An Abortion Film That’s Both Topical and Timeless
In the Sundance drama <em>Happening</em>, the hardest part of one woman’s unwanted pregnancy is managing everyone else’s expectations.
Anne Duchesne, the hero of the film , is an intelligent and serious 23-year-old woman who knows what she wants. It’s 1963 in southwest France, and if her leering university classmates judge her, the daughter of a working-class family, for her literary ambitions and for hooking up with local men, so be it. Played by Anamaria Vartolomei, Anne is economical with her words and her friendships. She rarely switches up her wardrobe or hairstyle. And when she learns that she’s pregnant, she immediately asks her
