"Golden Lion" film "Happening" - powerful drama about abortion

A young French student grows increasingly desperate as she searches for illegal ways to get an abortion in Audrey Diwan's emotional drama, which won the Golden Lion at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on Saturday night. . "'Happening' presents the experiences of French women who wanted to have an abortion before the then Minister of Health in France, Simone Veil, proposed the law to legalize abortion in 1975", writes the British medium "Screen Daily" about the film in it which is also played by the actress from Kosovo, Luana Bajrami, now also known as a director with "Hill lionesses" – a French-Kosovar co-production, shot entirely in Kosovo with a cast of local actors – which had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in July

Venice, September 12 (screendaily.com) – Now that many governments around the world are passing anti-abortion laws, Audrey Diwan's second film is as relevant as it is timely. However, this does not mean that the last fifteen minutes of the film are easy to watch. Being an adaptation of Annie Ernaux's autobiographical novel, in which she recalls her experience as a twenty-three-year-old student in 1963, the film "Happening" presents the experiences of French women who wanted to have an abortion before the then Minister of Health in France , Simone Veil, to propose the law to legalize abortion in 1975.

Embroidery needles, scissors, and a tool of illegal abortion "doctors" called a "magic stick" are featured in the bloody scenes, which are not easy to watch without covering your eyes with your hands. Still, those same viewers will say these scenes are must-sees! The message that Diwan tries to convey is clear: these scenes show what Annie Ernaux experienced as a twenty-three-year-old, when she almost died as a result of the laws prohibiting abortion. The same scenes will repeat themselves if the same laws remain in force.

However, if "Happening" is not distributed and viewed around the world, the reason will not be only the fact that the horrors of illegal abortion are presented in a very open way. Much of the film leading up to the emotional climax doesn't place much dramatic tension on the shoulders of French-Romanian actress Anamaria Vartolomei, who began her career as a twelve-year-old in Eva Ionesco's My Little Princess. She skillfully brings to life the character of Anne, a literature student who is horrified when she realizes she is pregnant as a result of a brief encounter. Bartolomei appears in every scene of the film, shot in a claustrophobic frame (4:3 aspect ratio), conveying a fusion of emotions between fragility and determination.

The audience expresses empathy towards Anne, but keeping a distance; the same as the protagonist herself, who sees as a solution the closing in herself until she reaches her goal. The only moment when Anne appears openly with someone in the film is when a fireman asks her what's wrong, and she replies: "I'm lonely".

Perhaps intending to stay true to its source, Annie Ernaux's autobiographical novel, The Happening shows the events of the twelve weeks leading up to the final crisis, marking each week with a distinct title. However, through this presentation, director Diwan and screenwriter Marcia Romano were able to place Anne's pregnancy in a wider social context. As a literature student at the University of Angouleme, Anne lives in a student dormitory with her close friends, Helene (portrayed by Albanian actress Luana Bajrami) and Brigitte (Louise Orry-Disquero). Anne is a female student and her pregnancy – confirmed by a sympathetic but incapable of helping her – comes as a death sentence. "Pregnancy is", according to Anne, "the disease that transforms French women into housewives".

A friend to whom Anne turns for help responds by asking for sexual favors, because being pregnant she is no longer a danger to him, and since she has had sex before means she is ready again . When Anne tells her close friends about the pregnancy, Brigitte tells her that she has no money to get involved in the matter, because anyone who assists in an illegal abortion is prosecuted by the law. So after a brief visit to her parents who can't help, and a terrible weekend with her partner, who will just walk away from the problem, Anne, who is already increasingly isolated, decides perform the abortion himself with a hot embroidering lance.

also Culture October 6, 2022 "Happening" of the "Golden Lion" with the novel of the Nobel laureate and the actress from Kosovo

From here, the film escalates into two bloody, hard-to-watch scenes in the attic of the apartment of an illegal abortion "doctor" (portrayed by Sandrine Bonnaire). Everything else, including Anne's aim to finish her studies, her passion for writing, her determination not to fall victim to social pressure, is replaced by pain and agony as she tries not to cry in the dirty, brick-walled attic. money

A slow piano melody accompanies the scenes during the weeks when Anne's life and future are in question. But the most remarkable feature of the film is the fact that the 60s are shown in a minimalist way, which looks a lot like provincial France today, except for the ties, jackets, and rock n' roll songs.

Taken from "screendaily.com". The title belongs to the editors. Translated by: Cruise Sadiku