Women Talking is all about a religious and close-knit group of women who are faced with a difficult decision.
As they admit to each other that the men are raping them at night and suffering from domestic violence. They have three options – do they do nothing and stay, fight or flee?
Most of the conversations happen in a barn. Each of the characters represents a different point of view and they take turns debating the pros and cons. Their shared religious beliefs are challenged.
The women are unable to read or write, so they ask a male teacher to take notes. We all need our males to be a little more like August – to listen without judgment nor try to solve the problem.
Despite one of the men being kept in jail, he’ll soon be released and this sparks the need for change and fear.
The film is based on a true story and novel written by Miriam Toews. There were more than hundreds of cases of females being drugged by livestock tranquillizers and violently being assaulted. It happened in a deeply religious Mennonite community in Bolivia.
(I’m going to admit I naively left the theatre thinking it was about a sort of Amish community in America. It feels like it could have happened fifty years ago).
The acting is brilliant, but sometimes there is simply just too much talking. We only see glimpses of what their day-to-day lives are like. And it’s heartbreaking to see them pack up their lives and meagre possessions.
Women Talking is about female empowerment and taking the risk of starting over.
About Women Talking
In 2010, the women of an isolated religious community grapple with reconciling their reality with their faith. #WomenTalking
Cast: Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Ben Whishaw, and Frances McDormand
Director: Sarah Polley
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