There is no mention of the women whose lives inspired the book, or the journalists who amplified those women’s voices. While Toews’ book opens with a “Note on the Novel,” which summarizes the real-life events inspiring her book, the opening credits of the movie merely state that it is based on the novel.

I had built a good relationship with one family in Manitoba when I covered the trial, and they graciously offered to host me and my brother Noah, a photojournalist and videographer, in January 2013 for our follow-up piece.Īlso overwhelming was the fact that the nuances of the stories that I helped the world understand were alive on the screen, but most people likely didn’t know that. What, if anything, had the colony done for them, and for itself, to heal? Given the nature of Mennonite communities in Bolivia-reclusive, hostile to outsiders-my best shot at getting answers would be to live in the colony itself for a short period, so the women could get to know me and, hopefully, trust me enough to open up.

I wanted to know how the women were faring. After that initial reporting, I couldn’t get Manitoba out of my head.

My connection to Women Talking’s origin story goes deeper than just covering the trial. The entire novel and film are, as appropriately titled, women simply talking. The plot begins with the rapists having been carted off to jail (for their own safety) and the women of an “ isolated religious community,” wrestling with the decision to stay and fight, or to leave.

Crafted with a tender but unflinching touch by Polley-also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay-the film is a faithful, courageous re-telling of Miriam Toews’ 2018 book of the same name.īased on the true story of a Mennonite colony in Bolivia, Women Talking follows eight main characters portrayed by Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Sheila McCarthy, Judith Ivey, Kate Hallett, Liv McNeil, and Michelle McLeod.If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is the premise for the novel-turned-film Women Talking (book by Miriam Toews film by Sarah Polley). A pleasant surprise on this year’s Best Picture nominees list, director Sarah Polley’s Women Talking might not have stirred the same buzz as its fellow competitors, but it’d be a painful shame to overlook the project based on hype alone.

Women talking the novel