Jonas Alexander Arnby’s debut feature is an intriguing mix of Nordic noir and grisly coming-of-age fantasy.
Mining the macabre horrors of puberty previously explored by films like Carrie and Ginger Snaps, Arby’s coolly lyrical film focuses on Marie, ayoung girl who lives in a small fishing village on the remote coast of Denmark with her protective father and heavily sedated, wheelchair-bound mother.
Taking the standard Saturday job at the nearby fish factory, it soon becomes clear that her fellow colleagues in the local community are wary of her family’s unconventional reclusiveness. Her feelings of alienation are compounded as she starts undergoing a disturbing physical transformation which bodily reveals a family secret that her parents have hidden from her.
The film’s stark beauty is perfectly complimented by newcomer Sonia Suhl’s fragile central performance which combines a gentle pathos with one hell of a bite.
