Happening (2022)
RT Audience Score: 71%
Awards & Nominations: 1 BAFTA Award
13 wins & 16 nominations
A tough but rewarding watch, Happening puts a personal face on an impossibly difficult choice and its heart-rending aftermath.
If you’re in the mood for a movie that’ll make you feel all the feels, Happening is the one for you. It’s not an easy watch, but boy is it worth it. This flick takes a tough decision and shows you the real-life consequences in a way that’ll leave you feeling like you’ve been punched in the gut (in a good way, if that’s possible). It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, but you’ll come out the other side feeling like you’ve been on a journey. So grab some tissues and get ready for a wild ride.
Production Company(ies)
Foreign Language, Social
Distributor
IFC Films
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
2022
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
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Runtime:1h 40m
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Language(s):French
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Country of origin:France
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 6, 2022 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 21, 2022
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Happening, drama, French, Audrey Diwan, Alice Girard, Edouard Weil, Marcia Romano, Annie Ernaux, Anamaria Vartolomei, Sandrine Bonnaire, Kacey Mottet Klein, Luàna Bajrami, Louise Orry-Diquéro, Louise Chevillotte, R rating, sexual content, graphic nudity, disturbing material/images, limited release, streaming, box office, IFC Films, flat aspect ratio, abortion, personal choice, social constraints, pregnancy, shame, pain, prison, critic reviews, Alissa Wilkinson, Anton Bitel, Adam Nayman, Danny Leigh, Kimber Myers, Kathleen Sachs, Brandon Judell, Victor Esquirol, Margot Harrison, Juan Pablo Russo, Matt Hudson, audience score, Tomatometer, Vox, Little White Lies, The Ringer, Financial Times, Crooked Marquee, Chicago Reader, Brandon Judell (Medium), Otroscines.com, Seven Days, EscribiendoCine, What I Watched Tonight, Todas PR
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend: $33,312
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $33,312
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,329
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): €5,200,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $5,200,000
Production budget ranking: 1,787
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,800,200
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Sandrine Bonnaire – Gabrielle Duchesne
Kacey Mottet Klein – Jean
Luàna Bajrami – Hélène
Louise Orry-Diquéro – Brigitte
Louise Chevillotte – Olivia
Director(s)
Audrey Diwan
Writer(s)
Marcia Romano, Audrey Diwan, Annie Ernaux
Producer(s)
Alice Girard, Edouard Weil
Film Festivals
Sundance, Venice
Awards & Nominations
1 BAFTA Award
13 wins & 16 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (161) | Top Critics (50) | Fresh (160) | Rotten (1)
It’s brutal in spots, but especially vital to watch right now.
August 5, 2022
Alissa Wilkinson
Vox
TOP CRITIC
the film, calibrated in passing weeks, closely tracks Anne’s efforts – greatly circumscribed and increasingly desperate – to choose her own future.
August 2, 2022
Anton Bitel
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
Anamaria Vartolomei’s lead performance is necessarily and intensely physical—and subject to some harrowing bodily choreography in the homestretch—but what binds us to her is a sense of the perceptive, gifted writer trapped behind weary, terrified eyes.
July 9, 2022
Adam Nayman
The Ringer
TOP CRITIC
Not a moment feels didactic, and Anne never seems like a case study. Instead, the film thrums with the practical resolve of a young woman desperate to begin her own life before creating another.
June 10, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Danny Leigh
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
Despite its decades-ago setting, Happening has never been more relevant, particularly for audiences in America. Diwan’s drama serves as a warning of what people may experience if Roe is overturned.
May 17, 2022 | Rating: A-
Kimber Myers
Crooked Marquee
TOP CRITIC
The no-holds-barred approach to the abortion procedure and its aftermath is the kind of interpretation of real life that great cinema does best.
May 14, 2022
Kathleen Sachs
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The most-need-to-be-seen feature of the year . . . . In this grippingly honest, no-holds-barred film, a 23-year-old lit student seeks an abortion in 1963 France, an act for which she, her doctor, and anyone else who aids her can be sent to prison.
August 14, 2022 | Rating: 9/10
Brandon Judell
Brandon Judell (Medium)
When Diwan has to choose between reckoning the protagonist or impacting the audience, she chooses the latter. And for a few minutes, everything falls apart… almost impeccable otherwise. Almost. [Full review in Spanish]
August 8, 2022 | Rating: 3/5
Victor Esquirol
Otroscines.com
No, it’s not an upbeat subject. But perhaps now, with Roe overturned and people experiencing the consequences of abortion bans, it’s time to watch this movie.
July 28, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
Margot Harrison
Seven Days
Diwan relies on a raw and daring mise-en-scène, and avoids becoming a pamphlet. [Full review in Spanish]
July 26, 2022 | Rating: 8/10
Juan Pablo Russo
EscribiendoCine
Happening is an honest, harrowing, frighteningly timely, moving, and powerful experience.
July 25, 2022 | Rating: 10/10
Matt Hudson
What I Watched Tonight
Happening presenta con firmeza cómo la experiencia traumática no radica en el acto del aborto en sí, sino en el terror que genera un embarazo forzado por falta de apoyo médico adecuado.
July 4, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Josie Melendez
Todas PR…
Plot
France, 1963. Anne is a bright young student with a promising future ahead of her. But when she falls pregnant, she sees the opportunity to finish her studies and escape the constraints of her social background disappearing. With her final exams fast approaching and her belly growing, Anne resolves to act, even if she has to confront shame and pain, even if she must risk prison to do so… Based on the 2000 autobiographical novel by Annie Ernaux.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Anamaria Vartolomei plays the lead role of Anne in Happening (2021).
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