Between light and darkness stands Olfa, a Tunisian woman and the mother of four daughters. One day, her two older daughters disappear. To fill in their absence, the filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania inv...
In April 2016, Tunisian mother of four Olfa Hamrouni publicized the radicalization of her two teenager daughters, Rahma and Ghofrane. The two young women fled their home at ages 15 and 16 to fight alongside the Islamic State in Libya, leaving Olfa and her two youngest girls Eya and Tayssir heartbroken. Director Kaouther Ben Hania crafts a fascinating, compelling portrait of these complicated women and their equally complex family history in her hybrid documentary “Four Daughters,” an absolutely masterful film about sisterhood, motherhood, rebellion, memory, and the agony that thrives with inherited trauma.
Mixing nonfiction with dramatic reenactments, Hania immerses viewers in the story of these women through up close and personal conversations. Eya, Tayssir, and Olfa share stories and recollections in their own words, from the horrors of growing up in a patriarchal society to belonging to a culture that does not shy away from violence. It’s gripping to listen as these women each recount their unique perspectives on a lifetime of shared trauma, and Hania’s camera captures this processing of grief like a therapy session that’s cathartic for both the subjects and the audience.
As you can imagine, this is a tough for these women to do. When the history becomes too emotionally difficult to bear (and reenactments are necessary), actors step in to take on the roles of Olfa (Hind Sabri), Rahma (Nour Karoui), Ghofrane (Ichrak Matar), and other male figures (Majd Mastoura) in their past. It’s an inventive and highly effective way to tell the story, as Hania also gives a behind the scenes look into documentary filmmaking, the acting process, and how the subjects inform the way they are portrayed on screen. This is what makes the storytelling feels so much more personal, powerful, and innovative than a typical work of nonfiction.
Olfa is a tough mama who had a rough childhood herself, and the film explores this cycle of trauma that is passed down from generation to generation. She definitely shaped the way Rahma and Ghofrane viewed the world, but Eya and Tayssir have the ability (and desire) to break that chain.
There are disturbing stories of how Olfa often resorted to violence as a form of punishment and discipline, even losing her temper at one child so fiercely that she beat her to the point that she thought she was dead. Her act of disobedience was dressing in goth attire and listening to “satanic” music. Stories like these will make you uneasy and sick, especially the uncomfortable laughter from the subjects as they recount these real-life recollections of violence and abuse. It’s unsettling, but it’s their way of dealing with too many years of untreated buried trauma.
It’s debated that perhaps the only way for Ghofrane and Rahma to truly be free was to go down the path of religious fanaticism and radicalism that they both chose. Recalling the way it was so easy for the two to become indoctrinated is chilling, especially as they grew up in a home rife with abuse and even more likely, a small degree of untreated mental illness. Tunisian culture, heritage, and the different views of older generations becomes clear as Olfa still struggles with her liberated daughters. Their preferred Western attire and their general ease with sexual freedom causes her to repeatedly refer to them as “whores.” She does so in a joking manner, but you can tell her words are based in truth and disapproval.
Throughout the documentary, Hania delves into a harsh family history and does so without flinching. This is an unnerving film, but also one that gives a very human look at three very complex women and the events that shaped them, all while allowing them a safe space where they can plunge into the deepest, darkest, and most honest parts of themselves.
“Four Daughters” is ultimately a story of strength: the tenacity needed for survival and the authority to change the path of your future. This is a documentary that will make you laugh, make you cry, and will stick with you for a lifetime. What a bold, affecting, and powerfully evocative work.
