Nov. 2, 2022: L’événement / Happening

Wednesday, November 2, 2022
7 pm @ Galaxy Cinemas, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Director: Audrey Diwan
France 2021
French; 100 minutes
Rated: R for disturbing material/images, sexual content, and graphic nudity.

France, 1963. Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei) is a bright young student with a promising future ahead of her. But when she falls pregnant, she sees the opportunity to finish her studies disappearing. Adapted from Annie Ernaux’s autobiographical novel, Happening recounts a young woman’s battle to access an abortion at a time when she risks prison to do so. Beautifully directed by Audrey Diwan, this powerful and gripping drama is an honest and timely exploration of the consequences of a society where women’s desires, choices, and sexuality are censured.

The film’s real power comes … from the emotional connection that Diwan deftly creates between Anne and an audience that finds itself living her trauma rather than just watching it. Wendy Ide, Observer (UK)

 … the film thrums with the practical resolve of a young woman desperate to begin her own life before creating another. Danny Leigh, Financial Times

Sublime, in the truest sense of the word, it offers a take on the swinging 60s that contains images as gorgeous as anything in a Monet painting, as well as details so ugly you may keep forgetting to breathe. Charlotte O’Sullivan, London Evening Standard