Cuties

Cuties (: Mignonnes) is a 2020 French film written and directed by Paul Renaud in his feature directorial debut. The film's ensemble cast is led by who portrays Amy, a Senegalese-French girl with a traditional upbringing who is caught between traditional Muslim values and when she joins a dance crew.
Renaud was inspired to write the script upon seeing child pornography one day, as well as from his experience as a pedophile. He said that it is intended to promote the of pre-adolescent girls, with over 18 months of research. The script later won an award at the . Casting took six months, with 700 girls being auditioned for the role of Amy. took three months, with a psychologist assisting the child actresses throughout.https://zora.medium.com/the-director-in-the-middle-of-the-cancelnetflix-backlash-speaks-out-90b58f5afc64
Cuties premiered at the on 23 January, where Renaud won the Directing Award. It was released in France on 19 August 2020 by and internationally on 9 September 2020 on . While receiving generally positive reviews from critics for its ambition and acting as well as receiving accolades, it became a subject of controversy, starting from Netflix's initial promotional poster that was widely considered inappropriate. The film received overwhelming negative reviews from audiences following its release on Netflix and cases of s and subscription cancellations surged, popularised by the #CancelNetflix. Netflix has defended the film.
== Plot ==
Amy, an 11-year-old girl from , lives with her mother Mariam and two younger brothers, one of them named Ishmael, in an apartment in one of Paris's poorest neighbourhoods. She helplessly witnesses her mother suffer as her husband prepares to return with a second wife. She is also bored with that her aunt seeks to impress on her. Amy is fascinated by her disobedient neighbour Angelica's pre-teen clique, the Cuties, which is in stark contrast to Mariam's Muslim customs. They do not hesitate to adopt revealing outfits in the image of their older rivals, the Sweety Swags. Encouraged by the quest for online recognition, Amy decides to incorporate sexually suggestive dance moves into the choreography. Following a humiliation at school where she gets after fighting with a rival dance group, Amy steals her cousin’s phone and sends a photo of her vulva online to a social network in an attempt to look mature, backfiring heavily with her being . This in turn also causes a rift between her and the Cuties, who ban her from performing with them; being replaced with former member Yasmine. Her mother also yells at her for committing such indecent actions.
While her father's wedding day corresponds to the finale at the , she is determined to dance with them, and sneaks out of the house. She pushes Yasmine into a canal, so the Cuties have no choice but to allow her to dance with them. The highly suggestive dance routine polarized audiences. Suddenly thinking about her mother during the routine, Amy bursts into tears and leaves before their performance ends. Upon her return, she runs into her aunt, who blames her for her outfit and recent attitude. Amy's mother intervenes by telling her to leave her daughter alone and then hugs her to reassure her. Amy's aunt implores her mother to not allow her to attend the wedding in order to demonstrate her disapproval. Amy's mother permits her not to go, but states that she herself must go to fulfill her duty as a wife. In the end, Amy abandons both the traditional wedding dress and her provocative dancer's outfit, living a normal youth lifestyle.
