***Content warning: This article discusses perinatal mourning. References to helplines and crisis lines are provided in the Editor’s comments section at the bottom of the page. ***
Ce témoignage est aussi disponible en français [➦].
Translated by Florence Bois-Villeneuve.
Pieces of a Woman is the latest film from Hungarian director Kornel Mundruczo (White God, Jupiter’s Moon). It begins with a lengthy opening scene portraying a home birth. The story depicts Martha’s (Vanessa Kirby) search for meaning as she grieves the death of her daughter, just moments after her birth. Rarely discussed in social and cultural circles, perinatal mourning is the central theme of this film, which has received high praise for its superb direction and skillful tone.
Indeed, Martha’s experience is portrayed with finesse: we feel with her the absurdity of returning to her daily routine, the pain of her body having given birth, the omnipresence of her lost daughter in the sounds, sights and smells of everyday life. All external events seem superfluous, even crude, compared to the grief Martha is facing. While Martha’s narrative is a powerful part of the film, the characters around her seem disconnected from her reality, starting with her partner Sean (Shia LaBeouf1). Pieces of a Woman is an attempt to demonstrate the singular experience of mourning, but Sean’s experience unfolds as a series of bad clichés supposed to represent the paternal experience of losing one’s newborn.
If you are tempted to watch Pieces of a Woman for its portrayal of home birth, be warned: a number of midwives have roundly criticized the scene, and rightly so (see the post by Regroupement Les Sages-Femmes du Québec [in French]). It presents a distorted image of the practice, portraying the midwife as a useless and incompetent presence. This is far from the reality in Quebec, for example, where the profession is governed by a professional order and midwives are extensively equipped and trained. Not only is this a missed opportunity, but it’s a shame that the film has distorted the portrayal of the practice. The choice of a home birth in this narrative—the subsequent criminal prosecution of the midwife who is held responsible for the child’s death—further portrays Martha as a “selfish” and “unreasonable” woman. This is reinforced throughout the film, as Martha’s choices and grief are repeatedly invalidated, but she manages to find strength and assertiveness in the face of hardship.
Pieces of a Woman has the merit of revealing the collective anomie surrounding the issue of perinatal mourning, and turning it into a touching story which never once forgets the power of the dignity that lies at the heart of grief.
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1 Following the release of Pieces of a Woman, Shia LaBeouf was denounced by his ex-partners for domestic violence.
Reference:
Director/creator: Kornél Mundruczó
Scenario: Kata Weber
Title: Pieces of a Woman
Date of publication: September 4, 2020
Available on Netflix