It can be safely said that incest remains a taboo subject – this much can be deduced from the impressive documentary Such a Resounding Silence, in which victims of incest are given the chance to speak up. The film is empowering in conveying the incredible resilience and mental strength of the protagonists, which also keeps co-director Béart – herself a victim of childhood incest who at one point wants to quit the project – going.
Award-winning French actress Emmanuelle Béart co-directed this film and is one of its protagonists, as she herself was sexually abused as a young teenager. Through talking and listening to other victims of incest she is gradually becoming able to understand more about her own trauma and the way it has impacted her life.
Béart made the film with co-director Anastasia Mikova – ‘I need her distance and clarity to confront my reality with that of others’, she says. It shows four other victims – three adults and one child – each trying to cope with the consequences of incest in their own way. They came forward following an open call from the directors directed at victims. Joachim (one of the very few men that responded), Pascale, Norma and Sarah – mother of an eleven-year-old incest victim – are telling their stories of what happened, and the after-effects.
The film is assembled with extreme consideration and respect: everyone has ample space not only to speak about what happened to them but also to reflect on the impact of both the trauma and of finally being able to talk about it. As they are reliving their experiences you witness their inner struggles, trying to convince themselves it was not their fault. All of them, except for the child, have been silent for a long time – as this was always the first thing they were told to do by their assailant.
And all of them battle with feelings of guilt and shame. “I spent my life making sure it didn’t show,” Norma says. She made a one-woman show about her experiences in order to come to terms with it; she is determined not to let it ruin her life. But it is exhausting, she confesses – as is life for every victim.
As well as his emotional battle, Joachim is also fighting a legal one, trying to get his parents convicted. His story lays bare the flaws of a failing legal system – you need stamina and determination to even get heard, let alone find justice.
The same goes for Sarah, who fought to keep her daughter out of the hands of her father, but was instead labelled with parental alienation syndrome. It meant she was not taking seriously and the abuse of her daughter carried on for years.
And there is Pascale, aged 52, who suffers from post-traumatic amnesia and is in the harrowing process of reconstructing her childhood.
The insightful, open and moving accounts of all these people give us an idea of the extreme pain they are dealing with, not only because of the abuse, but maybe even more because of the taboo surrounding it. ‘We scream into silence’ is how Béart describes it. Their own silence but also that of society, which doesn’t believe them and still protects the aggressor.
All of them are struggling with phobias, with the inability to feel, with insomnia, low self-esteem, or a distorted relationship with their bodies and sexuality.
But the film is not a pity show – it is empowering in conveying the incredible resilience and mental strength of the protagonists, which also keeps Béart – who at one point wants to quit the project – going. It embeds the gruesome stories, which are depicted with beautiful animations, in footage of the people in their loving environments with their loved ones, family, friends and pets, and in the calm surroundings of nature, their homes or the stage. The delicate, sometimes melancholic music also adds softness, but in no way detracts from the horror of the events.
The film also shows small, encouraging signs of change in the legal system and in society, embodied by the co-chair of CIIVISE, the Independent Commission on Incest and Sexual Violence Against Children.
All Such a Resounding Silence it is a brave, moving and healing experience for everyone involved, and it provides some hope that things will get better in the future. Because the numbers are mind-boggling: one in five girls and one in twelve boys fall victim to incest. And as long as society and the judicial system keeps them from speaking up it will keep destroying lives.
2023, France, 99 minutes
Director & writer: Emmanuelle Béart, Anastasia Mikova
Producer: Emmanuelle Lepers
Editor: Anne-Marie Sangla
Camera: Alexis Kavyrchine, Nicos Argillet, Stephane Correa
Music: David François Moreau
Sound: Grégoir Breil, Laurent Schwartz, Bruno Messain
Distribution: Haut et Court Doc
