A Colony

Geneviève Dulude-De Celles's 2018 Quebec film follows Mylia, twelve, living in the countryside and starting at a new secondary school. She is withdrawn; her small sister is a child entirely at ease with the world. The friendship Mylia forms with an Indigenous boy opens a space outside the school's groupings. The title comes from the word colony in a history lesson, and that builds the story's quiet second layer: Quebec's own colonial past becomes visible in the relationship between children. Émilie Bierre's performance is natural. It won the Crystal Bear at Berlin and best film at the Canadian Screen Awards. The telling is quiet and slow. Who it's for: viewers who like Quebec cinema and coming-of-age stories. Who it's not for: anyone wanting incident, or who will find stories of adolescence slow.