Released on October 12, 2019 on Netflix, Banlieusards is a film directed by Kery James and Leila Sy. With his outspokenness and conscience, Kery James delivers here a poignant but never Manichean questioning on the situation of the French suburbs.
"We follow three brothers from a sensitive suburb in the Paris region. Soulaymaan, a student lawyer in Paris, succeeded brilliantly in his studies. His path crosses that of Lisa in front of whom he debates on the responsibility of the State in the current situation of the suburbs, during the final of a famous eloquence contest. Demba, the eldest, lives to the rhythms of traffic and the street. Their little brother Noumouké, 15, is still looking for his way and must choose which of his two older brothers he wants to look like. A fight, a gunshot, a drama."
A nuanced scenario
"Is the state solely responsible for the state of the suburbs in France?" This is the question that Soulaymaane and Lisa will have to answer during an eloquence contest. One, Soulaymaane, a young black man from the suburbs, will have to defend the state. The other, Lisa, a young white girl from the 5th arrondissement of Paris, will have to prove the guilt of the state. If we can expect yet another flat film with a poorly developed and already seen scenario, Banlieusards surprises with its incessant questioning and the perpetual questioning of the main characters. It is a perfect complement to the punchy film Les Misérables, because both deal with the same theme but in a totally objective way. He lets the viewer have his own interpretation. However, these are films that do not leave indifferent in their questioning. 
Captivating characters
The 3 brothers, the main characters of the story, are diametrically opposed. While one is brilliant at school, the other excels in the illicit. Finally comes the 3rd, Noumouké who struggles to find his bearings. The psychology of the characters could be seen as the 3 parts of an argument that would initiate a beginning of response to the responsibility of the state. Indeed, Soulaymaane would represent the thesis. This model of success, which transcends barriers and proves that you can have a brilliant professional career, even when you are the child of immigrants, from the suburbs. 
Demba would be the antithesis. Pure product of his environment, Demba sought easy money and fell into the trap of the system. And finally, Noumouké would be the perfect synthesis. Still in college, we already see him committing crimes. He was also fired from his establishment. At the end of the film, he still passes his patent and stops imitating his elder Demba. He embodies choice. The choice to try to get away with it in an honest and respectable way, or to play the victimization card. Because yes in the end, in Commuters, everything is a question of choice. In the end, with Commuters, Kery James signs a good film for several reasons explained above. Although some may find the scenario cliché, it remains impactful in the themes still relevant.
