Film Review: DELOPING
by Karen Pecota

Jon Olav Stokke, UK 2022

One looks at the title of this film and thinks the word deloping is mispelled, wondering if it should read developing, but not so. Deloping is a French word meaning to throw away. In the decades between the 1700 –1800s, deloping was an interesting practice when a duel would take place. The idea was to "throw away" their first shot— to literally miss their target. Several reasons for this practice occurred, one being to end a conflict without a fatality. Deloping was often a sign of surrender.

In DELOPING, on July 21, 1792, two women, Mary and Emma, are seen to attempt a duel because of an unforgivable situation that has ruined their longtime friendship. The men in their world come to duel to one's death in order to finalize differences when no other solution can be found. Thus, these women believe that this is the only way they know how to settle such matters.

Several attempts to perform a perfect duel end in one mishap after the other. Though each female takes the matter seriously, they exclaim the need to have a "do-over" after each mishap, in order to get it right as to who will live or die because "it's the way the men do it!"

Consumed to practice such a harsh ritual of their male counterparts, the women don't stop to think that they might be better served instead by forgiving each other, working to restore their longtime friendship, and choosing to live long lives.