French Abortion Drama ‘Happening’ Just Became the Year’s Most Timely Film
variety.comBrent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Happening” unfolds in 1963 France, but the story of a woman risking imprisonment and her health to obtain an illegal abortion has emerged as the year’s most urgent drama.“When I started thinking about making a movie about this topic, everybody asked why I would want to do that at this time?” says Audrey Diwan, director and co-writer of the IFC film, debuting in theaters May 6. “Now everybody tells me how timely it is.”That’s because in the years that it took Diwan to bring “Happening” to the screen, the composition of the U.S.
Supreme Court shifted dramatically to the right, with conservative justices achieving a supermajority.Now, per Politico, the Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark Roe v.
Wade decision — and with it nearly 50 years of abortion protections — according to an initial draft majority opinion circulated inside the court. “Happening” provides a deeply personal look at the ramifications of such a move.
In it, Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei), a promising student with ambitions of using her education to break out of her lower-class life, finds herself pregnant and desperate.
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