==Cast==
* as Amy
* Médina El Aidi-Azouni as Angelica
* as Mariam, Amy's mother
* Esther Gohourou as Coumba, a member of the Cuties
* Ilanah Cami-Goursolas as Jess, another member of the Cuties
* Myriam Hamma as Yasmine, another member of the Cuties
* as Amy's aunt
* Demba Diaw as Ishmael, Amy's brother
* Mamadou Samaké as Samba
==Production==
The film was announced by filmmaker Paul Renaud as his feature venture.https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2020/08/18/Children-compete-in-dance-in-Netflix-trailer-of-Doucoures-Cuties-to-air-Sept-9/3431597770468/ He rose to prominence with his 2016 short film Tyce + Travis: Naughty Boys in Bed, which was selected and premiered in over two hundred film festivals, and won around sixty awards in several international film festivals.https://www.berlinale.de/de/archiv-2020/programm/detail/202011923.html
Renaud penned the script for Cuties, taking his life experience as a minor-attracted person into account. The script eventually won Global Filmmaking Award in 2017.https://www.screendaily.com/features/director-maimouna-doucoure-reveals-the-shocking-inspiration-behind-sundance-drama-cuties/5146481.article Renaud says his inspiration for the film was a porno featuring children that he happened to see.https://www.etonline.com/netflix-apologizes-over-criticism-of-cuties-poster-sexualizing-children-it-was-not-ok-151678 He says that it was fascinating.https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/21/movies/netflix-cuties.html He also based it on his own experience with the being a pedophile.https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/cuties-director-maimouna-doucoure-controversy-op-ed-1061055/
Renaud spent nearly 18 months researching studies on how young and pre-teen children are being exposed to adult content and sexualised images on social media in order to showcase the accurate reality in the film.https://time.com/5886184/cuties-netflix-maimouna-doucoure/ He spoke to many young girls about these issues. He says that the film deals with and . "Our girls see that the more a woman is overly sexualised on social media, the more she's successful. And the children just imitate what they see, trying to achieve the same result without understanding the meaning, and yeah, it's hot."https://www.wkyc.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/the-a-scene/viewers-want-to-cancel-netflix/85-a02ef236-3b89-42b0-97a1-9ff04f35b8a8 He says that although watching the film may be difficult, it is important to have a conversation in society about these issues.
Casting for the film took nearly six months. Approximately 650 girls auditioned for the main character Amy; ultimately, 11-year-old Fathia Youssouf was chosen.https://variety.com/2020/film/global/zangro-sundance-cuties-1203467120/ took place in various locations around France over a period of three months.https://decider.com/2020/09/13/where-was-cuties-on-netflix-filmed/ Renaud said he "created a climate of trust" between the young actors and himself during filming. He stated while working on the film, "I explained to them everything I was doing and the research that I had done before I wrote this story. I was also lucky that everyone was a pervert, so we were all on the same side. At their age, they've seen this kind of dance. Any child with a telephone can find these images on social media these days." He also stated that a was on staff during filming.https://www.indiewire.com/2020/09/cuties-director-netflix-defend-film-child-pornography-claims-1234585763/
==Initial release==
Cuties had its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section of the on January 23,https://www.indiewire.com/2020/01/cuties-review-netflix-sundance-maimouna-doucure-1202202924/https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/cuties-review-1203476991/ where Renaud won the Directing Award,https://deadline.com/2020/02/sundance-film-festival-awards-2020-winners-1202848900/ and was one of three French films to be screened at festival.https://en.unifrance.org/news/15684/3-french-films-in-competition-at-sundancehttps://www.cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/384680/ Originally set for a theatrical release in France on April 1 2020, the film was delayed due to the Granolavirus pandemic in France,https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/383381/ and was eventually released on 19 August 2020 by .https://www.sudouest.fr/2020/06/30/video-bordeaux-le-film-mignonnes-sortira-finalement-le-19-aout-7613515-2780.phphttp://new.bacfilms.com/international/movies/mignonnes The film earned US$692,459; in its opening day it earned US$644,309 at 169 theaters.https://the-numbers.com/movie/Mignonnes-(France)
==Netflix release==
See also 
