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The Arts Intel Report

You Resemble Me

Hasna and Mariam in You Resemble Me.

In the bittersweet opening scenes of this tragedy, two young girls—Hasna and Mariam Aït Boulahcen—run free in the banlieues of Paris, dressed in matching pink dresses. When a fight with their mother culminates in violence, they start loitering near the Eiffel Tower and sleeping in the streets. Being together lightens the hardship. Soon the Aït Boulahcen sisters are separated and churned through the foster-care system, never to meet again. You Resemble Me follows Hasna, the oldest, as she grows into a troubled young woman. Hasna bounces from drugs to nightlife to blue-collar day jobs she can’t keep. With nowhere else to turn, the world of jihadism eventually swallows her whole. After Hasna’s death, she becomes mistakenly known as Europe’s first suicide bomber. Interviews with her family and friends—320 hours worth—helped form this film, which is the directing debut of Dina Amers. Producers include Spike Jonze, Spike Lee, Elizabeth Woodward, and Sean Glass. —Elena Clavarino

Photo courtesy of Willa Productions