Marion (2024)

I wonder just how many of us have ever sat in a toilet cubicle and heard disparaging things said of us by our erstwhile colleagues outside! Well that’s how the eponymous écarteur (a torero) finds out, doubtless not for the first time, how they feel about a woman in what they clearly think is a man’s world. She has no issues with her courage though, even if her family and young daughter do, and so is soon entertaining a packed arena of baying supporters as the bull takes aim. The coverage is real enough and aside from the fairly obvious degree of sexism, this short feature also illustrates just how perilous this activity is - despite the obvious safety precautions taken in the ring. It also seems to suggest that those watching care little about her sex - as long as she can thrill! The production mixes a more intimate hand-held photography with more generic television style presentation quite effectively to give us just an hint of the private and public life of a woman determined to succeed.