Papicha | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

88% Tomatometer 32 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings

Nedjma is passionate about holding a fashion show in 1997 Algiers, a time when women were oppressed.

Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Papicha

Papicha

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A view of societal turmoil through the lens of a young woman's experiences, Papicha acts as a compelling calling card for debuting writer-director Mounia Meddour Gens.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (32) Critics Reviews
Papicha | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Wendy Ide Observer (UK) While the final act frays a little, the sparking tensions of female friendship are vivid and persuasive. Rated: 4/5 Aug 8, 2020 Full Review Papicha | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Lillian Crawford Little White Lies Can't wait to see more from Meddour, this is seriously powerful filmmaking. Rated: 4/5 Aug 6, 2020 Full Review Papicha | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Raphael Abraham Financial Times Like its magnetic lead, the film is alternately warm and viscerally angry, with scant patience for nuance. Rated: 3/5 Aug 5, 2020 Full Review Papicha | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Yasser Medina Cinefilia Meddour elaborates with a critical eye and a certain subtlety a text about the struggle of women in times of patriarchal oppression by Islamic radicalism during the Algerian Civil War. Full review in Spanish Rated: 7/10 Apr 14, 2022 Full Review Papicha | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Joseph Fahim Middle East Eye There is no subtlety in Meddour's characterizations nor hint of intelligence in how she tackles Islamic radicalism, which is personified by a bunch of liberal men-hating women and women obsessed with having every girl in the country veiled. Jul 3, 2021 Full Review Papicha | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Sarah Boslaugh TheArtsStl ... cinematography by Léo Lefèvre underlines Nedjima's creativity, in particular her eye for color in the fabrics she selects ... and the costumes by Catherine Cosme will convince you that Nedjima truly has a talent for fashion design. Rated: 7/10 Oct 27, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (5) audience reviews

Dani G Oppresion against women, terrorist acts, political resistance by a group of young girls and women empowerement. Great energy Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/08/23 Full Review Audience Member it's a brilliant movie,i loved everything about it, and it does depict the truth, whoever says it doesn't is a man who have never experienced such things. and has no right to speak about our experiences. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member The main character is an energetic creative and free spirit girl, living in Algeria of the 90s. Though, some of the events depicted in this movie are somewhat true, but not to the extent shown here, which made the movie feel bogus and exaggerated.Many scenes weren't necessarily and the introduction of the religious zealots was absurd and funny.The new trend of empowering women movie's saga continues to spoil many attempts to create good cinema without falling in the trap of creating unnecessary conflicts between women and men, whether is it through religion, men dominance over women, work equality etc.For anyone who is watching the movie without any knowledge about the situation of Algeria in the period of which this movie is supposed to take event, the 90s. Algeria was in a difficult political conflict where the Army didn't want to transfer power to the people, by doing so, killing the first real attempt to real democracy, this escalated the situation and the country fell in a civil war of 10 years.Recent events clarified most of the lies that were circulating in the country by the Algerian government. The bloodiest Islamic zealots were army special forces, deployed to create fear in the harts of Algerian people, the only terrorists Algeria have ever known.Just a side note, many Algerian women are proud Muslim, they have as much freedom as any other women in Western countries. Women in Algeria in general are well protected and valued, whether she wear a cover or not, and of course, like any other society, Algeria have its fair share of problems, but not the the extent shown in this over exaggerated movie.Hope this helps. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review panayiota k Incredible movie. It was intense and hit you when you didn't expect it. I never researched what is happening in Algeria so it was very shocking to learn. Lyna Khoudri gave everything she had. Rated 4.5/5 Stars • Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review brent m An engaging tale about a conflict that's received little cinematic attention told from a unique narrative perspective. This fact-based dramatic feature film debut from director Mounia Meddour follows the efforts of an outspoken fashion design student seeking to make a sociopolitical statement about women's rights in her country during the 1990s Algerian Civil War and the aggressively intolerant (and often-deadly) tactics of Islamic fundamentalists to coerce compliance, even in matters of clothing. While some elements of the story seem a bit forced, the film nevertheless raises a variety of intriguing thematic issues using a unlikely but highly inventive form of symbolism. A truly pleasant surprise that emerges from a cinematically innovative premise. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Papicha

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Mounia Meddour Director Lyna Khoudri Nedjma Shirine Boutella Wassila Amira Hilda Douaouda Samira Zahra Manel Doumandji Kahina Yasin Houicha Mehdi
Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

More Like This

View All Best Movies to Stream at Home

The Insult 86% 88% The Insult TRAILER for The Insult One of These Days 86% % One of These Days Casablanca Beats 86% 83% Casablanca Beats TRAILER for Casablanca Beats Layla M. 100% 77% Layla M. White on White 95% 60% White on White Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Related Movie News

View All Related Movie News
23 Fresh International 2020 Movies To Watch Right Now

Photos

View All Papicha photos

Papicha

Papicha (2019) Papicha (2019) Papicha (2019) Papicha (2019) View more photos

Synopsis Nedjma is passionate about holding a fashion show in 1997 Algiers, a time when women were oppressed.

Director
Mounia Meddour

Producer
Xavier Gens, Patrick André, Gregoire Gensollen, Belkacem Hadjadj, Mounia Meddour

Screenwriter
Mounia Meddour, Fadette Drouard

Production Co
Centre Algérien de Développement du Cinéma - CADC, Tayda Film, Caleson, High Sea Production, Same Player, The Ink Connection, Scope Pictures, Tribus P. Films

Genre
Drama

Original Language
Arabic

Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 19, 2020

Runtime
1h 46m
Most Popular at Home Now
Papicha | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Duncan Muller

Last Updated:

Views: 5516

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (79 voted)

Reviews: 86% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Duncan Muller

Birthday: 1997-01-13

Address: Apt. 505 914 Phillip Crossroad, O'Konborough, NV 62411

Phone: +8555305800947

Job: Construction Agent

Hobby: Shopping, Table tennis, Snowboarding, Rafting, Motor sports, Homebrewing, Taxidermy

Introduction: My name is Duncan Muller, I am a enchanting, good, gentle, modern, tasty, nice, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.