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Girlhood is a 2014 coming of age French film that I would compare to Boyz N the Hood. Instead of a story of teenaged boys in LA in the 90s it’s about a group of girls in a suburb of Paris in the mid 00s. Girlhood also reminds me of the movie Kids because these girls are all over Paris all day with no adult supervision or interaction doing whatever they want like the youngsters in Kids roamed around New York City doing as they pleased. The film is in French with English subtitles. The film is worthwhile for the right viewer.

Girlhood features a character named Vic. Vic lives with her family in an apartment near Paris. She lives with her mother who works as a hotel maid, a nerdowell older brother and two little sisters. Vic is not a good student so her career prospects are limited and her future is questionable.

Vic befriends a group of girls after storming out of a disappointing meeting with her school guidance counselor. The girls are naughty and mischievous. They are snarky, shoplift and get into street fights. They also have a youthful, feminine energy that makes them likeable.

Girlhood covers a lot of ground and the girls are good actresses. They all carry the film well. Girlhood touches on matters of friendship, femininity, race, gender, sex, opportunity and economics. I enjoyed the film.