Un monde (Laura Wandel, 2021) aka Playground; Maya Vanderbeque, Günter Duret
This is almost entirely shot in close-up on Nora, the little girl who is at the centre of the film. Everything else in the background is out of focus. And the camera is placed at her head height. It is the world (monde) seen from the POV of a seven-year-old girl.
(I am reminded of Ozu's 'tatami shot'. He placed his camera lower than the head-height of someone sitting on a tatami mat as his alter ego Chishu Ryu is often seen in multiple films.)
It is only 72 minutes in duration, but is still a small test in endurance, as the world of banal cruelty to which the viewer is exposed 'through the eyes' of the little girl is confronting. This is what human beings are like, before becoming aware - if they do - of the Kantian categorical imperative (or what Americans might call the Golden Rule). The rule of the Playground - the world - is: oppress ... or be oppressed (cruelly). Not a good place, the (human) world.
The young actress, Maya Vanderbeque, who is Nora in the film, is astonishingly good. I hope she doesn't suffer PTSD as result of working on this.
Wikipedia page.
Garry Gillard | reviews | New: 4 February, 2023 | Now: 5 February, 2023