In 1963, a student (Anamaria Vartolomei) gets pregnant and desperately wants an abortion, risking her life before it is ruined. Based on personal experiences, author Annie Ernaux depicted a terrifying reality for young women not that long ago; in 1960s France, even the doctors who examined you stood ready not to help but to send you to prison. This adaptation of Ernaux’s novel illustrates the horror of a society denying women the right to choose their own destiny – and how lonely and vulnerable a pregnancy could make you feel. Rarely has an abortion been shown to such a revolting effect; fine lead performance by Vartolomei.
2021-France. 100 min. Color. Produced by Alice Girard, Edouard Weil. Directed by Audrey Diwan. Screenplay: Marcia Romano, Audrey Diwan. Novel: Annie Ernaux. Cast: Anamaria Vartolomei (Anne), Kacey Mottet Klein (Jean), Sandrine Bonnaire (Gabrielle), Louise Orry-Diquero, Louise Chevillotte, Pio Marmaï.
Trivia: Original title: L’événement.
Venice: Golden Lion.Â
Last word: “There is always somewhere in the world where the law is changing, and not for the better. That was one of the reasons I didn’t want to make a period piece, but a movie where you can actually feel second after second what is going on and live it as if you were in the ’60s, now, considering the fact of the world we’re in, it’s always the same matter in a way.” (Diwan, The Wrap)
