An Army of Women

Differ Media

Reviewed for FilmFactual by Abe Friedtanzer

Director: Julie Lunde Lillesæter

Screened at: Critics’ link, LA, 3/4/24

Opens: March 8th, 2024 (SXSW)

Throughout history, men have been in an undue position of dominance that has rarely benefited women, and supposed equality in the modern-day liberal world hasn’t achieved nearly as much as it should have by now. The documentary An Army of Women looks at three women who were sexually assaulted and then had their rape cases dismissed without the opportunity for the perpetrator to be put on trial. This look at flaws in the criminal justice system and particularly how difficult it is to secure a conviction in a case like this is equally eye-opening and disturbing.

At the center of this film are three women – Hanna, Marina, and Mary – who were key players in a class-action lawsuit against the Austin Police Department and Travis County District Attorney. After being traumatized by the incidents that they then reported to police, they were horrified to discover a complete lack of action and compassion on the part of the people and entities charged with ensuring their safety and meting out justice. As their cases were dismissed or closed due to factors outside of their control, and with the help of attorneys Jennifer Ecklund and Elizabeth Myers, they came to learn that out of hundreds of reported assaults, almost none actually resulted in trials or convictions.

Fixing a broken system is no easy or quick task, and this film doesn’t purport to be the complete solution. Yet it’s an extremely thorough and helpful start, hearing from women who have understandably become very frustrated with a system that appears to be actively working against them, bestowing no consequences upon perpetrators to discourage them from flagrantly repeating their offenses. As explored in another recent documentary, Victim/Suspect, it’s appalling to see and hear just how investigations are pursued where somehow those accused of crimes are treated as more credible than those who have come forward to accuse them.

This film will surely play well with SXSW audiences given its local relevance. Among its contents is the campaign of a progressive supporter of this class-action lawsuit to challenge the sitting district attorney, who claims to be fighting for victims within her community but repeatedly fails to pursue any legitimate action, instead retaining a status quo that seeks to protect those she believes may be wrongly targeted. While there are certainly cases in which nuance is important and where the truth is not being told, starting from that assumption is a highly destructive and cruel position, capable of, as expressed in the film, being just as traumatizing as the assault itself.

Director Julie Lunde Lillesæter makes an impressive feature debut with this film, which she explains was born of anger and ultimately turned into hope. Her emphasis on how women, as she puts it, have a responsibility to avoid danger rather than asking the world not to attack them, is an unfortunate and harsh truth to which many wrongly ascribe. Her subjects are extremely vulnerable and forthcoming, describing an unexpected sense of healing from broadcasting their stories so that others in similar situations might know they’re not alone.

A trigger warning for this film’s content should likely be in place, not because of any gratuitousness but instead because these women are open and honest about everything they have been through, which will surely be all too relevant to many viewers. Statistics about how small a percentage of sexual assault victims actually report their incidents are discouraging, but that only stresses the need for this film to be seen by as wide an audience as possible. Austin is one place to start, but this film reminds that there is an extraordinary amount of work to be done everywhere. 

80 minutes

Story – B+

Technical – B+

Overall – B+