Testament (1983)

Free Event

Lynn Littman’s Testament offers a personal, devastating and subversively feminist account of societal collapse. Narrating the ordeals of a suburban Bay Area family in the weeks after a large-scale nuclear attack,Testament measures the deepening crisis through the resilience of mother Carol (Jane Alexander) as she watches traditional figures of patriarchal authority crumble around her. Avoiding graphic violence, Littman instead explores the emotional toll of catastrophe through strong performances and brilliant editing.

Part of the film series Women at the End of the World, inspired by Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the novel selected for Northwestern’s yearly campus-wide One Book One