Four Daughters

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Four Daughters

2023

1h 47m

Drama

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

83 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

This riveting exploration of rebellion, memory, and sisterhood reconstructs the story of Olfa Hamrouni and her four daughters, unpacking a complex family history through intimate interviews and performance to examine how the Tunisian woman's two eldest were radicalized by Islamic extremists. Casting professional actresses as the missing daughters, along with acclaimed Egyptian-Tunisian actress Hend Sabri as Olfa, award-winning director Kaouther Ben Hania (The Man Who Sold His Skin) restages pivotal moments in the family's life. These scenes are interwoven with confessions and reflections from Olfa and her younger daughters, offering the women agency to tell their own story and capturing moments of joy, loss, violence, and heartache. Winner of four prizes including L'Oeil d'Or (Best Documentary) when it screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Four Daughters is a compelling portrait of five women and a unique and ambitious work of nonfiction cinema that explores the nature of memory, the weight of inherited trauma, and the ties that bind mothers and daughters.

Critics Consensus

Four Daughters' unique approach to documenting real-life horror is a formal gamble that only underscores the bravery and resilience of its subjects.

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Stephanie Zacharek

TIME Magazine

08/01/2024

Four Daughters is a story about a family torn apart by religious extremism and institutional misogyny. It's also about our inability to control the lives of those around us, even if it means losing them forever.

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Amy Nicholson

Washington Post

03/14/2024

4/4

We see the power in tying together the fake and the real — the moment when method acting turns into method remembering.

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Mark Kermode

Kermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube)

03/06/2024

It's a kind of heartbreaking story of families being torn apart by hard-line religious dogma.

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Codie Allen

Geek Vibes Nation

Jul 22

8.5

Four Daughters unfurls as a rich mosaic, each piece a heartfelt sonnet crafted by the human spirit.

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Gisela Savdie

El Heraldo

11/19/2024

The core of this narrative is maternal love, symbolizing hope in a region of the world where much remains to be done to overcome deeply rooted traditions that oppress women and other minorities. [Full review in Spanish]

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Eileen G'Sell

Hyperallergic

10/21/2024

Inviting viewers to consider our own histories of misogyny — whether conscious or unwitting, expressed or internalized — "Four Daughters" blurs the distance between the personal and cultural, the individual and the systemic.

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FRANCISCA S

02/06/2024

i thought it was boring and long and dreary- saw other Middle Eastern movies at the Palm Springs International Film Festival where it was also playing and found them all - Inshallah, a boy Bye bye Tiberias , Memories(?) all much more interesting

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Runa R

@runa.r Feb 26

It is always enriching to watch films like this, with their approach to other, non-Western realities, so often concealed or obscured by shame or by social and political constraints. It is always a breath of fresh air to see these films that are open and direct, unafraid to confront prejudice head-on.

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Kyle M

@RT77296778 Aug 21

Uniquely approached in attempt to situationally frame both rawness and personified dramatization for absent presence fulfillment, exceeding with genuineness for effective haunting buildup that gradually captivates in this another documentary critically glimpsing with thought-provoking societal observations. (B)

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Daniel B

@observor 02/20/2025

Would have preferred it just be a straight documentary instead of this odd blending of performance.

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Tom F

@RT55173143 07/12/2024

An emotionally powerful documentary. The idea of reenacting some scenes with actresses to play the two missing daughters soon breaks down, and the best parts of the film involves the mom and real daughters just talking to the actresses.

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dave d

@RT34924333 07/03/2024

A harrowing Arabic-language documentary and drama, Four Daughters is about four daughters and a mother whose sees her two oldest daughters leave to Syria. I knew nothing and it is a little different as actresses fill the void of the missing talking heads. I'm not sure it totally worked for me. This is a scary tale with many tentacles. It doesn't always make for a great film, but it is most certainly an intriguing one. Probably the best therapy for the family torn apart by hard-line religious dogma. Final Score: 7/10

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Kaouther Ben Hania

Director

Hend Sabry

Olfa

Olfa Hamrouni

Self

Eya Chikahoui

Self

Tayssir Chikhaoui

Self

Nour Karoui

Actor

Awards Leaderboard: Top Movies of 2023

Four Daughters: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

This riveting exploration of rebellion, memory, and sisterhood reconstructs the story of Olfa Hamrouni and her four daughters, unpacking a complex family history through intimate interviews and performance to examine how the Tunisian woman's two eldest were radicalized by Islamic extremists. Casting professional actresses as the missing daughters, along with acclaimed Egyptian-Tunisian actress Hend Sabri as Olfa, award-winning director Kaouther Ben Hania (The Man Who Sold His Skin) restages pivotal moments in the family's life. These scenes are interwoven with confessions and reflections from Olfa and her younger daughters, offering the women agency to tell their own story and capturing moments of joy, loss, violence, and heartache. Winner of four prizes including L'Oeil d'Or (Best Documentary) when it screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Four Daughters is a compelling portrait of five women and a unique and ambitious work of nonfiction cinema that explores the nature of memory, the weight of inherited trauma, and the ties that bind mothers and daughters.

Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Screenwriter: Kaouther Ben Hania
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Production Co: Red Sea Film Festival Foundation, Cinétéléfilms, Twenty Twenty Vision Filmproduktion, Tanit Films, ZDF/Arte, Jour2Fête
Genre: Drama, Documentary
Original Language: Arabic
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 27, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 19, 2023
Box Office (Gross USA): $135.7K
Runtime: 1h 47m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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