Through The Night (2023) Venice 2023

Dary assaults Aly. Stuck in a car with him she calls the police pretending to call her sister as a way of getting help. Anna takes the call and takes steps to stop anything further from happening. Over the next few weeks the fall out of the events of that night play out.

Feature expansion of director Delphine Girard's short film SISTER is a heavy night at the movies. A serious examination of sexual assault and it's aftermath is going to be tough sledding for many.  It's a film that puts us in a dark place and keeps us there as the film explores the devastating effect on all the parties. It does not have knee jerk answers nor does it sugar coat things. It's a film that drops us into the psyche of its characters.

I was disturbed and made uncomfortable. The film kicked up some things I really wasn't in the mood to wrestle with. (Sometimes I need to be more aware of what order I am watching films). It comes at the issue of sexual assault from an angles we don't usually see, and dares to ask, even in passing, why did this happen. For me the moment toward the end when Dary is asked if he wanted Aly in his life why he did what he did, raised a lot of questions since I could weirdly connect  that question to how men see women or are taught to view women, even in an enlightened society.

While I could have used a few less moments of silence or perfectly framed images to hit a point home I really liked this film a great deal. Actually I wish I could have seen it with some friends so the film could be discussed and dissected. 

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