Popular reviews

• 

  Review by cookie ★★★★★ 1

  was afraid i was gonna have to pee during this movie but fortunately i cried it all out – dude the TEXTURES the SHALLOW FOCUS the HANDS

• 

  Review by 𝐘. ★★★★★

  What a film... Mounia Meddour poured her heart out when making Papicha, you could feel her passion, her love, care, and attention to details in in every scene, line, and shot, and hear how loudly she wanted to be heard by making this film, how much she wanted to show the world her story, and that of other women, those who have been pressured their entire lives whether by patriarchy, religious restrictions, or cultural taboos. Lyna Khoudri did such an outstanding job in bringing Nedjma to life, her character quickly became very close to my heart. I saw myself in her passion, her relationship with her family, her friendships and how protective she was of them, and most importantly, how…

• 

  Review by Ncamcam ★★★★★ 1

  This is why cinema exists.

• 

  Review by MJsays ★★★½ 2

  One thing I really love (and appreciate) about cinema is how it can expose us to various cultures from around the world and show us problems western societies aren’t faced with.
  
  Papicha is a prime example of that.

  It’s truly shocking to me that there are still countries out there that will beat, brutalise or even murder women for not covering up their bodies just because of some completely illogical religious/cultural beliefs, and that makes this film even more maddening. It’s a film of both inspiring beauty and despair, one that gives these brave women a voice that deserves to be heard.

• 

  Review by hania 🧚🏼‍♀️ ★★★★★ 2

  as an algerian woman who has never seen proper representation of her identity in any movies ever, this movie was a breath of fresh air. the cinematography, the emotions poured into every scenes, the realistic soundtrack that every single algerians know by heart, everything about this movie and how personal it feels to my vision of life in this country is so heart warming ❤️

• 

  Review by helene ★★★★ 1

  Powerful and daring. Papicha was banned by the Algerian government, and if a film bothers a government, you HAVE to watch it.

• 

  Review by Luan Oliveira ★★★★★

  "we're going to dress every girl in Algiers"

  resistance is no picnic. it's nights out and fashion shows and days at the beach and football matches, and it's also crying over your sister, killed for the crime of being a journalist, it's also almost getting raped by the man who was supposed to keep you safe, it's also moving silently in a room lit only by occasional gunfire, over the bodies of your friends and into the darkest corners of your decaying university, hoping not to get caught by the people who would take your country away from you.
  and it's staying in that country nonetheless. it's not buying the narratives of escape. it's heading deeper within when you need…

• 

  Review by Ashlea💧🦎🐜 ★★★★★

  "Look at you. Look at how submissive you are." - Nedjma (Papicha)

  The visual imagery, such as Nedjma breaking open the freshly ripped out of the ground beetroot with her mouth and her boyfriend eating Algerian soil and of course the fabrics and dresses were exquisite! Nedjma's insane resilience and commitment to her beliefs and obsessive compulsion to create were fascinating to watch. An empowering story of female courage and vitality and refusal to submit to extremist control and male intimidation.

• 

  Review by Graham ★★★★

  Set in a late 90's Algeria infested with terrorist types and controlled by a restrictive regime, especially towards the female population. The 'how women should dress' (i.e. in a hijab), posters on the walls and guards on the streets monitoring every move of the general public was a stark vision of a place I'm not too familiar with. Having spent some time in Paris, I am familiar with the Algerian migrant population in France and watching films like this it's easy to see why some residents would make that difficult choice in order to seek their freedom.

  Papicha introduces us to a group of girls that are not interested in abiding by some man's narrative, and just want to live…

• 

  Review by galatee ★★★★★

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  ai pleuré toutes mes larmes

  la résilience, le contraste entre les scènes de terreur et de joie, cette scène finale où les blessures encore récentes et pleines de l'horreur qu'elles contiennent côtoient le frémissement d'une vie, cette scène de plage qui rappelle celle de Much Loved (2015), le refus de se laisser faire jusqu'à y risquer toute sa vie, précisément parce que l'on est pour la vie. bouleversant, nécessaire et juste en tous points

  et la scène d'assassinat de Linda mon dieu... la légèreté et l'innocence complètement brisées par un bruit sourd qui vient anéantir un équilibre déjà branlant, un bruit qui ouvre la porte à un crescendo de violence inévitable et révoltant, qui transcenderait n'importe quelle barrière, résistance, mur…

• 

  Review by Eren Odabasi ★ 2

  An extremely manipulative and didactic film that capitalizes on the western gaze. There are thousands of western people who blindly trust and appreciate films like this. When the film says the right and easy things, many flaws and logical mistakes are quickly forgotten. I know western viewers are very comfortable to just observe how terrible Algeria is and reaffirm how superior their own lives are by watching a dumbed down third world tale like this, but I’d like to list a few obvious shortcomings here:

  1. People are murdered in front of their homes, there is a massacre on a campus, and yet there is not a single police officer in sight. No mention of a legal or judiciary system…

• 

  Review by Allison M. 🌱 ★★★½ 9

  Cannes 2019

  Film #10

  The film covers the treatment of women in Algeria in the nineties. It follows the story of Nedjma, a free spirit, who refuses to be constrained by the ultra-conservative nature of the country. Several women are gunned down right in front of her, yet she fights to put on a fashion show. The lead actress, Lyna Khoudri, was very energetic and strong. It would definitely be worth it to check out Papicha. 

  Vegan alert:
  -BBQ reference 
  -Honey on the fritters 
  -Haiks (traditional garb) were 50% wool and 50% silk
  -Powdered milk

  Additional note: 
  It seems like Papicha has been downvoted on IMDb. What a shame! This film is not a 4.6. Hopefully, with more people voting, the numbers will balance out.