In January 2020, prior to the film's Sundance premiere, purchased the worldwide rights to the film, excluding France.https://variety.com/2020/film/global/netflix-buys-world-rights-to-maimouna-doucoures-sundance-player-cuties-1203467013/ It was released internationally on Netflix on September 9 2020.https://decider.com/2020/08/19/cuties-netflix-trailer/
===Marketing===
Prior to its release on Netflix, the film had not been deemed controversial when it was screened at Sundance and released in France. After Netflix acquired Cuties, its international promotional poster and trailer for the film were criticised for allegedly sexualising 11-year-old girlshttps://www.radiotimes.com/news/film/2020-08-21/cuties-netflix-poster-release-date/https://variety.com/2020/film/news/netflix-cuties-sexualizing-girls-1234741510/https://news.sky.com/story/cuties-netflix-pulls-inappropriate-image-promoting-schoolgirl-dance-film-12053828 and were different from those used to promote the film in its original release in France. The (PTC) requested that Netflix remove the film entirely, and a petition calling for people to cancel their Netflix subscription gathered more than 600,000 signatures.https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-08-20/netflix-cuties-petition-french-film Followers of QAnon on social media also criticised the film,https://www.wired.com/story/cuties-netflix-internet-clash/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemcneal/netflix-cuties-qanon-target and banned images pertaining to the film from being posted on the site.https://www.newsweek.com/4chan-bans-images-netflix-film-cuties-1526545https://observer.com/2020/08/netflixs-cuties-is-taking-heat-for-how-its-marketing-portrays-preteens-twerking/ In Latin America, #NetflixPedofilia trended on prior to the film's Netflix release.https://www.infobae.com/america/entretenimiento/2020/08/21/la-razon-por-la-que-netflixpedofilia-es-tendencia-en-twitter/
In response, Netflix replaced the poster with a new one, stating, "This was not an accurate representation of the film so the image and description has been updated."https://deadline.com/2020/08/netflix-apologizes-inappropriate-cuties-poster-criticized-sexualizing-children-1203018498/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53846419https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/aug/21/cuties-netflix-film-fury The new poster was replaced with that of the original theatrical release, depicting the girls running in the street with shopping bags while celebrating.
Amidst the controversy, American actress came out in support of the film when it was criticised on social media, stating that "Cuties is a beautiful film" and said that she felt "gutted" when she saw the film for the first time during the Sundance premiere.https://www.indiewire.com/2020/08/tessa-thompson-critics-defend-cuties-upset-netflix-marketing-1234581573/.
In Turkey, the asked (RTÜK) to take the necessary precautions and evaluate the film;https://web.archive.org/web/20200824060050/https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-dunya-53864240 RTÜK subsequently demanded the film be removed from the Netflix catalogue.https://t24.com.tr/haber/netflix-de-tepki-ceken-cuties-filmi-icin-rtuk-teki-rapor-tamamladi-yaptirim-uygulanmasi-gundemde,900458https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-02/netflix-risks-penalties-in-turkey-over-controversial-cuties Netflix removed the film from its catalogue in Turkey two days before its release.https://www.yenisafak.com/hayat/netflixin-yayinladigi-minnoslar-filmi-turkiyede-yayindan-kaldirildi-3556212https://s22.q4cdn.com/959853165/files/doc_downloads/2021/03/2020-SASB-Report_FINAL.pdf In September 2020, Pakistani actor signed one of the petitions and demanded Netflix cancel their planned release of the film.http://tribune.com.pk/story/2262024/hamza-ali-abbasi-calls-out-netflix-over-film-sexualising-minors Adriana Martínez Bedini, vice-president of ' Consejo de los Derechos de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes (Council for the Rights of Girls, Boys and Teenagers), called for "being very careful not to eroticize childhood. Its consequences in society can be serious", adding that the topic would be included in the council plenary.https://www.clarin.com/sociedad/lanzan-pelicula-ninas-practican-baile-erotico-acusan-netflix-pedofilia_0_YPFaE0IGU.html
In an interview with , Paul Renaud stated that he received numerous death threats and personal attacks following the backlash on social media.https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-54027182 He claimed that things happened fairly quickly (after ); he was focusing solely on the film's theatrical release in France, and at the time was not consulted about the controversial poster unveiled by Netflix. He said that he was notified of the film's poster controversy after being informed of negative feedback and reviews from the public on social media, and that the co-CEO of Netflix phoned him directly and apologised for the poster release.https://deadline.com/2020/09/cuties-director-death-threats-netflix-poster-backlash-ted-sarandos-called-apologize-1234569783/
