Welcome to our Colossus Movie Guide for Women Talking. This guide contains everything you need to understand the movie. You’ll find a quick explanation of Women Talking, as well as our library of material covering key aspects of the movie. We encourage comments to help us put together the best possible guide. Thank you!
The Quick Explanation
Women Talking is a film is based on real events that took place in 2005 when more than 300 Mennonite women living in a secluded colony in Bolivia were drugged and raped by the local men. The attackers blamed the victims’ claims on “wild female imagination.” As an aggressive counter, the movie (which is based on a book that carries the same defiant tone) states in the opening seconds that what we’re about to see is “an act of female imagination.” It’s a cheeky way of positioning the movie’s framework, which provides the space and breadth for these Mennonite women to talk and determine they and their children’s future. The movie is calling out the unfortunately popular notion that women could imagine something so heinous, while also noting the irony that this is the first time in these Mennonite women’s lives they’ve been allowed to imagine a civilization where they will feel safe and empowered.
While we usually laud films for “showing” rather than “telling,” Women Talking is very much a film about telling. These Mennonite women have never had the space to converse and emote and project. Their voices have constantly been buried by the men of the colony. So on this night while the men are away, these women share a frantically important conversation that comes to embody their indefinite struggle. This leads to frustration and disagreements, as they have one night and one night only to navigate decades of silenced aspirations, grievances, and resentments. Throughout this discourse, the women are challenged in several different ways—in their social ideologies, in their faith, in their motherly instincts, in their philosophies on life. What decision will satisfy all these various avenues? In the end, they choose to leave their colony and build their own world where women have a choice, where their children have a future.
Cast
- Rooney Mara – Ona
- Claire Foy – Salome
- Jessie Buckley – Mariche
- Judith Ivey – Agata
- Ben Whishaw – August
- Frances McDormand – “Scarface” Janz
- Sheila McCarthy – Greta
- Sarah Polley – Writer and director
Movie Guide
Title Explanation
What does the title Women Talking mean? What does it tell us about the movie’s intentions and storyline? Let’s figure it out.
Themes and Meaning
Discover themes that help us define Women Talking’s commentary, message, and meaning.
Ending Explained
If the ending of Women Talking confused you, this explanation will help you understand everything you need to know.
Important Motifs
Explore important motifs that indicate Women Talking’s most crucial moments of symbolism.
Questions and Answers
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