Filthy
The world is just opening up for 17-year-old Lena (Dominika Zeleníková) when a traumatic event leaves her in shock. Unable to share or process her experience, Lena enters an institution, where the only people less hospitable than the doctors are the patients. Czech director Tereza Nvotová’s feature debut benefits from confidence and sharp cinematography from Marek Dvorák, who renders the institution in muted beige but, crucially, lets some sunshine into the frame too.
Dominika Moravkova, Anna Jakab Rakovska, Róbert Jakab
- Notes From Ed LachmanThe director immediately draws you into a story that asks you to put the pieces together throughout the film. It’s a story about a 17-year-old girl whose potential for love and dreams is violated by sexual assault. The pain becomes reinforced and internalized as our protagonist, Lena, navigates her disengaged family, broken medical community and society. By the end of the film, there is hope that perhaps she finds a future where she can control her own life. Director Tereza Nvotová uses documentary observation for fictional storytelling. Scriptwriter Barbora Namerova’s approach to morally contentious issues and how they are depicted offers insight into the problems a rape victim faces in society. The subtlety and vulnerable performance of actor Dominika Morávková as a middle-class, ordinary high school girl contribute to this extraordinary, powerful film.
