Review by Beatrice On 26-Nov-2024
To exist means “to be able to choose”; indeed, it means to be a possibility. But this does not constitute the wealth of man, rather his misery. His freedom of choice does not represent his greatness, but his ongoing drama. In fact, he always faces the alternative of a “yes possibility” and a “no possibility” without possessing any criteria for making a choice. He gropes in the dark, in an unstable position, in permanent indecision, unable to intentionally steer his life in one direction or another.
Tunisia
Dali and Mariem are eagerly preparing for the arrival of their first child. However, on the day of the birth, they receive unexpected news: the baby has a unique biological characteristic, being born with traits of both sexes. This revelation deeply shakes Dali, who finds himself overwhelmed with doubts and inner fears, questioning his role alongside Mariem and the newborn.
They have three days to decide what the baby’s final sex will be and to consent to the operation.
The bond between the protagonists is put to the test, immersed in a sea of conflicting emotions and difficult choices.
Intersexuality is a natural condition in which a person is born with sexual characteristics—such as chromosomes, gonads, hormones, or genitalia—that do not align with the typical biological definitions of "male" or "female." It is not a single condition, but rather a variety of situations involving sexual development.
In this case, it is a matter of hermaphroditism, which is the biological condition where an organism possesses both male and female sexual characteristics.
Mariem is an orphan, and her dedication to motherhood is total, regardless of the choice to be made. Dali, on the other hand, cannot accept the child; he adopts a detached attitude, and his reactions are of total rejection of this biological condition.
Even consulting his religion, to which he is particularly devoted, does not help him, and both the parents and his wife seem inclined to accept God's will without intervening prematurely on the child's body.
Prejudice, ignorance, unpredictability, choice.
For the father, confronting a body that is neither exclusively male nor female becomes an obsession, out of the shame that such a different child could generate for the dignity of the family and his own manhood, pushing him towards an overbearing and self-referential outcome.
The film is built on tension and the metaphor of the needle, from which it takes its title, suggesting multiple meanings; a film that pays careful attention to giving voice to all the social, cultural, welfare, scientific, and religious aspects that interact, either feeding into or alleviating the parents' difficult dynamic, thereby contributing to the construction of questions that the viewer might feel prompted to ask, while always paying attention to the diversity of viewpoints, choices, and approaches that such an event may entail.
When you choose, don’t think about what you are eliminating. Look at what you are giving air, light, and space to.
26-Nov-2024 by Beatrice