📜 Documentary (2023) 🌟 96th Academy Awards 🌴 Cannes

"Some people dream of going to the Maldives. My sister, she dreamed of spending a night in a grave."

"They say that a cat—no, don't scratch me!—is so afraid for her babies that she eats them. I was so afraid for them that I was unable to protect them. I didn't eat them, but I lost them."

Four Daughters is so much better than I expected from the blurb. I won't be forgetting this film. It is dark, joyful, filled with grief, and, above all, alive and full of human experience.

Quick note—someone I was watching it with couldn’t take it and left early, so a heads up that the material can be upsetting. It was fine for me. Also, it's best if you watch this totally blind.

Four Daughters showed me a reality I am not exposed to. A good portion of the film represents the dynamic between the daughters and the mother as the family and several actors discuss and then re-enact scenes from their past.

Moments of surprising levity frequently break through the most challenging scenes. The daughters’ resilience and their ability to recover from tragic events and childhood damage is just remarkable. This is a family that still disagrees on many points, but the love is clear. They’ve all lived out the same story, and this is what we are treated to for nearly two hours.

If this documentary was simply about the daily life of one family in Tunisia, it would already be worth watching. And if it were only about intergenerational trauma and breaking that chain, it would also be worth watching. But when events separate members of the family, there are surprises in store that shocked and fascinated me and filled me with compassion and vicarious grief. I could watch this again right away. I hope life is easier for Olfa and her daughters going forward.

Four Daughters was a pleasure to watch in the details as well as the main story. The use of color and reflective surfaces in the beginning is eye-catching and engaging; everything is enjoyable to watch. As for the acting, I have never seen three actresses spend time with a family to accurately represent lost relatives and their experiences of the past. There is even an actress prepared to play the mother, Olga, anytime the story gets too hard for her to re-enact. All of the actresses are convincing, and it never feels fake or forced.

The actress portraying Olga in hard scenes does an incredible job, and she has some of my favorite moments, because to better understand her character she debates with genuine Olga about how she treated her daughters. Seeing the actress press back against the person she is depicting fascinated me.

And Olga’s life story prior to her family is interesting: she says she knows she raised her children in the way her parents and grandparents raised their children, and that this is the generation that needs to break this traumatic chain. It’s an optimistic moment to see present Olga so clear about what has happened and the ways she acted that should be changed.

I'll be looking forward to following Kaouther Ben Hania's career. I only just now noticed that she has directed Beauty and the Dogs, a dark and ambitious film about sexual assault done in long single take scenes. I've got a review in progress for that, so it was a nice surprise.

In the darkest moments this shows a side of humanity that needs to be seen, good and bad, and the film treats every moment with compassion.

Entirely recommended. Please watch it.

Some Lists:

🌟 Academy Awards Shortlisted Films Ranked
🌟 96th Academy Awards Best Documentary Ranked
🌴 Cannes 2023 Ranked | 🏆 2023 Ranked
🎭 Drama Ranked | 📜 Documentaries Ranked
💎 Slightly Hidden Horror Gems and 🌱 Candidates
📽️ Viewing Next 🗂️ Index of Lists

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