Title: Josephine
MPA Rating: Not Yet Rated
Director: Beth de Araújo
Starring: Mason Reeves, Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan
Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins

What It Is: Athletic, adventurous, and precocious 8 year-old Josephine (Reeves) is an average little girl on an early morning run with her father (Tatum) when she becomes witness to a violent assault in the park. Forever changed by the incident, Josephine and her mother (Chan) and father struggle to navigate the aftermath.

What We Think: I’ll try to keep this as succinct as possible, as this movie gets very uncomfortably personal very fast. No surprise to those familiar with de Araújo’s previous works (ie, Soft and Quiet, which I personally thought was fantastic, but seemed to split audiences), Josephine kicks off viscerally intense and throws so much into the realm of thought concerning such a touchy yet unfortunately relevant subject matter. We’re taken through this story of finding strength through the eyes of a little girl–someone who is subject to something so tragic and traumatic far too young. The event opens the floodgates that cause her to become understandably fearful, reactive, and angry, without her being able to even begin knowing how to deal or even spot these changes within herself. It’s a harsh reality de Araújo’s never shies away from as Josephine never is able to, learning the terrible lesson that befalls most girls and women that statistically, a large majority of us will be effaced with some form or version of sexually-motivated assault and harassment (many incidents of which, will be unreported, ignored, or brushed-off). Though a difficult matter, Josephine’s journey is portrayed with a tender naturalism from her innocent, playful point-of-view as she’s continuously haunted by a visage of the perpetrator, no longer feeling safe in her own home, no longer sure if she can trust the men and boys around her. How do you raise a little girl knowing that there’s more of a chance than not of her being physically being taken advantage of, especially when she finds that out and is a first-person witness to it? Josephine has enough awareness that she is someone who has something many awful people want from her, her parents are left to struggle how to somehow help her, restore her childhood, and keep her safe. Do you try to make her forget? Do you tell her you and the justice system will protect her no matter what, and the bad things will never happen? Do you teach her self-defense and try to make her feel like nothing will still ever happen? –Or you tell her everything? Two stories unfold parallel to each other: one a tragic yet inspiring coming-of-age, the other, an absolute horror story.

Of course, this being a difficult subject to address, it won’t be without its ability to divide and cause argument. “Mom/Dad should have done/said this,” etc. Looking at this story, it never goes too over-the-top with drama and its beats unfold very naturally, allowing the characters to make mistakes and missteps in a situation where there is no perfect or perfectly happy ending. It’s an empathetic story with a keen attention to details in behavior that looks in on a disgusting crime, the effect on the victim(s) and the perpetrators, and how such violence spreads misery to all those involved. Josephine is about processing violence, and whether you’re a child or a grown adult, it’s never an easy or fast thing to process.

Our Grade: A+, A hard, yet beautiful and necessary watch that will have you on the edge of your seat and bent over in tears. It is brutal, realistic, and heart-wrenching, yet it is a tale that needs to be told in our current climate of systematic oppression, rape culture, casual misogyny, and unlimited internet access. Somehow, de Araújo bravely confronts all these topics and more head-on in these two hours, keeping us captivated through cerebral film making and incredible performances from the cast, above-all, little Miss Mason Reeves, who portrays the Josephine we love and care for to perfection. Lastly, I’ll end this review by stating, I was and am a Josephine. I was eleven when I witnessed this sort of violence for the first, then second time, and it affected me pretty closely to how it affected Josephine, although it was something I had seen that I kept to myself and ended up having prolonged psychological effects that I didn’t even begin being able to navigate until I was a young adult (as in, in my early 20s, not a teen). I recognize the reactive rage Josephine felt within myself, contrast against her not being able to fully understand why or how to deal with it. I remember being a pissed-off, paranoid teenager afraid of when this would happen to me–and unfortunately, it has. More unfortunately, a majority of women will and have been victimized. And though it’s so hard to witness this happening to an eight year old as well as what the victim of the assault is going through, this film had me felt seen, validated me, and forced me to reflect on a lot. Though this movie will disturb, Josepine NEEDS to be seen, studied, and understood. I highly recommend this incredible drama, and absolutely am on-call for whatever Beth de Araújo will have to follow this up.

Statistics

https://www.sokolovelaw.com/personal-injury/sexual-abuse/statistics/