Micha (Eliska Krenkova) is a young Czech woman who has gone to work abroad. She got a job as a nanny, the kind of nanny who lives in the house of a family whose child she takes care of (I think it’s called an au pair) in a city in western Europe that I thought was somewhere in the Netherlands. She got a job after a bizarre interview, and even then it will become clear to us that a seemingly rich, successful and well-to-do family is hiding a dark secret. That something bad happened there is also clear to us almost from the beginning because we occasionally see Mich being questioned at the police station because of something that happened earlier. And what happened, screenwriter and director Michal Hogenauer will slowly reveal to us in this uncomfortable, disturbing, and ultimately extremely shocking combination of drama and thriller premiered at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
A Certain Kind / Tiché doteky of Silence plot, review
In addition to naming Mia Mia right at the start, Micha will give her strange, strict rules to follow. So as they sit down at the table for a shared meal, he moves with the meal exactly in a second, and the boy Sebastian he has to look after is a special story. The kid also seems somehow unnatural, demanding, it is obvious that his parents keep him almost under a glass bell and from him as if they managed to make a little jerk. Still, Micha will somehow manage to connect with Sebastian and he will start to open up slowly, but it will turn out that even that doesn’t suit creepy and slimy parents, who after a while we’ll start wondering if they might be members of a cult.
Although Michi will soon become clear that what is happening around her is not natural and not normal, she will still try to fit in and like them. Mostly because he doesn’t want to go home with his tail wagged, and partly because he will eventually become attached to the kid. That something is really wrong here will be emphasized by the atmosphere. So it’s all passed through some gray filters, gloomy, dark, practically constantly cloudy and raining in the city where Micha arrived, and the mise-en-scène seems kind of minimalist. Such is the acting, somehow muted, almost devoid of emotion, somewhat on the trail of films by George Lantimos or Michael Haneke. Everything here seems bizarre, creepy, almost skin-chilling with discomfort, but all these signals don’t seem to be enough for Michi to decide to stay even when she starts to understand what’s really going on there. Although she will already start ringing the alarm bell and clearly signaling her to buy rags and run away with her head no matter what, she will stay and become part of this ultimately shocking, sick and dark story set according to real events. Rating 7/10.
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