Antigone 2019

In Quebec, the Hipponomes are a family of refugees from Kabylia, led by their matriarch Méni. Méni’s grandchildren are Étéocle, Polynice, Ismène and Antigone; their parents were killed before the family left their village. While Antigone achieves straight As in high school, Polynice descends into a life of crime with the street gang, the Habibis. One day, Polynice and Étéocle are playing jacks with friends when the police show up; Étéocle is shot and killed and Polynice is arrested for assaulting an officer in the aftermath.

Through Antigone’s friend Hémon, the Hipponomes meet Hémon’s father Christian, a local politician. [Christian] explains that with Polynice’s criminal record and lack of citizenship, he will likely be deported. Antigone, concerned Polynice will never survive in their home country, decides to plot a prison escape. She reasons as a minor, she will escape jail time and pressures Ismène, an aspiring hairdresser, to cut her hair. Now resembling Polynice, Antigone visits the jail with Méni. There, Antigone and Polynice quickly trade clothes, and Polynice leaves with Méni while Antigone goes to Polynice’s jail cell.

The prison officials discover the ploy; Antigone is arrested for aiding an escape and transferred to a women’s prison. Méni is also arrested for aiding in the escape, to Antigone’s horror. A police officer tells Antigone that Étéocle was also a member of the Habibis. Antigone intends to plead guilty, but the judge, Natalie Tannous, questions her understanding of the gravity of the situation and assigns her legal aid, with a lawyer named O’Neil.

Hémon quits school to organize rallies in support of Antigone; supporters pack the courtroom and disrupt the proceedings with cellphone ringtones (identical to Hémon’s ringtone), and Antigone professes her heart’s desire to help her brother. After Méni is bailed out of jail, Antigone’s words about her heart go viral. Buoyed by the support, O’Neil asks the judge for a suspended sentence; however, the prosecutor calls an unexpected witness, Polynice. Polynice was arrested the previous night at a bar. Antigone becomes hysterical, questioning her brother why he risked what the family had sacrificed for, and disparaging the ceremonies of the court. The judge tells Antigone she is risking her chance at Canadian citizenship. Christian takes Antigone away from jail and offers to serve as her guardian, as Méni has decided to go back to her village with Polynice. Ismène is unwilling to go with them, still desiring a loan to start her own salon. Antigone and Hémon have sex. Later, Antigone, Méni and Polynice go to the airport, passing a young refugee family resembling themselves when they arrived. Antigone hears Hémon’s ringtone and turns around.