Story of Women

Story of Women (1988)

Genres - Drama, War  |   Sub-Genres - Docudrama, War Drama, Crime Drama  |   Release Date - Oct 13, 1989 (USA)  |   Run Time - 108 min.  |   Countries - France  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

The women in this story are the customers of amateur abortionist Isabelle Huppert. The time is 1941, and the place is a Nazi-occupied French town. Struggling to survive, Huppert turns to illegally terminating unwanted pregnancies for a hefty fee. As her income increases, Huppert moves her family from their grimy surroundings to a posh apartment, sharing her digs with her new friend, prostitute Marie Trintignant. Completely seduced by her affluent lifestyle, Huppert ignores her shell-shocked husband Francois Cluzet, preferring to dally with Nazi collaborator Nils Tavernier. Things take a disastrous turn after one of Huppert's "customers" dies and her disgruntled husband turns her over to the authorities. Story of Women was inspired by the real-life tale of Marie-Louise Girard, who in 1943 was executed by the Vichy Government, who'd declared abortion as a Crime Against the State because it diminished the number of potential soldiers.

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Keywords

abortion, execution, extramarital-affair, meaning-of-life