La Source des femmes (2011)

The women of a small village choose a shrewd weapon in a battle of the sexes in this comedy-drama from director Radu Mihaileanu. In a town in Arabic North Africa, the men rule the roost while forcing the women to do much of the labor, when they're not busy taking care of the homes and looking after the children. Leila (Leila Bekhti), a newcomer to the community, is appalled with this division of labor, especially when it comes to water; running water is unknown in the village, and custom dictates the women carry water back from a distant stream each day. After seeing pregnant women miscarry under the backbreaking labor of fetching the water, Leila demands the menfolk either do their share of the work, or preferably run plumbing lines from the stream to the village. The men balk at Leila's demands, so she organizes the women and they lay down the law, declaring that they will withhold sex from their husbands until their demands are met. While the men are angered, and political and religious leaders speak out against the strike, the women stand firm, embracing their rights for the first time, though some discover the strike is harder to live with than expected. La Source des Femmes (aka The Source) was an official selection at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi