Swiss film-maker and former social employee Fred Baillif has created this pressure-cooked realist drama a couple of group of youth women in a care residence, the place there's something extra dysfunctional and tragic in regards to the supervising employees than in regards to the inmates themselves. Lora (Claudia Grob) is the director of this residential establishment, a troublesome veteran of the system. Beneath her wing are troubled women together with Audrey (Anaïs Uldry), Précieuse (Joyce Esther Ndayisenga) and Justine (Charlie Areddy). Every of them is performing out, every has been abused ultimately, however they discover love and solidarity on this residence: for them it's la famille, slangily shortened to la mif, equal, maybe, to “the fam”.
However from the very outset, it's Lora herself who's in deep trouble: she is formally reprimanded for permitting a scenario to occur whereby one of many women, at 17, has intercourse with a 14-year-old boy who has been allowed to go to with others for a celebration. She incautiously opens as much as one of many women about an unthinkably painful factor in her personal life, and when this identical lady spitefully throws this info again in Lora’s face throughout a later row, Lora’s ingesting drawback begins to resurface; she slaps one of many abusive moms who insults her, having been unlawfully demanding to see her daughter on the residence – and issues spiral uncontrolled from there.
Every of the ladies is launched with a unique “chapter” type part, and the motion repeatedly rewinds to a selected and acquainted level, although with none very startling distinction or viewpoint-shift revelation. The vitality between the ladies is one thing that French cinema can do very nicely – I considered Céline Sciamma’s Bande de Filles, but additionally Sarah Gavron’s Rocks). It's acted largely by nonprofessional newcomers and unscripted scenes have been allowed to unspool by improvisation and formed within the edit. This is a fascinating ensemble piece, acted with vehemence and sincerity, although it concludes a little bit melodramatically.
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