. This coming of age movie is similar to most coming of age movies but has got almost everything right!!

I am stealing: every one has their key, you just need to find them, and ofcourse the school romance, the tention of the first kiss.

But to tell that, the film raises your expectations and slaughters them using its own hands. There's a nice group of actors, and a lucky handy teddy bear. But this is nothing new. And children nowadays experience such a phase much earlier in their lives. So while watching it, most of us can get a glimpse of some irrational delusions of the director.

I can understand it's compulsory to speak in English inside the institutions but the film itself here is the institution. Language matters a lot, and that's a reason why it can't reach out to many. Sometimes it feels like Bombay with mountains. Local dialect exist krta hai?

Anyways, makers should talk with students directly, make a nice use of their experiences.

Nice attempt, best wishes.

Coming-of-age films often face the challenge of portraying the teenage perspective authentically while balancing the unfiltered wisdom of older generations. This film walks that tightrope with near-perfection, capturing the complexities of generational divides and emotional truths.

As a love letter to womanhood and its subtle nuances, unfortunately I can only sympatise with its message. But its emotional depth still resonated. Moments of quiet power gave me chills, and I found myself tearing up toward the end-a testament to its maturity and impact.

Unlike most coming-of-age films that lean on soaring scores to heighten emotions, this one finds beauty in silence. The lack of music, coupled with sharp, subtext-rich dialogue, potrayed with long wide static camera shots speaks volumes without saying much at all. Watching it on the big screen was a delight, made even more memorable by meeting the lead actress who is a true force of nature in this.

Highly recommended.

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

Filmmaker Shuchi Talati creates a beautiful, tender and complex story on exploring female sexuality, culture, and mother & daughter relationship with strong performances, great camerawork, and ambitious writing. Talati's writing and direction felt genuine, sweet and nature on capturing the characters interactions and personalities that were well-developed and interesting and approaching the themes and cultures of India with sweet tenderness and complexity.

The camerawork shooting in 4:3 aspect ratio felt purposeful and helped create the atmosphere of the setting. Many of the performances are really good and the characters are interesting as I felt genuine connection and investment to the characters. You are able to get engagement, connection and understanding of many of the characters and the mother and daughter aspects were strong. Good costumes and production designs throughout as well.

The only gripe I have is that I felt certain aspects were a little too long and could have been shorten.

Art-house India cinema is interesting as they are not something I have often seen but Girls Will Be Girls is likely going to be my newest favorite art-house India movie.