New Showbiz

You are here:
Heaven Will Wait

Heaven Will Wait

2016

Director

Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar

Runtime

105 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

Synopsis

Mélanie, 16 years old, lives with her mother. She likes going to school, her friends, playing the cello, and she wants to change the world. But when she meets a boy on the Internet and falls in love with him, her world changes as she is gradually recruited by Daesh. Sonia is 17 years old, and she almost did something irrevocable to “guarantee” her family a place in paradise. These teenage girls might be called Anaïs, Manon or Leila, and one day they all might go some way down the recruitment process. But can they ever come back from it?

Where to Watch

Diversity & Representation

Overall Score

7.2/10

Good


Category Breakdown

LGBTQ+ Representation

Fair

The film focuses on adolescent female identity and the radicalization process. While it explores the deconstruction of societal norms, there is no explicit evidence of queer identities or non-heteronormative relationships.

Gender Representation

Good

The narrative centers on the agency and psychological trajectories of young women. It subverts the 'vulnerable girl' trope by presenting characters who make active, high-stakes political choices.

Racial & Ethnic Diversity

Good

The story explores how race, religion, and ethnicity intersect with extremist recruitment. By suggesting various ethnic identities, the film avoids a monolithic portrayal of these characters.

Religious & Cultural Diversity

Excellent

The film examines the breakdown of traditional social structures like family and school. It portrays characters' motivations through their own subjective perceptions of justice and paradise.

Disability Representation

Minimal

There is no discernible evidence regarding the portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities in the narrative.

Strengths

  • Subverts traditional gender tropes by granting female characters significant political agency.
  • Explores intersectional identities through the lens of race, religion, and ethnicity.
  • Challenges Western institutional stability by examining the breakdown of social structures.

Areas for Improvement

  • Lacks explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-heteronormative relationships.
  • Provides no discernible portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

AI Analysis

Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar delivers a complex study of identity and the disruption of conventional social trajectories. The film succeeds by refusing to provide easy moral answers, instead focusing on how systemic pressures and personal agency collide. The strength of the work lies in its nuanced depiction of female autonomy. By centering the radicalization of young women, the film moves away from domesticity toward a more volatile, politically engaged form of agency. However, the film lacks explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities and provides no information regarding disability. While it explores the deconstruction of norms, these specific areas remain unaddressed in the narrative.

How are these scores produced? →

Featured in

  • Best Religious & Cultural Representation in Film

Similar Movies

Movie poster for The Journey

The Journey

2017

No user ratings available yet
Diversity score: 7.6 out of 10

Small Homeland

2013

No user ratings available yet
Diversity score: 7.3 out of 10

Rate this Movie

No rating selected
Use arrow keys to select a rating from 1 to 5 stars
Optional text review, maximum 2000 characters
Tip: Wrap spoilers with ||double pipes|| to hide them
0/2000 characters
You must be signed in to submit a rating

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts on this movie!

Use the rating form above to leave a star rating and optional review.