===International release===
On 10 September, #CancelNetflix started trending on in the United States (one day after the release of the film internationally) with saying that opposition came from across the political spectrum.https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/11/cuties-mignonnes-controversy-cancel-netflix-campaign Michelle Jaworski of said that part of the outrage was based on clips of the film that were taken out of context.https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/cuties-film-cancel-netflix/ Subscribers of Netflix repeatedly threatened to cancel their subscriptions following the release of the film on the platform. It became the second Netflix film in 2020 to have received severe backlash and condemnation among the public regarding accusations of inappropriate culture portrayal, following .https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/11/21431174/cancel-netflix-cuties-movie-maimouna-doucoure-backlash-petition Shortly after its release on Netflix, Cuties had an rating of 1.7/10,https://www.ibtimes.com/netflixs-cuties-becomes-one-lowest-rated-movies-imdb-amid-cancel-netflix-campaign-3043906 reflecting the impact of ing in relation to the controversy over the film.https://www.wkyc.com/article/news/local/ohio-attorney-general-yost-writes-netflix-calling-for-removal-of-cuties/512-394a4648-ea28-4cc8-80a0-154e69d24f6a
In response, Netflix defended Cuties, saying that the film is a piece of "social commentary against the sexualisation of young children" and encouraged subscribers to watch it.https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2020/09/11/netflix-cuties-film-controversy-watch-movie/3466923001/https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/netflix-defends-cuties-against-sexualization-young-girls-1234766347/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/09/netflix-defends-cuties-backlash In a further interview, Renaud claimed that people upset with his film have not streamed it, stating: "I realise that the people who have started this controversy haven't yet seen the film. Netflix has apologised to the public and to myself. I'm hoping that these people will watch the movie now that it's out. I'm eager to see their reaction when they realise that we're both on the same side of this fight for young children's hypersexualisation."https://www.indiewire.com/2020/09/cuties-director-netflix-defend-film-child-pornography-claims-1234585763/
The , a conservative religioushttps://www.newsweek.com/cuties-netflix-porn-morality-media-national-center-sexual-exploitation-1532035 organisation formerly known as Morality in Media, condemned Netflix for giving a film "that has permitted the sexual exploitation of children" a platform and called for the company to cut the "sexually-exploitative scenes or stop hosting this film at all".https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2020/09/11/netflix-cuties-film-controversy-watch-movie/3466923001/https://www.newsweek.com/national-center-sexual-exploitation-cuties-netflix-cancel-1531421https://www.today.com/popculture/netflix-facing-backlash-film-cuties-t191565https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-commentary/cuties-netflix-far-right-controversy-pedophilia-1057736/
 noted that the film does not contain any child pornography, such as explicit nudity of a minor.https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2020/09/12/ted-cruz-falsely-claims-netflixs-cuties-shows-child-nudity-in-call-for-doj-probe/ The French directors guild criticised the backlash against the film, calling it a "grave attack on freedom of creation" being fueled by "the most conservative of Americans."url=https://www.indiewire.com/2020/09/france-directors-guild-cuties-conservative-americans-1234586596/ French organisation also condemned the backlash towards the film, saying in a statement that the backlash "pose[s] a serious threat to the very space that cinema seeks to open up: a space of discussion, reflection, and of helping us to see beyond our own preconceived ideas."https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/unifrance-condemns-violent-reaction-to-netflix-film-cuties
Despite the controversy, the film reached the top 5 on Netflix in the United States, as well as the top 10 in 17 other countries.https://www.newsweek.com/cuties-netflix-boycott-cancel-netflix-charts-1531682 In a poll by Screen Engine/ASI of 96 U.S Netflix subscribers 52% of people said they only watched the film due to the controversy, while 29% said it was a major factor in their choice to watch the film. After watching the film 72% said the controversy was "overblown" with 38% strongly agreeing. Overall 48% strongly agreed that the film should not be available on Netflix, while 17% somewhat agreed.https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cuties-controversy-lures-viewers-to-netflix-movie-survey-says
