Women Talking

Ja, Frauen sprechen, sie diskutieren, sie streiten, sie philosophieren. Acht Frauen einer mennonitischen Gemeinde treffen sich dazu in einer Scheune. Sie haben wenig Zeit, bald sind die Männer zurück, über die sie hier entscheiden wollen. Jahrelang haben diese sie immer wieder betäubt und vergewaltigt, die Verbrechen als „wilde weibliche Fantasien“ denunziert. So verschieden die Frauen, so divers ihre Argumente, so gebannt folgen wir dem von einem grandiosen Schauspielerinnenensemble getragenen Diskurs. Der mag auf reale Ereignisse 2010 zurückgehen, das dort verhandelte Ende des Patriarchats ist zeit- und, so hoffen wir mit den Frauen, alternativlos. (Barbara Kronsfoth)

A decade ago, a conspiracy involving sexual abuse within a Mennonite community was uncovered. Seven men had been raping more than a hundred women, using powerful drugs to put them to sleep and blaming the acts on supernatural incidents. Miriam Toews, a woman raised in a community just like this one, wrote a novel about the case, but from a different, provocative angle. Instead of writing about the crimes themselves, she imagined their consequences.
WOMEN TALKING mostly takes place in a barn and deals with eight women discussing what happened and trying to decide what to do about it. The elders (all men) in the community not only do not help but put extreme pressure on the women: put up with the situation or leave, which for them means losing their chance to enter the Promised Land, among other, more realistic risks. With a great cast and a compelling “case”, this film could be seen in stylistic terms as a female version of the classic TWELVE ANGRY MEN, although the characters here are risking their own lives with the decision they take. This is a story about a crime, but it’s also about centuries of injustice. (Chaiya Thongthang)

Sarah Polley: DON’T THINK TWICE (1999, K), I SHOUT LOVE (2001, K), AWAY FROM HER (2006), TAKE THIS WALTZ (2011), HEY LADY! (2020, TV-Serie)