Spoiler Warning: This discussion features some important narrative information that could spoil the text for you. It does not necessarily spell out the film's conclusion, but it does talk about events in detail.
"You're all pale."
Happening, winner of the 2021 Golden Lion in Venice, was a film that I just missed out on for its UK cinema run, despite being desperate to catch it. One year later, it's easy to see why it won that eminent award, with a potent social trauma that feels even more timely now in its short lifespan. It helps a great deal that Audrey Diwan's text is such a squirming, alarming, upsetting, and brilliant dissection of the issues at hand.
The setting of this text is mouthwatering: 1960s France, centring on a young literature student whose seemingly perfect life begins to spiral out of control when it should all have been so simple. I think that's another reason this is so heartbreaking - you're watching someone who is so highly intelligent, someone who is at the top of her class, someone popular with her peers - have her life torn apart because her country's out-of-touch laws prevent her from doing what she wants to with her own body. Anamaria Vartolomei is breathtaking as Anne, perfectly capturing the sadness and fear of potentially seeing her parents laugh for the final time, the anxious pressure mounting from every angle, and the immense pain from her attempted self surgeries. She's all-encompassing here.
I love the direction of Diwan; her 35mm cinematography is gorgeous, and the 1.37:1 aspect ratio begins to feel exceedingly claustrophobic with every setback Anne suffers. The sound design during her initial attempt at a home abortion is like something from a horror film, the deafening silence broken by the shirk of a metal rod or a stifled whimper will make you writhe in your seat. The interactions she has with those around her also tend to make you remarkably uncomfortable, as though she has nowhere to go for any sense of support. It's outstanding writing, acting, and directing to achieve it as well as it does.
Happening is a devastating tale, one that rings just as vital in 1963 as it does in 2022. It's texts like this that make you remember we have not come as far as we think we have. The contrast between this film's beauty and the ugly politics it delves into is worthy of your time alone, never mind the effectiveness of its lead performance. This is one of the best foreign films I've seen in the last decade, do not let the slower pace and upsetting topic detract you from this one. The comparisons to Never Rarely Sometimes Always are not for subject matter alone.
