"During a student party, Mariam, a young Tunisian woman, meets the mysterious Youssef and leaves with him. A long night will begin, during which she'll have to fight for her rights and her dignity. But how can Justice be made when it lies on the side of the tormentors?"
Oh my god, what an unsettling film. Never before have a sat through something that has left me feeling so nauseated and uncomfortable. Credit to everyone involved, that this film was able to have brought about such a strong, visceral reaction.
Truly understanding the differences in gender is sometimes difficult to really comprehend. With biological differences providing us men with an advantage in physical altercations, we take for granted our ability to go where we want and do as we please with little to no harassment. With many roles of power and control dominated by men, the solidarity of men comes at the detriment of women and non-males alike.
And this is the case, in this French/Tunisian film. Beauty and the Dogs is an absolute punch to the gut for anyone that laughs, belittles, disregards, or otherwise disrespects rape victims. The reality of what women must often go through to try and bring a rapist to justice is horrendous, and this visual reimagining of what I hope is a worst case scenario, is the real horror movie that the men of the world all need to see.
Looking at the style of the film, Beauty and the Dogs is split into nine sections; each section comprised of a single shot. So smoothly done, that initially, you are unaware that it is all a single shot. Everything flows well, and the camera pivots around the protagonist moving in and out when conversing or moving. But as time progresses, the constantly following camera starts to feel threatening in itself, constantly pursuing this woman that just wants everything to be over.
As each section ends, the screen turns to black and you are catapulted to a new location at a future point in time, and it leaves you disoriented and lost; a fitting decision that really gets you in the mindset of this woman that has been constantly pursued and abused throughout the night. All occurring in low light conditions, there is a darkness and threat level that leaves the viewer in a constant state of tension.
There are some sections where the single shot decision does come off a little bland from a cinematography standpoint, where lingering conversations in restrictive rooms leave little option for movement in camera angles. The overarching tension keeps you glued to your seat, however as you watch this woman as she fights for control against those trying to help her and those that try to deceive and break her, one of the biggest opponents being bureaucracy itself
A shockingly necessary film in light of the #MeToo movement, despite its incredibly uneasy content, an educational resource in terms of bringing empathy to a gender that isn’t always able to understand its privilege.