[VTALK Film Review No. 59] "Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always" - a realistic film facing "sex education"

Amina 2022-04-20 09:02:55

This title, which is similar to the questionnaire option, and the four options actually comes from the one question and four options that are closely related to the protagonist in the plot. The plot setting of this film is very simple, which roughly means the process of a young girl from an unintended pregnancy to an abortion. From the inside of the film, it is a film about the subject of "sex education" that deserves to be thought-provoking. The issue of "sex education" is often hidden, especially for minors, most of which are topics that are avoided or even opposed to this education. Reasonable "sex education" at the right time plays a vital role in protecting one's rights, especially women's rights. This film directly addresses this topic. It's also a feminist movie, and it's also a realist movie to blame. She was pregnant unexpectedly when she was a teenager, but in order not to let her parents know, she chose to take medicine and violence to solve the surgery. On the basis of explaining the premise, the film arranges most of the content in New York, the difficult process of the two sisters, and the conflict. The whole plot arrangement is close to that of "Joker", and it is expressed in the camera around the heroine in a narrative way of character follow-up. The cinematography of the film has distinct characteristics, especially the female protagonist expressing her own emotional history, the fixed-angle long shots arranged in the face of a bunch of annoying questions and the answer options of "never, rarely, sometimes, always", depressing. The atmosphere of the scene was more integrated into the disturbed mood of the heroine at this time. In other scenes, there are also many shots with ordinary angles and full of realism.

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Extended Reading
  • Zella 2022-04-13 09:01:06

    If the two girls in "Three Weeks and Two Days in April" watch this movie, they may feel a little envy in their hearts, and then they will also sink into deep sadness.

  • Dylan 2022-04-12 09:01:10

    The cruel youth of a good age in a bad environment is never easy, always painful. Like they are almost always sexually harassed or discriminated against wherever they are. Understated, calm and restrained, with very little dialogue, it seems that he is simply facing the topic of abortion and women's confusion. The final presentation is extremely powerful, with many blank spaces and questions that are thought-provoking. The reticence of the two sisters is like a silent struggle. Small bags and large boxes that make it difficult to move, just as bad circumstances often oppress them. In life, as she sang on stage, "He forced me to do things I didn't want to do and say things I didn't want to say." It's a pity that the message she conveyed, no one would care except for her cousin, and she would only attract the word "slut" from others. When the doctor kept repeating "never, rarely, sometimes, always," she sobbed and choked back from her initial pretense of calmness. At this moment, discomfort, sympathy, indignation... all kinds of complex emotions gathered together and smashed into the hearts of the audience. In the end, exhausted, she took a nap and had to go back to the bad town. The only consolation is that the two sisters have a deep friendship and can walk through this cruel youth together holding hands.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always quotes

  • Skylar: What did the Doctor say?

    Autumn: They couldn't really help me

    Skylar: Why not?

    Autumn: I took a test.

    Skylar: What kind of test?

    [Autumn then retches and throws up]

  • Skylar: Don't you ever just wish you were a dude?

    Autumn: All the time.