Oscar-Nominated 2023 Meta-Documentary from Tunisia Now Available on Blu-ray

DIRECTED BY KAOUTHER BEN HANIA/2023

BLU-RAY STREET DATE: APRIL 2, 2024/KINO LORBER

Here’s the fifth and final entry in my mini-series reviewing recent home video releases from around the world. I’m sure I’ll revisit this international cinema territory soon enough (very soon, actually, since I have more foreign films sitting in my stack of discs to be reviewed!) but let me wrap up this sequence by sharing a few thoughts (in writing and on video) about Four Daughters, a brilliantly executed and emotionally wrenching film from Tunisia that premiered at Cannes in 2023 and went on to win awards there and elsewhere over the course of the following year. After giving the film a rewatch and mentally composing my thoughts about it after that second viewing, I still think my comments in the video below sum up most of what I have to say, so I’ll lead with that and drop a few more observations afterward. 

My second viewing of Four Daughters proved to be just as satisfying and impactful as it was during my first encounter. Despite losing that element of surprise that I experienced when I first saw the film, when I had no anticipation of the directorial sleight-of-hand I was about to encounter, seeing the story of Olfa and her daughters unfold once again only deepened my sense of sorrow and empathy for what all of them went through, including the two oldest who were, as their mother said so compellingly, “devoured by the wolf.” 

Familiarity with the traumatic events in each of their lives that occurred over the course of many years leading up to the fateful break did not diminish the sting of anguish that I and many others undoubtedly felt as we saw them recreated on screen, accompanied by direct commentary by the survivors themselves about how those incidents linger in their memory and continue to shape them to this day. Indeed, one’s sense of dread is only intensified as we retrace the path that put them all on a collision course with a harsh and pitiful destiny that is still being manifested in each of their lives. 

While I recognize that some viewers may find the meta-fictional presentation either confusing, indulgent, overly precious, or gimmicky, I think it’s a brilliant approach that effectively draws us into the story, narrowing our distance from the narrative to the point where it becomes difficult, even arrogant, to maintain the perspective of a detached observer. Director Kaouther Ben Hania took a bold and adventurous approach, with a lot of inherent risk embedded into the project since she could not predict exactly what would happen once she had all her pieces in place. But her gambit paid off richly, winning numerous awards (over 20 at festivals from all around the world) and an Oscar nomination in 2024 for Best Documentary Feature. More importantly than the honors though, she brings an important contemporary story to our attention in a compelling, powerful, and highly memorable way. 

Blu-ray Extras:

  • Interview with Director Kaouther Ben Hania
  • Theatrical Trailer