A Colony (2018) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

A thoughtful high school freshman who forms a fragile alliance with peers while quietly negotiating her Indigenous forest background. She is determined, introspective, and able to read a room, yet she often feels at odds with expectations around how she should act. Her friendship with Camille and Jacinthe anchors her, even as she encounters social pressure and romance.

• 🎒 Student
• 🔎 Curious
• 🧭 Identity

Mylia's younger sister who deals with being bullied by peers and the strain of her parents' separation. She finds moments of solace by letting Mylia use Jimmy's trampoline and by seeking a sense of safety within their family. Camille's resilience grows as she navigates friendship and family change.

• 👧 Sister
• 🕊️ Quiet
• 🌿 Nature-connected

Mylia and Camille's mother, who reveals that she and Henri are separating. She tries to keep the family together while facing practical upheavals and emotional strain. Nathalie's choices ripple through the girls' sense of stability and belonging.

• 👩 Mother
• 💬 Suffering
• 🏠 Household

The father figure who ends up staying on the couch during the separation period, reflecting the home's fragility. He participates in family conversations about moving and adjusting to a new living situation. His presence underscores the impact of adult decisions on Mylia and Camille.

• 👨 Father
• 💔 Strained
• 🏠 Family

A classmate who notices Mylia's note-taking and helps her engage with history and citizenship. She invites Mylia into her circle and becomes part of the school-life dynamic that challenges Mylia to balance academics and social life.

• 👧 Classmate
• 📚 Studious
• ⚡ Impulsive

A local boy who becomes close to Camille and embodies a volatile mix of loyalty and anger. He clashes with peers over racist passages in history and later reflects on identities and costumes, challenging others' perceptions. His relationship with Mylia and his reactions to social pressure shape the film's moral questions.

• 🧑 Boy
• 🔥 Impulsive
• 🎭 Rebellious

Mylia's cousin who is initially distant at school. Her cool demeanor and mixed signals complicate Mylia's sense of belonging within family and social circles. The dynamic hints at complicated familial ties and shifting loyalties.

• 👧 Cousin
• 💬 Reserved
• 🏷️ Tension

A classmate who advances on Mylia during a party, illustrating peer pressure and discomfort with sexual expectations. His character helps illuminate the fine line between friendly interaction and coercion in teenage social dynamics.

• 🧑 Classmate
• 💋 Flirtatious
• 🕺 Party

Jimmy's grandmother, who offers Mylia a safe space to recover when she is unwell at Jimmy's home. Her presence brings a caring, stabilizing adult figure amid the adolescent turmoil and family changes.

• 👵 Grandmother
• 🏡 Nurturing
• 👐 Supportive

Identity is central as Mylia negotiates who she is amid an Indigenous background and a predominantly non-Indigenous school. Her forest origins and family history shape how others see her, and she must claim her own narrative. Interactions with Jacinthe, Gab, and Jimmy push her to question stereotypes and what it means to belong. The film presents identity as an evolving process rather than a fixed label.

Belonging tracks Mylia's search for acceptance within a web of friendships, family upheaval, and conflicting cultural cues. The dynamics with Jacinthe and Gab test where she feels at home, especially during social events like the Halloween party. Peer pressure and the fear of judgment complicate her sense of place, showing that acceptance must be earned. Ultimately, belonging emerges through mutual respect and shared experience.

Family life is upended by Nathalie and Henri's separation, which introduces instability at home. Mylia and Camille navigate the upheaval while seeking support from each other and their community. The move to a new home compounds their feelings of loss, while Doudou provides a different kind of care through presence and resilience. The family dynamic underscores how changes at home ripple through adolescence.