Flashback
The tortuous path of the woman
I confess that when I read the synopsis of “Flashback” (FRA, 2021), I was not too excited. Everything seemed to indicate a French comedy imitating American comedies, which I loathe assumedly. However, as I watched, I realized that what was wrong was not the movie, but my look. “Flashback” is first and foremost a powerful and amusing criticism of sexism and the unfair treatment of women over the centuries. The timing couldn’t be better considering the recent March 8, International Women’s Day.
The story begins in modern France, where Charlie (Caroline Vigneaux), a combative lawyer, is forced to take on an indefensible case of rape. Charlie is totally dedicated to the profession, avoiding her mother who adores her, whom she blames for having separated from her father.
The trial, which seemed to be doomed to failure, changes course when Charlie uses the argument that the victim expressed a desire to have sex because she was wearing a thong. The outcome of the trial causes a furore by blaming the victim, but for Charlie what mattered was the victory. As she goes out to celebrate, she gets drunk and uses drugs, being taken home by taxi driver Hubert (Issa Doumbia), who questions her for her lawsuit. Charlie doesn’t care about it and goes home, where she falls and hits her head.
When she wakes up, she’s in a pigsty, and the peasants watching her dressed in long pants accuse her of being a witch. Soon she is arrested and taken to an ecclesiastical court in the 15th century along with other accused of witchcraft, including Joan of Arc (Emy LTR).
Still having no idea what was going on, Charlie thinks she was still on a bad trip, in the hangover from the drugs she had taken the night before. While Joan of Arc and others are condemned to be burned alive, Charlie is sent to the water test. She’s thrown into a river with her hands and feet tied. If she drowned, she would be innocent, if she could swim, she was a witch.
Charlie loses consciousness, and when she wakes up, she’s in a bank office. To her astonishment, she discovers that she is in the 1960s, where French women, to have a bank account, needed her husband’s permission. In a conversation with Hubert, who seemed to be her conscience and spiritual guide, she continues to give no importance to the female problems of the time.
And so, Charlie continues her journey through time, passing through the Cave Era, French Revolution, and other remarkable moments in French history, meeting historical figures such as Marie Curie (Lison Daniel), George Sand (Suzanne Clément), Olympe de Gouges (Sylvie Testud), Napoleon Bonaparte (Florent Peyre), Robespierre (Gad Elmaleh) and many others. Some strange situations happen, such as meeting herself as a child or helping the mother at her own birth. But what shocks her most is discovering her father’s true face, and the heroic role her mother played.
Later, Charlie goes back to her time before the controversial trial, where she literally changes sides, going on to act on behalf of the victim. The trial has a comical outcome, which would never happen in an actual court. But the most shocking thing is to see that what goes on in real life is much more absurd than fiction can imagine, as several true scenes of protests show due to the blaming of the woman simply by the clothes she wears.
Despite being a silly comedy with fictional situations, “Flashback” acts as an important social criticism, not only exposing the extreme inequality to which women are subjected, but also the deliberate blindness of the population – including many women. Women’s Day will only have real meaning when it is understood that it is not a day of false tributes, but a day of struggle and awareness for the end of inequality.
The film’s merits go to Caroline Vigneaux, who not only played the lead role, but also directed and wrote the screenplay, in partnership with Yaël Langmann.
This movie can be viewed on the Amazon Prime Video streaming platform.