Spaces of Critique & Transformation in Bande de filles
trance to her family ’ s apartment building ; the camera , once following behind her , now continues past her , but maintains its focal distance . Instead of a crisp urban landscape , there are only mottled blotches of white , blue , and green . It is into this “ pure site of the possible ” that Marieme emerges , stepping back into frame and perfectly in focus ; she dries her tears , sets her shoulders in determination , and walks into the future , transformed . Importantly , this transformed state is just as fluid as the soft-focus horizon that is the film ’ s ultimate image : “ This is no moral to the story ,” says Sciamma , “ The ending can seem strange but anything can happen , it leaves place for a bunch of things ” ( Laïreche ). 7 The film may end , but Marieme ’ s story continues , ever-changing .
TRANSITIONS
The transitions mentioned above have particular importance . Sciamma divides her film into five parts ( one is tempted to consider them “ acts ” in the neoclassical sense ), signaling the transition from one to the next with a pulsating electronic theme ( Para One ’ s “ Néon ”), and a cut to black . This interstitial , filled only with darkness and a sound like a rapid heartbeat , is the movie ’ s quintessential any-space-whatever , and it is interesting to explore the transformations that occur in these virtual conjunctions by examining the shots that immediately precede and follow them .
For the first transition , Marieme is hunched over the sink in her kitchen , washing dishes , speaking briefly with her mother , and pocketing a knife ( to use against her brother , perhaps ?). The transition proper begins with a medium close-up of the back of her head — already an unconventional use of this technique . As the staccato beats of “ Néon ” fade in , the camera tracks backward , and Marieme ’ s posture grows more
55