Given the topic, there’s no surprise that Beauty and the Dogs is a harrowing watch. The gang rape itself is thankfully not depicted, but the journey to getting help– trying to get medical attention, going from station to station, and finally getting a report done in the very station the police perpetrators are parked in– is absolutely horrifying. Through nine long shots, writer-director Kaouther Ben Hania shows each step in real time. It’s a brilliant way to hone into the subtle details, such as the way the police protected each other, or when some took the accusation seriously, there were no measures to ensure Mariam’s safety. Beauty and the Dogs is not an easy watch, but it’s a necessary one to highlight the system’s deficiencies in addressing this crime.
When Mariam, a young Tunisian woman, is raped by police officers after leaving a party, she is propelled into a harrowing night in which she must fight for her rights even though justice lies on the side of her tormentors.
After a carefree evening gone wrong, college student Mariam seeks for assistance from hospital personnel and numerous police stations to bring her rapists to justice. Instead, Marian encounters a bureaucratic nightmare, when revealed that the perpetrators were also officers.
The long takes. Depicting each step in real time drives home the toll it takes just to report the crime, never mind actually going through a criminal trial.
Don't ever give up your rights!
Cannes
1 nomination