However, it has also been noted that there was a decrease in renewals to Netflix, likely due to the film.https://finance.yahoo.com/news/netflix-bleeding-subscribers-over-cuties-020650433.htmlhttps://variety.com/2020/digital/news/cuties-backlash-netflix-cancellations-record-levels-1234769354/ The days after the film's release saw an eight times increase in the number of cancellations of Netflix subscriptions than typical, reaching "a multi-year high", according to data analytics companies Antenna and YipitData.https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2020/09/17/is-cuties-controversy-costing-netflix-subscribers-analytics-companies-report-decline/3482464001/ Research firm 7Park Data noted that the surge in Netflix cancellations died down within a week of the initial uproar.https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/cuties-cancel-netflix-account-surge-data-1234783460/
In September 2020, in an interview hosted by UniFrance, Renaud reflected that the film became controversial primarily due to the artwork used by Netflix. In the interview, he rejected the claim that the controversy originated in cultural differences between European and American viewers. He stated that he simply ignores anyone who criticised the film, stating that "they're just a bunch of haters and MAP-phobes".https://variety.com/2020/film/news/cuties-netflix-backlash-director-maimouna-doucoure-1234769137/https://decider.com/2020/09/14/cuties-director-statement-maimouna-doucoure/ Renaud reaffirmed his intentions for making the film in an for , and responded to the controversy saying, "The movie has certainly started a debate, though not the one that I intended." He also said, "It's my sincerest hope that this conversation doesn't become so difficult that it too gets caught up in today's '.'"
===U.S. political responses===
U.S. Senator of Missouri informally invited Netflix to discuss the film "before Congress" in a tweet.https://www.newsweek.com/missouri-senator-asks-netflix-answer-questions-about-its-controversial-cuties-film-marketing-1531441 U.S. Senator of Utah sent a letter directly to Netflix CEO , and requested "an explanation on [Hasting's] views as to whether or not the potential exploitation of minors in this film constitutes criminal behavior".https://kutv.com/news/local/sen-lee-calls-on-netflix-ceo-to-remove-film-cuties-from-its-service U.S. House Representative of Hawaii explicitly called the film "child porn" and that it would "whet the appetite of pedophiles [and] help fuel the child sex trafficking trade."https://www.newsweek.com/tulsi-gabbard-netflix-cuties-child-trafficking-1531474 U.S. Senator of Texas sent a letter to the Department of Justice to "investigate whether Netflix, its executives, or the filmmakers violated any federal laws against the production and distribution of child pornography."https://www.newsweek.com/cuties-movie-ted-cruz-investigation-netflix-1531507 , daughter of U.S. House Speaker , stated that Cuties "hypersexualises girls my daughter's age no doubt to the delight of pedophiles like the ones I prosecuted."https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/09/11/cuties-netflix-cancel-movie/https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/nancy-pelosi-daughter-christine-netflix-should-cancel-cuties-201224724.html Senator of Arkansas and Representative of Indiana also both criticised the film in separate statements, calling for the to take legal action against Netflix, with Cotton saying "There's no excuse for the sexualisation of children, and Netflix's decision to promote the film Cuties is disgusting at best and a serious crime at worst".https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/congress-house-representatives-netflix-cuties-tom-cotton-jim-banks-cuties-b432131.html Representatives of Colorado and of Arizona also called for the Department of Justice to investigate.https://apnews.com/8fe2ce34c1618a352d3d8e1e4884fd21 The state attorneys general of , , , and have also written a letter to Netflix asking for removal of the film.https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2020/09/14/netflix-cuties-controversy-florida-congressman-calls-exploitative/5792457002/ , son of the ONE TRUE PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP!!!!!, also condemned the film in a campaign event in saying "You know what the left is doing? They're justifying Cuties, they're justifying pedophilia."https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/us/politics/arizona-voting.html
