A meditative masterpiece
5
By Ryryspy
“It’s a burning, breaking thing, this world, a biting, wretching thing. And yet … and yet …”
This is the refrain oft quoted by our protagonist. This is NOT horror and shouldn’t be categorized as such. It just leaves a lot of people disappointed and confused. I got bored because I wanted to be scared the first two times so I ended up missing the point and beauty and symbolism, but I rented it twice and had 6 hours before it would be returned, so I forced myself to turn off my phone and iPad and be present. Boy, am I glad I did. What a ride this film is. It truly is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s been compared to Terrence Malick films, but I’ve honestly never seen any of his although I consider myself a cinephile. And moving on…
Lamb, also with Noomi Rapace, is a good movie with many interpretations, but also only had one scary scene. This one just has some gore but it’s tasteful? Maybe it cannot be put into a genre, but if I had to pick one, I would pick drama. The film is for sensitive artistic people who like to think about a movie and the deep meaning afterward. If you want to have the hairs on your neck stand up or scream, skip this! If you want to get chills by the gorgeous and lush scenery and the poetic nature and symbolism and simple dialogue, watch it. But be patient and consider watching it twice at least! And read about it. I watched it 3 times before I understood it, and the first two times I was disappointed and confused how it got such a high rating by the critics. It is very Malick-Ian, ethereal, gorgeous scenery, and the directors plays around with minimalistic dialogue from the protagonist Nevena, who is turned into a witch and continually shapeshifts—a violent and gory process—her way through 17th century Macedonia, starting as a woman, even trying out being a dog, a man, and eventually she… well, if you’ve read this far, I won’t spoil the ending for you.
Horror films don’t make you think like this film does. At first I thought the translation was terrible, but you have to keep in mind the main character, Nevena, was raised in a cave for 16 years and is very emotionally and socially stunted. This makes for an interesting premise because the simplest things, like chewing on straw, seeing the sun, feeling touched and loved and seen, tasting the dew from grass… she is even mesmerized by water dripping off clothing on a clothesline and onto her face.
It makes you think, that life is precious and we all take for granted very basic things. There is so much beauty amongst the chaos and pain, and it’s reflected well in her difficult journey of a witch learning what it means to be human. It means to suffer, but to find meaning in the suffering, and if we learn to open our hearts and refuse to be afraid, we may be lucky to experience unconditional and beautiful love and companionship. I will be buying this film. It is one of the oddest films about love, loss, gender, aging, tradition, and witchcraft I’ve ever seen, and it will have you thinking and feeling for the next couple days if you are open to it and don’t need constant action.
