Hip-Hop for graduation

A comment on Allons Enfants

The Turgot Highschool in Paris is not just an ordinary school. Here, in addition to their lessons, the students also take hip-hop dance classes, practice for national competitions and learn to express themselves through dance. "Allons Enfants" follows eight students from different backgrounds through their everyday lives at the school.

In their documentary, the two co-directors Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai focus on the fact that the Turgot gives young people from all social backgrounds the opportunity to escape their determinism and graduate from school. In order to continue to take dance classes, they have to achieve good grades. In "Allons Enfants" we see in turns dance scenes with animating music, teaching sequences and talks about grades between students and teachers, as well as interviews in which the students talk about what hip-hop and school mean to them.

It gets clear very fast that hip-hop connects the students. As the film progresses, we learn more and more about the sometimes difficult backgrounds of some of the students, but while dancing they support each other and it becomes irrelevant where they come from or who they are. Even though a hip-hop battle is always a competition, the film beautifully shows the equality that exists between the young people, no matter their gender, skin colour or social background. Especially their dance teacher David Bérillon helps them to put their emotions into their dance and to build a team spirit.

For a documentary, "Allons Enfants" is quite long with 115 minutes, and you notice this length. Sometimes it is difficult to see a common thread because of jumps in time and place, and it is hard to find a dramaturgical development. Also because the film follows different grades and dance groups it is not always possible to understand the action immediately. However, this does not seem to be the directors' aim, but rather to give an overall insight into the everyday life of the young people at school.

With impressive camera work, Demaizière and Teurlai manage to bring the emotions while dancing to the screen. During the dance scenes, you almost forget that it is a documentary. In not a single scene are the young people affected by the presence of the camera, which creates a closeness and honesty.

"Allons Enfants" is an interesting film, not only for dance enthusiasts, which gives an insight into the world between hip-hop and everyday school life. The lengths now and then can be balanced out by the thrilling dance scenes and the awakening music, so that a harmonious portrait of young people at a special school is the result.

Further screenings during the Berlinale:
Fri. 18.02. 15:30 Filmtheater am Friedrichshain
Sat. 19.02. 18:00 Titania

15.02.22, Clara Bahrs