In essence, this is a coming of age film, and a beautiful one at that. Yes, Netflix's marketing was atrocious and a creative choice was made that is obviously very problematic: it explores the topic of the sexualization of children through imitation, by sexualizing children.

That doesn't make it a bad movie and it doesn't make it pedo-friendly either. It makes it disturbing and unsettling, as it should be. Yes, it is UNCOMFORTABLE to see these kids acting the way they do, but that's the point. The hyper-sexualization of children is happening like this, all the time, everywhere.

I understand the concern. I understand why people are worried about pedophiles. *But the fact that children are being overly sexual in this film is not for the sake or pleasure of pedophiles.* That's not at all the point of the story, and some people are missing that.

Some scenes are highly inappropriate indeed, but that's because *the reality of the sexualization of children is inappropriate.* How else is it supposed to look like?

This movie is not the pedophilic propaganda people are making it out to be. Especially not when you put it in the context of reality and what Doucouré wanted to accomplish. Could she have done it without those scenes? Sure. But we don't get to decide how people tell their stories.

The girls are fantastic in their performance and the film does a great job not just at exploring how ugly the sexualization of children is, but also at exploring the loss of innocence, which happens at such an early age nowadays, the search for autonomy, independence, and identity, the inner struggle between who you are and who your parents/religion/friends/society/culture want you to be.

It explores all the classic coming of age topics and it does it effectively.