Happening is impactful and adds more to the conversation surrounding abortion, which was very refreshing to see.
The moment Audrey Diwan’s second feature film had its debut at the Venice Film Festival and won the Golden Lion, there was a lot of conversation surrounding it. Not only is it such a personal and vulnerable story, but it presented what it considered a taboo subject matter in a way never done before.
Happening follows a young college student named Anne, who has a bright future ahead of her, but finds out she is pregnant. Not wanting it to disrupt her future, she quickly decides that she wants an abortion.
The year is 1963 and access to abortion is forbidden, and Anne is given two choices, either keep the child that she does not want and is clearly not ready for, or seek a solution elsewhere. Diwan described her film as a journey, where the point of it is for the audience to see themselves as Anne, and feel the frustration of a system that still treats pregnant people unjustly.
The film is frustrating in the sense that what it shows, is not something that still is not happening. Many people are still denied control over their own bodies, and have to put themselves in danger to be able to take that control back and make the best decision for themselves. Anne is very naive, she is still figuring out her life, all she knows is to dedicate her time to her studies, she is in no position to raise a child when she is still one herself.
Which is why scene after scene of male doctors lying to her and telling her she is going to have to forcibly give birth are infuriating, because it shows that there’s absolutely no care for her, only for the fetus.
One detail that stands out from this film is the use of the color blue, a color that symbolizes isolation. Anne wears a blue dress almost throughout the entire film, showcasing how lonely she is in this situation and how she is not receiving the support that she needs. It is a very melancholic film, because you feel for her the entire time, regardless of where you stand with abortion, the film showcases her as a child that needs help and support and is getting none.
What is most haunting about this film is the graphic nature of it, it was not afraid to get bloody and showcase how the procedures had to be done back then. It is painful to watch, and then you can be grateful that it doesn’t happen like that anymore, but then you remember that it still does and it becomes an even more painful watch.
Happening is a haunting film, one that I have not stopped thinking about, that serves as both a warning and a look into the struggles that people face. It is impactful and adds more to the conversation surrounding abortion, which was very refreshing to see considering how many films do not bring anything new to the table and stick to the same message.
In Happening, there is a lot going on, and it is a film that left its mark at both Venice and Sundance.
Read more Sundance Film Festival coverage.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
About Happening
In 1963 France, Anne, a promising young university student, is devastated to learn she’s pregnant. She immediately insists on termination, but her physician warns of the unsparing laws against either seeking or aiding abortions, and her tentative attempts to reach out to her closest friends are nervously rebuffed.
As weeks pass, without support or clear access, an increasingly desperate Anne unwaveringly persists in seeking any possible means of ending the pregnancy in hopes of reclaiming her hard-fought future.
Happening played at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
