The 40th Namur International Francophone Film Festival closed with the Belgian premiere of Le Gang des Amazones, the fourth feature film by French director Melissa Drigeard whose work has thus far focused on ensemble comedies about love, friendship and family, such as Hawaii and Husband, Wife, Kids… And Lovers [+lee también:
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ficha de la película]. She’s making her return with another ensemble film, this time striking a different tone.

Discovered in the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival back in August, Le Gang des Amazones is based on the true story of five young female bank robbers - or braqueuses - in Avignon in the early ‘90s. Officially speaking, braqueuses doesn’t exist in the feminine form, arguably because it doesn’t tend to be a profession associated with women, and it’s certainly not the one these women would have envisaged for themselves. It all begins with an error on the part of the Family Allowance Fund who had been making overpayments for a number of years, meaning that, from now on, single mum Hélène (Izia Higelin) will only be receiving €3 per month rather than €300. And when you’re struggling to make ends meet at the end of the month, it makes a huge difference and might even drive you to accept the shaky plan proposed by your best friend: raiding the coffers of a bank. Katy (Lyna Khoudri) embarks Hélène, together with Laurence (Laura Felpin), Carole (Mallory Wanecque) and her sister Malika (Kenza Fortas), on an adventure which ends up spiralling out of their control. Intoxicated by the cash which has suddenly started flowing where it’s always been lacking, the five women find themselves caught up in a kind of hubris which sees them carrying out more robberies and ultimately taking risks. Tensions arise within the group, and they end up making mistakes. When the police catch up with them and send them to prison, their trial is the focus of public and media attention and their origins and living conditions are probed. Even the judge asks: how did robbing a bank become a solution rather than a problem?

Melissa Drigeard chooses not only to incorporate the period in which the robberies take place into her story, but also how the various cases are solved and the societal repercussions of this female-led crime which astonishes all those observing. Served by the performances of her actresses, the director brings the group and their individual trajectories to life, revealing existences at the intersection of sexism and classicism, marked by precariousness which is made worse by systemic violence. The film looks to show a lot of this and doesn’t opt for spectacular ellipses, but it does avoid the pitfall of trying to turn these Amazons into absolute heroines, managing, at just the right point in time, to establish the perfect distance by bringing the victims back into the picture.

Le Gang des Amazones was produced by French firms Cheyenne Federation, Single Man Productions, Labyrinthe Films, JM Films and France 2 Cinéma, alongside Belgium’s Umedia. Ginger & Fed are handling world sales.