An unprecedented leak that has the effect of a bomb. The American media Politico revealed Monday evening a document attesting that the Supreme Court would be on the verge of reversing the judgment Roe v. Wade, who has guaranteed the right to abortion in the country since 1973, in the name of the right to privacy. The final judgment is not expected before June but if the project were to be adopted, it would then be up to the States to ban – or not – abortion. It is estimated that about half would make abortion illegal. Chance of the calendar, L’Évènement, the strong and political film on a clandestine abortion signed Audrey Diwan, crowned Golden Lion in Venice and released on May 24 on the screens French, is expected this Friday, May 6, 2022 in American theaters. A sad echo of the news of the moment, the film by the French director is more enlightening than ever in the current context. The Event, a necessary film not to be missed Because if the theme of unwanted pregnancy is regularly treated in American cinema , whether it is a pretext for drama or comedy, abortion, although an intrinsic consequence, is on the other hand much less so – or is so in a biased way. Thus, without being openly anti-abortion, it is not uncommon for American fiction to operate a screenplay twist prohibiting the heroine of the film from seriously considering abortion.Juno, Allison and the othersIn Juno, yet an undeniable cinematographic reference about teenage pregnancy for more than a decade, pro-life protesters managed to divert heroin from abortion. In this independent comedy-drama released in 2007, Elliot Page played a 16-year-old girl who accidentally became pregnant and who chose to terminate the unwanted pregnancy. But destabilized by the words of an anti-abortion activist who maintained that “her fetus already has nails”, Juno finally decided to keep her child to entrust him to a couple who could not conceive. Judd Apatow’s job also broached the subject of unwanted pregnancy the day after an alcoholic one-night stand, this time with a thirty-year-old. Allison, an ambitious young woman and careerist played by Katherine Heigl, fell pregnant with the idler Ben Stone (Seth Rogen), for whom she feels no attraction. Despite all these red flags, Allison will never consider abortion seriously and will decide to keep the child to raise it with this parent whom she does not know and does not esteem. The tightening of American law concerning the Abortion Rights resulted in a critically acclaimed drama in 2020 that won the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale. With Never Rarely Sometimes Always, the American Eliza Hittman filmed the wanderings of Autumn, a young teenager from Pennsylvania having to face an unwanted pregnancy in a state with very restrictive legislation. Supported by her cousin Skylar, she then set off on the roads of the country, heading for New York, to have recourse to an abortion, after being confronted with indifferent parents and the puritanism of American institutions. But before him, a feature film of a completely different genre and passed relatively unnoticed, tackled the subject of abortion head-on, halfway between comedy and romantic comedy. With accuracy, humor and a lot of emotion, Obvious Child played down the issue of abortion without trivializing it, in a rare and therefore precious film. Laughing to defend better In 2014, Gillian Robespierre declined her short film Obvious Child feature film of the same name carried by the eccentric Jenny Slate. Former of Saturday Night Live, the comedian revealed by his role of Mona Lisa in the excellent series Parks and Recreation shares the poster with Jake Lacy, revealed in The Office. The tone is thus set, Obvious Child is above all a comedy. Slate embodies Donna, a New York stand-up actress who draws inspiration from her eventful life to perform on stage in sketches with caustic humor. Her favorite subject: her life as a couple, which she extols, plunging her companion into deep discomfort. He will therefore end up leaving her, confessing to her in passing his adulterous relationship with her best friend. Law of the beloved series of cinema obliges, the heroine will also lose her job as a bookseller and will become pregnant after a one-night stand. In a few minutes, the foundations of the classic romantic comedy are laid. But the trio will skilfully divert the codes of the genre to tackle a big piece, abortion, a subject then already sensitive in the United States. Together, with a lot of humor and above all with a lot of honesty, they sign the incongruous and yet successful encounter between romantic comedy and abortion. If the two subjects meet and complement each other, this unwanted pregnancy is not here a dramatic outcome. She is neither the cause of a breakup, nor the pretext for a romantic relationship as in Knocked up, instructions for use. The only provocation of the film would perhaps be to have chosen the day of Saint Valentine as date of the abortion of our heroine, recalling that no feeling will intervene in her decision. If Donna’s life is chaotic, she is surrounded by loving parents and advised by friends present, who have already had recourse to abortion. His choice is presented as rational and thoughtful and his decision, which the film questions but plays down, is in no way taken lightly. Obvious Child’s other major asset is its male character. At first very secondary, Max will then prove to be a treasure of benevolence, attentive and charming but who will never divert the heroine of his choice. If there are outsiders in Donna’s story – friends, lovers, family – she is hers through and through. to be greeted. Indeed, according to a 2017 study relayed by Manifesto XXI which analyzed 80 American productions released between 2005 and 2016, in 37.5% of the stories where the characters choose abortion, the latter results in medical complications, often major. , against 2.1% in reality. both vulnerable and strong. She is perfectly interpreted by Jenny Slate, a bird with a recognizable rocky voice, who reveals herself in a completely different register, sometimes exasperating but above all endearing. Jenny and Donna are funny, on stage, on screen and in life. and irony thus becomes the best defense of the fundamental right to abortion. But Obvious Child is also a romantic comedy that doesn’t forget what it is and ends with the most successful of open endings.
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