‘You Resemble Me’: Review

The foreign-language film You Resemble Me centers around two sisters who run away from their abusive mother and are eventually separated and placed in foster care. The older sister, Hasna (Lorenza Grimaudo) consistently dreams of becoming a “cowboy”. She grows up working in a restaurant by day and clubbing and being beaten and abused by men at night.

The film was Executive produced by Spike Lee and Riz Ahmed and shares a certain kinship with other dark indie films. It also works as a narrative documentary about alleged suicide bomber Hasna Aït Boulahcen who was, in fact, a real person.

The film serves as a beautiful portrait of a young woman who was only trying to take care of her sister in her times of need.

Real-Life Trauma

Something that seems very appropriate to address is that this film is based on a pseudo suicide bomber named Hasna Aït Boulahcen. Most of the time, when something is based on a true story, one might expect a pile of lies that have been fabricated by Hollywood writers. However, one of the production companies was Vice News and it seems that they have done their research with the project.

It shares a visceral realism in cinema and it regards its source material with a composure and lovely sensitivity.

The Director

The director Dina Amer goes in deep with each character. While most directors may emphasize style over substance, Amer focuses on the heart and crux of the issues at hand. Her approach is something to be praised by critics and it makes for interesting viewing when we see her ability to make the audience feel a twinge of empathy for the main character Hasna.

She has obviously worked hard with these actors and got the best performance out of her characters.

The Actors

One thing that must always be noticed about a film like this is the actors. Lorenza Grimaudo paints a beautiful canvas of a woman attempting to find belonging and community within chaos and perversion.

The actress has a talent for a young newcomer and a flair for utilizing her skills to the highest measure. It seems she might be on he horizon for bigger and better things in the film industry. We definitely expect more from the actress

The film will be screened at California Theater, San Jose and Pruneyard Cinemas #1 later this month.

It will also be screening at the Cinequest Film and Creativity Festival