This review is based on a screening at the Palm Springs Film Festival.
Four Daughtersis quite possibly one of the riskiestdocumentariesyou’ll ever see. DirectorKauother Ben Haniaattempts something that so many other documentaries consistently struggle with: recreating nonfictional events through dramatized sequences. Nine times out of ten, these sequences are the bane of even the most well-constructed films. Instead of trusting their audience to listen to first-hand accounts of their subjects, these dramatized recreations typically come across as cheap, pandering, and wholly unnecessary in the documentaries they appear in. Creating dramatized sequences is even more difficult for a film likeFour Daughters, which tackles a wide variety of complex topics.
At the center of these topics are Tunisian motherOlfa Hamrouniand her four daughters, the two youngest of whom,Eya ChikhaouiandTayssirChikhaoui,live with her. The oldest two,RhamaChikhaouiandGhofrane Chikhaoui, vanished long before the documentary was developed.To tell the family’s story, Kauother Ban Hania attempts to blend first-hand accounts and interviewsof Olfa, Eya, and Tayssir with dramatic scenes adapted from those stories. In those sequences, Eya and Tayssir play themselves, Rhama and Ghofrane are played byNour KarouiandIchrak Matarrespectively, andMajd Mastouraplays all the men in their lives. As for Olfa,Four Daughtersalternates between Olfa herself and actressHind Sabrifor the dramatized portions.
Four Daughters
Between light and darkness stands Olfa, a Tunisian woman and the mother of four daughters. One day, her two older daughters disappear. Filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania invites professional actresses to fill in their absence.
Most documentaries that include dramatizations make it very clear that they’re entirely separate from the nonfictional elements (making their inclusion all the more perplexing).Four Daughtersis unique in interweaving nonfiction and fiction to offer a perspective that supports, quantifies, and sometimes even challenges the family’s tale. The result is a bold and sensational documentary that seamlessly blends reality and adaptation, successfully crafting a story of grief and trauma that is as profound as it is heartbreaking.
‘Four Daughters’ Uses Actors in a Way That’s More Than a Storytelling Gimmick
Kauother Ben Hania takes a minimally invasive approach to showcasing the family’s story inFour Daughters. She gives Olfa, Eya, and Tayssir complete freedom to tell their individual truths. Surprisingly enough, though, Kauother Ben Hania provides ample screen time for the actors portraying Olfa, Rhama, and Ghofrane. Where they could have easily been used as props in a more literal and linear fashion, they each have a meaningful dialogue with the documentary’s subjects. Olfa, Eya, and Tayssir essentially get the opportunity to direct the actors portraying their loved ones. Their genuine conversations about Rhama and Ghofrane, in particular, give the actors vital context for their scenes. It’s also a fascinating and unique way to communicate the narrative ofFour Daughtersto its audience without being overly blunt.
It’s fitting that the most noticeable case of this is with Olfa and Hind, as Olfa feels like the subject inFour Daughterswho gets the most attention. According to Kauother Ben Hania, Hind Sabri was brought in to play Olfa in select scenes because some of the life moments being reenacted might be too upsetting to relive.Kauother captures Olfa’s reaction to this creative decision right after comparing herself to Rose (Kate Winslet) fromTitanic, and her response appears to be that of disappointment. Despite the apparent facial expression, Olfa forms an almost immediate bond with the woman portraying her in some of the more intense sequences. What makes this relationship between Olfa and Hind work is how different they are from each other. Olfa is primarily portrayed as having much more traditional values, with her disapproval of her daughters' rebellious natures being a critical turning point in their estrangement. Hind Sabri is depicted as having more worldly liberal values, as she directly confronts Olfa about her outdated treatment of her daughters and women in general at various points in the documentary.
The complexity of Olfa’s character makes it hardly surprising that the family matriarch would be the focus ofFour Daughters. That said, it’s somewhat unfortunate that the perspectives of her two youngest daughters, Eya and Tayssir, don’t feel as represented. It’s a shame because the comparatively limited screen time that Eya and Tayssir do have inFour Daughtersisn’t wasted, as they each paint an entirely different picture of their upbringing, family lifestyle, and relationship with their elder sisters compared to what their mother alleges. A perfect example of these varying perspectives is when Olfa joyfully remembers her boyfriend, but Eya and Tayssir have a far less flattering memory of the father figure. The reveal ends up being so distressing for the actor playing the boyfriend that he walks away from the scene entirely, presumably finding it too upsetting to continue filming. If that’s not an indication of how emotionally compelling this hybrid style of documentary storytelling is, we don’t know what is.
‘Four Daughters’ is a Tragedy Born Out of Familial and Cultural Strife
Considering the trauma that all the women in the family have experienced, it’s remarkable that the three family members are still so closely connected. They were and are continuing to have longstanding instances of family strife and generational tension, yet despite their apparent differences, they still manage to have a friendly relationship with one another. Kauother Ben Hania doesn’t condemn or condone this, but one thing is abundantly clear:those smiles still can’t hide the tragic circumstances surroundingFour Daughters.
The closerFour Daughterscomes to its conclusion, the more it becomes apparent that the family can’t and sadly may never escape the cultural differences within their family and community. Those familiar with the family’s story (which received international attention in 2016) will know that the ending of their tale is not a happy one. This conclusion is practically guaranteed to leave a mark and not because it ends in the way some are perhaps expecting.
In short,Four Daughtersshould not work nearly as well as it does. Where most documentaries are brought down by a reliance on dramatized fictional sequences, Kauother Ben Hania utilizes them in a way that elevates the film more than anything. It’s a wholly unique approach to documentary filmmaking.Four Daughtersis easily one of the best documentary films of recent memory and is a brilliant storytelling innovation in the genre itself.
‘Four Daughters’ is a refreshing approach to documentary filmmaking that boldly combines fiction and non-fiction.
