“The greatest happiness in life is to know that we are loved” – Victor Hugo
Audrey Diwan’s (Losing It) harrowing abortion drama happening, which won the Golden Lion Award in 2021 at the Venice Film Festival, takes place in rural France in the 1960s – a decade before France legalized abortion. The film, based on Annie Erma’s memoir “Les Annees Super-8”, is a powerful and at times uncomfortable reminder of the dangers associated with illegal, back-alley abortions. These procedures can be dangerous to both the unborn baby and the mother. The film, co-written by Marcia Romano (Peaceful) and brought to life through the naturalistic cinematography by Laurent Tangy (Mascarade), dramatizes the painful quest of a young girl to end her unwanted pregnancy.
She lives in a school dorm with her best friends Helene (Luana Bajrami, “a href=”https://thecriticalcritics.com/reviews/movie-review-portrait of a lady on fire/”>Portrait of a Lady on Fire/a>) and Brigitte (Louise Orry Diquero, “Occidental”) without the presence of her parents Jacques and Gabrielle. She lives in a dorm at a university with her two best friends Helene and Brigitte, who are independent of her parents Jacques and Gabrielle, played by Eric Verdin and Sandrine Bonnenaire respectively. Anne, who is studying to get into a top-notch university, discovers she’s pregnant. This will affect her education.
Diwan does not spare any detail in her portrayal of the emotional and physical trauma that a young girl has to endure to obtain an abortion. Happening is essential viewing for anyone who wants to understand the Supreme Court’s decision to end Roe v Wade. This ruling, which protected abortion providers and seekers for fifty years, was overturned by the Supreme Court. Anne’s immature roommates, who spend the day studying and the night looking for adventure at local clubs, are hard to tell apart until they discover her.
Women who interact with boys too often are called “loose,” “sluts,” or even “hooligans,” while their sexual interactions consist of acting their fantasies in their dorms. The temperature in Anne’s room drops to zero when her roommates find out that she is pregnant. Her “best friend”, Brigitte, tells Anne coldly, “it’s none of our business.”
Facing the potential of jail time for both the patient and doctor, she is told by a doctor (Fabrizio rongione “The Unknown girl“) that she must keep the child. He reminds her she can’t even talk about the issue with him. Jean (Kacey Klein, “Being 16“) also turns Anne’s plea to help into a sexual proposal, asking “why not?” because she is no longer at risk of getting pregnant. Anne finally finds Madame Riviere, a secretive practitioner (Anna Mouglalis from “The Salamander”), but her troubles are only just beginning.
Diwan’s “horror story” is not melodramatic, despite its horrifying images. Instead, it paints a realistic, tense and engaging picture of the life of a young mother who was carrying an unwanted baby and how that could change again if our collective voices were not heard. As in Ursula Meier’s brilliant 2012 film “Sister”, life for an unwanted baby may not be any better than nothing at all. Meier shows that even a child who is incredibly talented and resilient cannot make up for the lack of love in the world.
