Not a Word

Not a Word is a slow burner that never actually catches fire. Nina is a maestra with a big performance on the horizon. Lars is her teenage son, as stroppy as they come. Has something happened to make him this as way? Will we ever find out? Well, it's a good 40 minutes or so until the subject is broached, and that's the nub of the film. Thematically, it's all about the unsaid, the lack of discussion and the effects this kind of verbal inertia can have on relationships - in this case, mother and son. Fair topic, but I found this reeked of missed opportunities.

The performance of Maren Eggert as Nina is solid enough, though not Hüller level, nor even Kruger. It's the character of Lars, though, that wound me up. Jona Levin Nicolai plays him without an ounce of empathy, sure he's a surly teen but there's zero connection with the audience here. Nina is supposed to be equally guilty of fractures in their pairing, yet I was 100% on her side in this. I'm not sure that's what writer/director, Hanna Slak was after. At times, I felt like I was watching the filmic bastard child of Tár and We Need to Talk About Kevin.

As a salve to the problems, including an 'accident' at school, mum and lad head off to an island off the French coast for a few days. Here's where Claire Mathon's cinematography comes to the fore, maybe even the rescue. The landscape and the cute little fishing village stand out against stormy seas and skies. It's a great location, shot well.

The visuals are the best thing in the film. The classical score, while logically connected to Nina's job, is obtrusive and jarring. The pacing is oddly flat, making the short runtime feel a lot longer. There are also too many instances where mum answers her phone right on the point of a conversational breakthrough, where one, maybe two, would have been enough.

Unfortunately, Not a Word is a promising concept, done much better elsewhere. And the kid isn't quite as odious as Joffrey Lannister, though it's a close run thing. 

Not a Word is showing at the German Film Festival, which runs at the Palace and Luna cinemas from May 16 to June 5 (earlier in other Australian capitals).

See also:

If you're after emotions on an island, look no further than Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019). Also on the island theme, Bergman Island (2021), directed by Mia Hansen-Løve, is an interesting film.