The Power of Catharsis
Reenactments in Four Daughters
In Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters reenactments with actors and real life participants create an emotionally gripping narrative. The documentary tries to unravel the mystery as to why Olfa Hamrouni’s two eldest daughters Ghofrane and Rahma left home and joined ISIS.1 At her home in Tunisia Olfa is still raising her two younger teenage daughters Eya and Tayssir. To understand what might have led Ghofrane and Rahma to their shocking choice, Ben Hania stages reenactments of notable events in the family’s past.
Seeing Olfa, Eya, and Tayssir act in and sometimes direct scenes from their past make the reenactments exceptional and riveting. Ben Hania had originally planned on doing a more traditional observational and interview based documentary, but felt it was not quite working. From 2015 to 2016 Olfa and her daughters were widely covered in the media. Ben Hania wanted a deeper understanding than what was offered in news interviews. She decided to use reenactments because so many pivotal events were in the past and felt it would have greater emotional resonance.2
In her reenactments Olfa is an enigmatic figure – she challenges the patriarchy at times, but also enforces strict rules on her rebellious older daughters Rahma and Ghofrane. Sometimes Olfa plays herself, and in other scenes actress Hend Sabry fills in if Olfa feels she is unable to perform. Olfa recounts standing up to her first difficult husband. She tells stories of training to be able to be able fight back against any man. In downtime between scenes Olfa is seen joking with or hugging Eya and Tayssir. But also admits to being strict with her children – sometimes beating them for inappropriate dress or behavior.
Eya and Tayssir always play themselves and are eager to open up to Ben Hania. Eya is more critical of her mother than her younger sister Tayssir. It is clear she blames her mother for her older sisters’ choice to join ISIS. Tayssir is more reserved than her sister in interviews, but very lively in the reenactments. One of the most fascinating parts of the film is seeing them interact with the two actresses playing their sisters. Eya and Tayssir are elated as if they have their real sisters back. They often remark about how similar the actresses look or act to Rahma and Ghofrane. During downtime before a reenactment they laugh and dance together on rooftop. In another scene they openly discuss their periods to the horror of their mother who is standing nearby.
Eya and Tayssir are not trained actors, but their reenactments are intense and real. There is a unique resonance in watching someone recreate a pivotal moment from their past. It is not just about getting a glimpse of a past event, but seeing the emotional consequences in the present. In one scene Eya says she is fine and has gotten over a painful incident from a few years ago. She wants to act out an imagined confrontation with her mother’s ex-boyfriend. A male actor stands in for her mother’s ex-boyfriend in the scene. Eya insists that it is not a big deal anymore and has already discussed it with her therapist. But when the camera starts rolling, she starts to take things too far in the scene, and the actor asks that they stop shooting. This is one of several moments where it seems that the reenactments are impacting the participants in a much more profound way than they expected.
This type of approach is not without ethical concerns. In interviews Eya and Tayssir speak openly about discussing these issues with a therapist, but the viewer can see that reenacting some of their most painful experiences has a visceral emotional impact on them. Is reenacting these dramatic scenes good or bad? It could be argued Ben Hania is not being careful enough with her young participants and perhaps should have taken a less confrontational approach. Does such an intense resurrection of the past allow Eya and Tayssir to release these dark emotions? Or does it leave them ruminating endlessly? These questions might not be answered until years into their adulthood.
When I was in a documentary MFA program, similar questions often came up when discussing documentaries in which participants had clear psychological struggles. Some classmates argued that these participants should not have been in a documentary, and should have instead sought out therapy and medication. I agree that a documentarian should always put the physical and mental well-being of participants above any artistic or career ambition. But at the same time participants should be respected enough to make their own decisions. An artistic endeavor can’t substitute for professional care, but I disagree that medication and therapy are the only answer to every great emotional or personal difficulty. I would argue that these often inadequate and cold services would never be enough for Eya and Tayssir to overcome their past experiences. Every great tragedy in a person’s life can’t be simply resolved through pills or a therapist.
In The Poetics Aristotle argues people watch tragedies because they allow us to embrace painful emotions, and by doing so we can purge them from our system. It is difficult to judge the long term consequences of a powerful catharsis, but it is clear that Olfa, Eya, and Tayssir have a deep desire to fully experience and reckon with the past. The reenactments allow an emotional release that might not be possible in their normal day to day lives in a patriarchal society that is politically and emotionally repressive. By acting in and sometimes directing scenes from their past, Olfa and her daughters have greater control of their stories and a new freedom to express themselves.
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Four Daughters is available to stream for free through Kanopy in the United States and Canada. You can access Kanopy through your public library or university.
ISIS is referred to as Daesh (the Arabic acronym) in the documentary.
Carlos Aguilar, “How ‘Four Daughters’ Filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania Blended Fact and Fiction to Make a Major Doc Contender,” Indie Wire, December 13, 2023, https://www.indiewire.com/awards/consider-this/four-daughters-kaouther-ben-hania-interview-1234934611/.