A spiritual cousin to Eliza Hittman's 2020 Never Rarely Sometimes Always but set in period, early 60s France, Audrey Divan's Golden Lion winner at this year's Venice International Film Festival's was a harrowing, and at times difficult, visceral and challenging, film to watch about a woman's right to her own body and reproductive health. Lead actress Anamaria Vartolomei was fantastic. Think Marion Cotillard meets Elizabeth Moss. She was intense and vulnerable, always seemed to be tittering on the brink of a breakdown but never really did just because of pure force of will.
Films like this and NRSA (which won the Silver Bear last year) are even more urgent now as we reflect on the current situation in the States with the new restrictive law in Texas and another challenge to Roe v Wade in the Supreme Court. It is purely disgusting that this is still even a thing now. It was no wonder Divan's sophomore work has been winning so much acclaim because it managed to elicit such strong responses from its audience.
There was nothing new about the story and some would even say it was cliched - gifted young girl with the potential to excel in life especially during a time when women were just coming up, and also daring to explore her sexuality and sensuality, but suddenly laden - and punished - with an unwanted pregnancy that forced her to make difficult choices and presented her with obstacles to overcome. Will she in the end?
Divan skillfully led us through this journey, effectively counting the weeks of pregnancy like a doomsday countdown as our protagonist's options dwindle and the end of her life as she knew it. Bearing in mind that single motherhood and adoption were still a far cry from acceptance back in the 60s. As time goes on, we increasingly felt her desperation as she gets more isolated - aiding and abetting an abortion was a crime then (sounds familiar now?) - and as she wind down a more self-destructive path.
However, Divan had not created a pushover, and this was a heroine that we were rooting for. And Vartolomei with her intelligent ferocity and emotional strength made her someone that we wanted more for. We feel her pain, her injustice and we want her to succeed.
Kudos to cinematographer Laurent Tangy for a camera work that made all that so visceral. This was especially so, together with Divan, in the film's most intimately, harrowing - almost body horror-esque - scenes. But because we were presented with a wholly female POV, the gaze was empathetic rather than speculative.
This film was one of three films shortlisted by France for submission to the upcoming Oscars Best International Feature Film, ultimately losing out to Cannes' Palme d'Or winner Titane. Nonetheless, this film should be watched not only for its urgency and relevance, but also to appreciate Divan's film making and Vartolomei's star-making turn.
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