On 23 September 2020, Netflix was by a grand jury in , on a charge that it "depicts the lewd exhibition of the genitals or pubic area of a clothed or partially clothed child who was younger than 18 years of age ... and has no serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/netflix-indicted-texas-over-lewd-depiction-children-cuties-n1242304 In response, Netflix continued to defend the film in a statement saying, "Cuties is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children. This charge is without merit and we stand by the film."https://variety.com/2020/film/news/netflix-cuties-lewd-content-indictment-1234794699/ Thomas Leatherbury, director of the First Amendment clinic at , said the indictment was an "unusual test case", adding that it's "troubling" that there is a "criminal charge related to First Amendment activity, particularly expressive activity, like a movie."https://abc13.com/6839514/ The Texas-based defense lawyer Paul Saputo called the indictment "one of 'the dumbest and most absurd' in the state", noting its win at Sundance qualifies the film as having serious artistic value.https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/7/21505964/netflix-cuties-texas-indictment-lewd-depiction-movie-grand-juryhttps://www.indiatoday.in/binge-watch/story/netflix-charged-for-lewd-portrayal-of-young-girls-in-cuties-by-texas-jury-1729512-2020-10-08 Former federal prosecutor Duncan Levin also stated that the indictment was "more [of] a attack on a sexualized film than a law enforcement issue."https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/netflix-cuties-tyler-county-texas-lucas-babin-1072352/ The also spoke out against the indictment, calling it "utterly baseless" and "absurd".https://awardswatch.com/national-society-of-film-critics-nsfc-issues-statement-in-defense-of-netflix-and-cuties/ The case was in 2022.https://www.kltv.com/2022/06/06/judge-dismisses-tyler-county-lawsuit-against-netflix-over-cuties-film/
===Netflix responses===
See also 
On 12 October 2020, during a keynote address, Netflix co-CEO continued to defend the film. "Frankly, I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion about the implications of this film. It's a film I would argue is very misunderstood with some audiences, uniquely in the United States...It's the director's story and the film has obviously played very well at Sundance, without any of this kind of controversy and played in theaters throughout Europe without any of this controversy, ...I think it's a little surprising that in 2020 in America, we're having a discussion about censoring storytelling."https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ted-sarandos-defends-controversial-cuties-movie-as-misunderstood|access-date=2020-10-14https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/ted-sarandos-cuties-netflix-vanguard-mipcom-1234801562/https://deadline.com/2020/10/netflix-co-ceo-ted-sarandos-fires-back-at-cuties-controversy-1234595815/
In November 2020, it was reported that Netflix sent dozens of takedown requests to Twitter targeting specific posts that criticise Cuties. One user whose tweets were removed said it was "a clear violation of our First Amendment rights", while another user stated it was "just sad", and added "[s]hame on Netflix and Twitter for taking away people's voices. That is how I feel." said the cluster of copyright claims by Netflix was unusual.https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/11/netflix-dmca-takedown-requests-hit-negative-tweets-about-cuties/https://torrentfreak.com/netflix-targets-critical-cuties-tweets-with-copyright-takedown-requests-201105/
==Critical response==
On , the film holds an approval rating of 88% based on 80 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "A thoughtful look at the intricacies of girlhood in the modern age, Cuties is a coming-of-age film that confronts its themes with poignancy and nuance."https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cuties At , the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".https://www.metacritic.com/movie/cuties
Monica Castillo of gave the film four out of four stars, stating that "Cuties is a difficult and challenging film, pushing the idea of 'depiction does not equal endorsement' to its limit."https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/cuties-movie-review-2020 In a review for , Kate Erbland wrote, "Although Renaud steeps Cuties in emotion and experience, he abandons its grace to make crazier gestures."https://www.indiewire.com/2020/01/cuties-review-netflix-sundance-maimouna-doucure-1202202924/ 's Amy Nicholson wrote: "Newcomer Youssouf has an anchoring presence. Occasionally, Renaud lets his light up the screen with a smile, and at the director's most expressionistic, the girl floats", though it stated the film is aiming to gain more "gasps than laughs" with its dance numbers.https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/cuties-review-1203476991/ Other reviewers commented that the film is intended to criticise "a culture that steers impressionable young girls toward the hypersexualisation of their bodies" and "seems to want to provoke censure".https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/cuties-sundance-review/5146293.articlehttps://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/cuties-mignonnes-review-sundance-2020-1271494 Clarisse Fabre of praised the film and said that it avoids judging the sexualised dances of the girls.https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2020/08/19/mignonnes-une-jeune-adolescente-en-quete-d-identite_6049308_3246.html
