This film starts very, very slowly - I would have normally given up on it well before the half hour mark because just nothing happens. We meet Amina (played by Achouackh Abakar Souleymane) who is obviously struggling to get by as a single mother in a very male dominated society - and finally we also get round to meeting her daughter, Maria (Rihane Khalil Alio) who is obviously not happy for the reason that The Guardian spoils for us above.
Similarly to L'Evénement, we then spend quite some time investigating methods of obtaining an abortion in a country where it's illegal - I don't think it will be to anyone's surprise that the options are either expensive or unsafe, so my patience was really being tested at this point.
And then, all of a sudden, the film decides to spring into life and provide us with some unexpected twists and turns - the last 30 minutes was way more engaging than everything that went before it and managed to both generate and resolve some welcome plot details. All of which was entirely unexpected! It's really quite well put together and makes you think about the bonds mentioned in the title - familial, societal and religious expectations are all quietly questioned (but not in a very fabulous way).
Both main actors do a good job in this film - they both convey the frustration of their characters at the restrictions placed upon them and the lengths to which they are prepared to go to address them. Most of the other actors are fine, but they don't really impinge on your eyeballs long enough to make an impression.
It's also a well shot film - the director makes excellent use of colour throughout to attract your attention and the shots are often obviously well composed. Yes, it is a little ponderous at times, but it does feel authentic to me (with the obvious proviso that I have no idea what Chad actually looks like).
I can't say I loved this film, but it finished much stronger than it started and it did make me think - it would be easy to dismiss it as depressing (and there are a lot of aspects to it that are profoundly disappointing) but the fact that the film documents and openly questions them is grounds for optimism.
