Four Daughters

Name: Four Daughters
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2023
Duration: 1 h 47 min

Save

Documentary

2023
Kaouther Ben Hania
107 mins
15

Summary

Between light and darkness stands Olfa, a Tunisian woman and the mother of four daughters. One day, her two older daughters disappear. Filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania invites professional actresses to fill in their absence.

IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

James Mottram

This experimental blend of documentary and fiction offers a fascinating look at a family in crisis. The focus is Tunisian mother Olfa Hamrouni, who saw two of her four daughters join Islamic State in Libya. Rather than merely interview Hamrouni, director Kaouther Ben Hania (The Man Who Sold His Skin) takes the unusual step of dramatising moments from the family's past, with the mother and her two remaining daughters, Eya and Tayssir, filmed alongside actors Nour Karoui and Ichraq Matar, playing the two missing girls. At times, the director even deploys actor Hend Sabry to play Hamrouni, for moments that are too traumatic for her to speak about. Gradually, a picture builds of Hamrouni's early years, the abuse she suffered, and how that affected her treatment of her own children. The result is complex, confrontational and ultimately cathartic, as mother and daughters come to explore their contentious, damaged relationships. As docu-fiction goes, this is radical, searingly honest and highly moving.

imdb-square

7.4/10