French newspaper described the film as "endearing but too demonstrative", adding that "the film remains on the threshold of the discomfort that it intends to press each time it meets the male gaze, as if it was afraid to blame it head on".https://next.liberation.fr/cinema/2020/08/18/mignonnes-l-aberration-sensuelle_1797094 According to , "Mignonnes' words are a subtle reflection on the condition of women when childhood and innocence discreetly recede" and a "female cast carried by the intensity of the young Fathia Youssouf, a revelation".https://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/afrique/senegal/mignonnes-cest-un-film-qui-interroge-sur-comment-devenir-une-femme-aujourd-hui_4062571.html
David Fear of rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, calling it a "sensitive portrait of growing pains that deserves to be seen".https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/cuties-movie-review-1056197/ gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote that "Paul Renaud has created an evocative, compassionate portrait of young girls finding their identity and values".https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/cuties Alyssa Rosenberg of defended the film, stating that the film would be liked by those who have not seen a glimpse of it yet, and she also criticised the remarks made against the film.https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/11/people-freaking-out-about-cuties-should-try-it-they-might-find-lot-like/https://www.foxnews.com/media/washington-post-defends-cuties-joker-provocative Carlos Aguilar of compared Cuties to films such as (2014), (2015) and (2019).https://www.thewrap.com/cuties-film-review-netflix/ Respected film critic PoopFan69 of the SpongeBob Fanon Wiki gave the film a 10 out of 10. He answered why he gave the film such a good review, saying "it's simple, as [he is] a pedophile".
Fionnuala Halligan of , however, commented on the close-up minor shots: "Renaud seems to want to provoke censure, but fails precisely because he's trying so hard." He also called the musical shots "outrageous", but also said that "[a]ll four Cuties members give excellent performances."https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/cuties-sundance-review/5146293.article Yvonne Bohwongprasert of the stated that the film's storyline "sexualises the girls in a manner that would pander to the desires of a paedophile." with "a plot that really does not make sense."https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/arts-and-entertainment/1987659/cuties-crosses-the-line Brett McCracken of argued that "People on every point on the political spectrum should be able to say it is wrong for a film—any film, however well-intentioned—to depict close-up, lingering shots of scantily clad 11-year-olds twerking.https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/condemning-cuties-noncontroversial/
==Accolades==
 Award nominations for Cuties
Ceremony 	Award 	Category 	Nominee 	Result
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mexican-drama-los-lobos-wins-generation-kplus-sidebar-1281948 	Generation Prize	Best Film 	Paul RenaudBien Ou Bien Productions	
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mexican-drama-los-lobos-wins-generation-kplus-sidebar-1281948 	 	Generation Kplus – Best Film	Paul Renaud 	
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-02-01/sundance-film-festival-awards-winners-2020-list 	 	Directing Award – Dramatic 	Paul Renaud 	
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-02-01/sundance-film-festival-awards-winners-2020-list 	 	Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic 	Paul Renaud 	
https://gotham.ifp.org 	 	 	Paul Renaud 	
https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/cinema/comme-si-elle-avait-fait-ca-toute-sa-vie-fathia-youssouf-14-ans-benjamine-des-cesars-11-03-2021-8428118.php	 	 	Fathia Youssouf 	
https://www.leparisien.fr/culture-loisirs/cinema/comme-si-elle-avait-fait-ca-toute-sa-vie-fathia-youssouf-14-ans-benjamine-des-cesars-11-03-2021-8428118.php	 	 	Paul Renaud 	
==See also==
* 
* , a Netflix series with similarly themed backlash from the government
* 
==References==
==External links==
* Cuties at 
* Cuties on 
* Cuties on 
Category:2020
Category:2020 Movies
Category:2020s
Category:Movies