A young single mother works hard as a nurse. Her brother comes to her flat late at night, bloodied and beaten – but the other guy is in a much worse state. His sister makes him tell her where the other guy is so she can go and help – in part motivated by the time she was helped by a stranger.
The plot summary doesn't sound like much, and indeed as the film plays out there is not a lot more concrete information other than some basic facts that we can see ourselves. However, the film is at its best in between the things we know – where we assume or deduce what is going on, and then ponder on the rest. The plot appears to hinge on the sister being raped and, perhaps, made pregnant by that attack. The rest of the suggestion is that the person she goes to help is either the person that raped her, or someone related to the crime, or associated with it in her mind. The whole film is like this, and I found it fascinating to wonder about the various characters, what they were bringing to any specific moment in the film, what their motivations were, and what really their actions were (most of the pivotal moments in the film go unseen).
It is very cleverly constructed to be easy to follow but yet not be obvious in the detail – the same film played out in a very clear, confirmed and black/white way would be nowhere near as good. Well worth seeing for how nicely it delivers simplicity and enables so much complexity to happen in the viewing experience.
The plot summary doesn't sound like much, and indeed as the film plays out there is not a lot more concrete information other than some basic facts that we can see ourselves. However, the film is at its best in between the things we know – where we assume or deduce what is going on, and then ponder on the rest. The plot appears to hinge on the sister being raped and, perhaps, made pregnant by that attack. The rest of the suggestion is that the person she goes to help is either the person that raped her, or someone related to the crime, or associated with it in her mind. The whole film is like this, and I found it fascinating to wonder about the various characters, what they were bringing to any specific moment in the film, what their motivations were, and what really their actions were (most of the pivotal moments in the film go unseen).
It is very cleverly constructed to be easy to follow but yet not be obvious in the detail – the same film played out in a very clear, confirmed and black/white way would be nowhere near as good. Well worth seeing for how nicely it delivers simplicity and enables so much complexity to happen in the viewing experience.
