34. You Resemble Me; movie review

 

YOU RESEMBLE ME

Cert 15

90 mins

BBFC advice: Contains very strong language, strong threat, violence, sexual violence, drug misuse

When we see the fall-out of terrorist atrocities we rarely consider the people who perpetrate them.

Understandably, our empathy is with the victims and their families and we share the widespread moral outrage.

Nevertheless, it is essential that we investigate what prompts radicalisation to enable prevention.

Dina Amer takes no sides with her combination of biopic and documentary about one of the most infamous figures in France's recent turbulent years.

She begins her story with innocent, lookalike sisters, Hasna (Lorenza Grimaudo) and Mariam (Ilonna Grimaudo) who try to carry on as normal a playful childhood as possible, despite the neglect they suffer at home.

Inevitably, they are torn apart because it is deemed that their feckless mother cannot look after them while their father is simply absent.

This is the platform of Hasna's desperation as she finds herself in an unsuitable foster home before the film moves on several years into her early adulthood.

She wants to seek out her family roots while making money in the only way that is obviously available to her.

For the most of the movie, adult Hasna is played by the excellent Mouna Soualem although, without warning, Sabina Ouazani and Amer are seen to very briefly pick up her baton.

I still have no idea what the intention was with this directorial sleight of hand.

Anyway, Hasna is not well-educated but does seek out work, trying to achieve her goal of a normal life.. However, her past catches up almost as soon as it seems she has moved forward.

She is homeless and jobless when an old flame (Alexandre Gonin) emerges and shows her the attention and respect she has craved for years. 

Amer allows her audience to make up their own mind about Hasna.

Is she the product of a ghastly home life, a state which doesn't care or an exploitative relative? Is she naive, stupid or just desperate?

Did she want to wreak revenge on a country which had turned its back on her or did she have evil within her?

The real-life interviews with those who participated in her story are kept until the end and reveal much.

You Resemble Me is compelling viewing.

Reasons to watch: Dramatic and realistic

Reasons to avoid: Upsetting scenes

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? Twenty men were convicted for their roles in the coordinated spree of shootings and bombings in November 2015 that killed 130 people in and near Paris and injured more than 500.

The final word. Dina Amer: "I felt that this was not a story about terrorism, but a story about Hasna being a multi-faceted woman ultimately looking for something we all seek: to feel a sense of belonging and home. "

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