The film directed by the French Audrey Diwan, is a denunciation of the silence that surrounds abortion.
Many of Annie Ernaux’s novels have an autobiographical component through which the author not only exorcises her personal ghosts, but also reveals how women are judged for their decisions, their bodies or their desire in the womb. of a profoundly hypocritical society. In ‘The Event’ the author recounts a traumatic episode in her youth when, in France in the 1960s, after becoming pregnant, she wanted to have an abortion when she was still punished by law in order to continue her studies.
Now, director Audrey Diwan adapts Ernaux with the same incisive clarity of her text, taking us into the claustrophobic microcosm of Anne and her agonizing struggle within the hostile context that surrounds her, in which moral oppression dominates the environment. It is really disturbing how the camera closely follows the footsteps of the protagonist, played by a dazzling Anamaria Vartolomei, on a nightmarish path in which she will have to face the constant humiliation of her surroundings, something to which the video format will also contribute. screen, square that serves to constrain her movements even more, trapping her in an anguished and feverish spiral, almost as if we were in a horror movie.
A knot in the guts
At a time when wearing a bra was considered an act of rebellion and having sex, a sentence, Anne will stand firm in her determination and fight against a perverse and castrating system ready to destroy her identity with perverse looks. The event is a film about abortion, but, above all, about women’s freedom of choice. An intimate and political manifesto shot in a physical and emotional way, in which the female body becomes a source of punishment. It is inevitable to recall another masterpiece on clandestine abortion, on that occasion in occupied France, such as ‘A Women’s Affair’, by Claude Chabrol, in which the loneliness, emptiness and despair at the that the characters were doomed. Diwan’s point of view is also historical and vindictive, but what is completely disarming is his ability to feel and experience a knot in the bowels that tears, shakes and stirs still in our presentas well as his mastery and rigor when it comes to combining form and substance.
For trackers of cinematic events destined to remain in time
DATA SHEET
Direction: Audrey Dewan Distribution: Anamaria Vartolomei, Sandrine Bonnaire, Luana Bajrami and Anna Mouglais Original title: L’événement Country: France Year: 2021 Release date: 03-18-2022 Gender: Drama Script: Audrey Diwan, Marcia Romano. Novel: annie ernaux Duration: 100 minutes
Synopsis: France, 1963. Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei), a bright young student with a promising future, discovers that she is pregnant. From one day to the next, she sees the opportunity to finish her studies and escape from the suffocating restrictions of her environment cut short. With final exams looming and a belly that won’t stop growing, she Anne decides to take action, even if it means facing shame, pain and even going to jail for it.
Source: Fotogramas
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
