Murderess

On a remote Greek island circa the year 1900, a group of young children prance around in a circle, chanting a folk song that wishes death upon girls. Hadoula, a midwife and a mother of seven does not hide her disgust when she delivers a baby girl. She has internalised the strict patriarchal social system that reigns on the island. Hadoula’s mother watches over her, constantly disciplining her like an intergenerational trauma that has taken a physical form.

The harsh, rocky landscape of the Greek island, the weather-beaten faces, and black, joyless robes of the villagers are shot in striking detail, reflecting the strict social system. In this environment, Hadoula’s internal struggle reaches psychopathic heights, yet she has found a way to deal with it: baby girls die in their cribs, and older girls happen upon fatal misfortunes, all in the name of grace. The biggest Greek box-office hit in 2023, the film is based on a social novel of the same name by Alexandros Papadiamantis, a Greek classic depicting femicide as a societal phenomenon.

Saara Tuusa