(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
In the opening sequence in Guiseppe Carrieri's film, we follow the camera along a wide Indian river, while observing a girl, wearing a bright red sari, aboard a boat. Soon the words of the Talmud, the Jewish law collection, appear on the screen: "God counts the woman's tears," and we are left with little doubt about the theme hanaaa going to take care.
As a timely contribution to MeToo debate which has rallied in American and European politics over the past year, Carrier's film ties the life stories of four young women from around the world, specifically India, Nigeria, Peru and Syria. They all carry similar names, but their experiences of gender discrimination and abuse vary.
Hanaa: Four women's fates
"Religion takes precedence over rationality," the Indian girl quotes her grandmother. Superstition controls her life; a red flower that had brought good luck to her mother, she nevertheless did not save from her fate – death at a young age, which we see in the film unmistakably.
A Nigerian girl named Hana (the film's title reflects the small variations in the characters' names) recounts her experiences in the hands of Islamic extremists, where she was named Selma and where every third girl died.
In Peru, Ana tells of the love she experienced with a young man until he disappeared when she became pregnant. The family accused her of being a whore and threw her out of their home in a poor place neighborhood. Now she goes on the street and sells her body to save her infant, while counting seconds to quell the fear of assault and robbery.
Myths and superstitions are the means a patriarchal society uses to impose its will on young women.
The film moves on to Syria – from an Indian provincial radio broadcast about the conflict – to grainy video footage of girls aged 13-15 being interviewed about their background and marriage prospects. The images of Aleppo's ruined streets and missiles raining down from the sky are cross-cut against images from a classroom full of young women, thus suggesting the complex world young Syrian women must learn to relate to. And then we're back in Peru to pursue the thread further.
"Your grandson's fate is written down"
Carrieri's rushed pace – which slowly reveals the film's content and intention – is not for everyone, but by letting the images and information flow together in a stream of consciousness, the narrative builds up. It is understood that this is fundamentally a film about the conflict between dreams and reality and the power of myths to influence behavior.
Apparently detached elements – a close-up of the pregnant belly of a young Peruvian woman slipping away as we listen to the narrative voice ("If you stare long enough at the moon you'll fall in love with it") – takes us seamlessly over to Nigeria. The film eventually constructs a universe where we begin to understand how young women are programmed to participate in their own oppression.
"You can't do anything: Your granddaughter's fate is written down. I am just an instrument, ”says an Indian holy man to an Indian grandmother before telling her that the girl must clean herself in the water from a holy river and then dress in red.
Myths and superstitions are the means a patriarchal society uses to impose its will on young women. Only gradually is the viewer drawn into the young women's inner world: In Peru, the weeping Ana admits that she fears ending up as her mother – abused and beaten by a violent man. And her high-pregnant roommate says that she – like Ana – was thrown out of the house. "Everything happened very quickly, my parents asked me not to come home anymore. And I didn't. "
Rape and exploitation
hanaaa explores innocence, hope, betrayal and adversity. In Peru, Ana and her pregnant girlfriend are lying on the bed talking about the upcoming birth. In a threatening world, Anas and her girlfriend's baby just have each other. And despite the enormous responsibility they both have to bear, they talk like young girls as they giggle and joke about possible names for the child. Gradually, we approach the darker experiences of the young women. A Nigerian girl describes in prosaic terms how she was raped by a member of Boko Haram. "He ordered me to take off my jacket and pants ... then he threw me to the ground. He took off his underpants and penetrated me… ”
A Peruvian girl describes how she was asked about sex in exchange for an abortion in a back alley.
A Peruvian girl describes how she was asked about sex in exchange for an abortion (her other) in a back alley when she was four months on the road. "The operation was performed in a garage." She swallows, stops and adds: “I didn't think I was going to survive. I saw him throw the fetus in the garbage. "
Vitality in a gloomy world
Poverty, youth (the subjects in the film are all between 13 and 15) and powerlessness – the themes resonate throughout the film. Our daughters need protection. "Marriage is the only way out," says a Syrian mother. In India, a little girl, draped in a red shawl, gets married to a twice as old man.
But even if hanaaa is a film about dealing with a bleak world, it does not despair, but instead manages to celebrate the vitality of the young women who maintain the ability to live and laugh at all odds.
