You got to be kidding, right? The are moments where the camera is focused on Amy's butt as she bends over in slow motion. It is literally the only thing on the screen for like 5 seconds. You are lying if you said you did not see that. It is literally front and center stage.
I didnt see it, the group I was with didnt see it, if it was there it def wasnt for long. The most shocking thing I saw was her posting her "selfie" which I felt in my bones. That and her getting caught.
I finished watching it a while ago. I'm just gonna say the message could've been conveyed in a much better way without all those ass shots, spread legs, ass spanks and more. And even ignoring those, the movie itself is just not good, the narrative doesn't make much sense and I was hoping they wouldn't go down the route of the girl embracing so much of this freedom that she ends up doing terrible things and ridiculing herself, but she did... so yeah, this movie is bad, even when ignoring the problematic stuff about the sexualization of minors. Also, I'm hoping that one boob shot was from a girl over 18, but it was hard to tell even afterwards when the girl from the video appears.
Edit: There were like 3 scenes that made me go "Ooookaaaay..." and I was close to dropping it. The first 40 or so mins are fine, I was actually thinking maybe it was all a misunderstanding, but nope, shit goes downhill after those first 40 mins.
I honestly don't get this. It was a nuanced look at being in the middle between conservatism and the excesses of pop culture, the damage both of those do, and it even has a happy ending where she finds herself. It describes the pressures to sexualize and grow up even when you're not ready for that, in both cultures (shown by the scenes with her dress for instance). It also comments on the position of women in both cultures and what it means to come of age spread between those two. It even speaks on French ghettoization, and the troubles with immigrants not being represented in institutions and having to rely on the in group for justice and support in the context of their culture.
Describing the scenes as "problematic" when that is what we do to children as a culture is problematic in itself. Yes, the
acts are problematic and uncomfortable. Thats part of the point of the film. The shots are music video shots. Its what we present to children of that age. That means they will see that as adulthood and practice that, and those shots are confronting us with the actual implication of this, not letting us overlook it as childish playacting like playing doctor or fireman.
The director even makes a blunt point of the kid's innocence with the scene in the woods, and the main characters process in linking the female form and sexuality to freedom and adulthood in the mosque scene. These are kids play acting an image that we portray as normal, and this is the consequence. The way they perform is so clumsy and kid like that to see in to some sort of porn like intent is beyond my comprehension. It's also in line with how she acts with her friends outside of the dancing for instance the shopping scene where they ara performing adulthood in some sense as well. Not to mention the real life consequences she faces for every public display of that performance of sexuality and adulthood. It's constantly shown not to be the way for her to get to freedom.
It's even respectful of conservative Islam, with the clergyman near the end being one of the more reasonable people and the only one seeing the issue as it is; a girl acting out of frustration and the stress there is in the home situation.
As to the narrative, I dont know what to say. Its a coming of age story in a specific situation based on the author's youth, but as with most arthouse films it's not as rigidly crammed into a hollywood structure and is more about the ideas. The pacing was good, it had some really funny moments, and it left us talking for a few hours afterwards about parenting, pop culture and religious conservatism.
