2019 Directed by Kathleen Hepburn, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers
When Áila encounters a young Indigenous woman, barefoot and crying in the rain on the side of a busy street, she soon discovers that this young woman, Rosie, has just escaped a violent assault at the hands of her boyfriend. Áila decides to bring Rosie home with her and over the course of the evening, the two navigate the aftermath of this traumatic event.
Experimental Forest Films Film Farms Oslo Pictures Violator Films William F. White International levelFILM
세계가 깨어져 열릴 때, Тело помнит, когда мир развалился, 身体记着世间何时崩裂
Germany
Berlin International Film Festival
South Korea
Seoul International Women’s Film Festival
Germany
South Korea
Very interesting film about a subject I'm passionate about. I happen to be spending time in the neighborhood this was shot in right now. Filmmakers Kathleen Hepburn and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers were kind enough to share a link with me before it hits TIFF and hopefully theaters later this year.
I found the depictions pretty accurate and the film is definitely coming from a good place -- interested in exploring the cycle of abuse and trauma. A miasma of despair most definitely looms over the world of the film.
Almost the entire film is a one take (and supposedly has hidden cuts yet they are impossible to spot). Cinematographer Norm Li (Beyond the Black Rainbow) does a fantastic job with non-jarring hand-held and from what I can tell, mostly natural lighting. Shot on Super 16mm.
Arri 416 Plus on Super16mm
Kodak 7219 500T
Hawk VLite16 1.3x Anamorphic Lenses
Scanned on Arriscan at 2K
Watched a Vimeo link
“So, take care?”
Beautiful, captivating storytelling that reminds viewers that the resources and options women have available to them are not always accessible in the way we imagine them to be. Cycles of abuse are difficult to break free from, even when the way out seems to be within reach. The dynamic between the two leads is contentious yet so genuinely empathetic, and I adored how both characters were so hard to pin down. The real-time pace of the film is a fantastic way of putting us in the characters' shoes, though I do think some cuts would’ve helped the film overall. Still a fantastic watch I can’t recommend enough.
unfortunate that netflix buried this gem, which has the best use of a joni mitchell song i’ve ever seen.
quiet, but so profound. a story about women looking out for each other, giving them space, and understanding the pain that is impossible to put into words.
A film that I appreciated but didn't love. The cinematography, on the one hand, is top-notch throughout. The use of cool, opaque lighting is perfect for the film's subject matter and overall tone. All the exterior and internal emotions that are overwhelming our two protagonists are captured by the performances, through the minimal dialogue and the physical performance, and this is also well reflected by the script.
Unfortunately for me, while I understand the director's objectives and approach with the long takes and long stretches of silence, a part of me feels that it was well made and the direction is good. Yet the other, and definitely the one who won based on my rating, believes that the film should…
The worst sort of superb film to see while sitting behind the four most discourteous people ever to set foot in a movie theatre. I’m almost impressed that they managed to talk to one another perpetually, legitimately without ceasing, for an entire hour and forty-five minute picture, presumably not paying attention to a single second of the runtime. Why they even bother attending a festival, I haven’t a clue. After several astonishingly unpleasant experiences over the last six or seven years, I think I can declare respectful cinema-going — at least in my eyes — a dead form of thoughtfulness.
Permit me to cook with a simple binary for a second, but I've thought a lot about how the single-shot setpiece feels like it's employed in very masculine contexts—tours of gangland and disco clubs, bank robberies, scenes of military prowess or military retreat, a man beats up several other men in a hallway, predatory cars prowling the night—and have wondered how such a technique could be employed towards a feminine expression. And, well, here is The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, a film executed in (mostly) a single take. It's unobtrusive—I didn't even notice until about a half hour in—but it feels absolutely essential to the film, a technique married to the emotional state of the players involved.…
The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open is a painfully realistic depiction of domestic abuse, trauma, and the anxieties that surround accepting help. It is an honest movie that is not concerned with pandering to popular forms of identity politics to seem ‘with it,’ even though they exist in the subtext. Exponentially more mature than its hypothetical American equivalents, which would mine the narrative’s hot button topics for commercial ends (sermonizing from a self-congratulatory soapbox), this is a raw exploration of the complex nature of being stuck in cycles of abuse, and the harrowing physical, emotional, and psychological dynamics that prevent one from escaping.
The right choice may be theoretically obvious, but within the interpersonal fabric of everyday life,…
very blue but never cold. patient but urgent. very naturalistic lighting and writing with realism that breaks ur heart. gives u time to take a breath, have a sliver of hope, but knocks u back into place. lovely sensitivity from the writers and filmmakers. a gem
Sometimes when I'm watching ASMR videos I think about how they mimic a basic need for intimacy and connection - just a person, hanging out with you, making human noises. I thought about ASMR a couple of times during this, with it's use of real time and diegetic sound. This isn't intended as a soothing bit of disposable media, like ASMR, and it succeeds in many other ways as a drama. But what struck me was how intimate it felt, how I was in those rooms with these women, and how watching each other can be so revelatory.
I added this to my watchlist entirely based on the title and the poster. Glad I choose to judge a book by the cover.
The Letterboxd Era Catch-Up 4: 53 Days a Slave
The increasing focus on Netflix Originals and the fluctuating quality of them has distracted away from one of the genuinely good things that Netflix do.
They regularly add titles to their catalogue that were either little seen or, in the case of The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, almost completely unknown. They've taken a title here that may well have faded into obscurity and in the process have allowed people an accessible way to view a really quite beautiful film that is also easily one of the best films I've seen this year. They do deserve some credit for that.
The vast majority of the credit should obviously go…
Netlfix I am BEGGING you please stop throwing all your effort into poorly made teen dramas and put some time into promoting your vast catalogue that most people don’t know about.
Before I pick apart the primary formal choice in this film, let me say clearly and concisely: I really loved this. It was absolutely mesmerizing.
Violet Nelson and actor/co-director Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers are both completely believable in their roles, and the choice to only show female faces for the entire movie (men talk, but always from off camera) really keeps us centered on the experiences the filmmakers want us focused on. It’s wonderfully adept social cinema.
Cool, now... the format. This was shot on super 16mm (by Norm Li who photographed the stunning Beyond the Black Rainbow) and is mostly presented as a single take meant to represent real time. Though there are hidden cuts, I think I spotted exactly one…
