Women Talking

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)