Venice Review: ‘Saint Omer’ Explores Motherhood And Greek Tragedy

Loneliness, postpartum-depression, motherhood, and isolation are at the core of Alice Diop’s feature film premiering at Venice, Saint Omer. Written by Diop and Marie N’Diaye, the movie stars Kayije Kagame and Guslagie Malanga. The film sends a message about the pressures of being a single parent and how women connect through trauma.

Rama (Kagame) is a journalist and professor who is writing a book loosely based on the myth of Euripides’ play Medea. Rama has a poor relationship with her mother, which is shown in flashbacks. Her mother often yelled or ignored her. Other times, Rama is watching her mother quietly sob without explaining why she’s upset. These painful memories affect Rama as she’s pregnant and wonders if she’ll behave similarly when her child is born. As an adult she seeks understanding into her mother’s psyche–that is until she travels to Saint Omer to cover the case of Laurence, a mother on trial for the death of her daughter. 

Laurence (Malanga) was a mother at her wits end. The father of her child is an elderly white man who is ashamed of having a Black baby. He treated her with indifference, so she decided to free herself of motherhood. She isn’t sure why she did it, but chalks it up to possession or sorcery (which could be considered PPD by some). Her answers shock the judges and jury during her case. The longer Rama observes the trial, the more she sees a link to her own childhood and wonders if she will break the generational trauma or succumb to it.

Outside of the verbose dialogue in the court scenes, Saint Omer is mostly silent. The actors hold each other’s melancholic glances. Everyone wears a face of mystery like every individual is holding their own destructive secrets. Kagame and Malanga do exceptional work displaying the things left unsaid. The characters share a journey as Black women feeling rejected by those most important to them, Medea. Laurence pleads her case in a way that convinces the court that while she is remorseful, she is justified in her actions.  

Diop stages scenes like a stage play. Actors are static and resigned to their station, and Rama takes on the role of chorus leader (much like the Medea play), the only person allowed into both worlds guiding viewers through major moments. It is through Laurence that she begins to understand her mother’s actions, and is now aware of things to avoid in her time as a mother. 

Meada is a tragedy that forces humanity to look inward into why society holds mothers to impossible expectations without considering the emotional toll it takes on them. When women don’t have the support necessary to care for children, who can they turn to?  Women, particularly Black women have innumerable obstacles in health, wellness, and childbirth, it’s no wonder so many feel as if they have no choice.

Saint Omer allows the audience to get into the mind of someone suffering on a level beyond comprehension. Diop and N’Diaye aren’t asking folks to sympathize with Laurence, but asking for people to keep an open mind and lend some form of understanding. And what’s the verdict for Laurence? Actually, that’s not important here. What’s crucial is Rama is willing to extend compassion to her mother despite their past, which will eventually help her to become an even better parent. 

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