The Other Lamb

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
Original title The Other Lamb
Country of production Ireland , Belgium , USA
original language English
Publishing year 2019
length 92 minutes
Rod
Director Małgorzata Szumowska
script CS McMullen
production David Lancaster ,
Stephanie Wilcox
music Rafaël Leloup ,
Paweł Mykietyn
camera Michal Englert
cut Jarosław Kamiński
occupation

The Other Lamb is a horror film by Małgorzata Szumowska , which celebrated its world premiere in September 2019 as part of the Toronto International Film Festival . The drama tells of a sectarian community made up entirely of women, with the exception of the leader, a man called "Shepherd," played by Michiel Huisman . The film is told through the eyes of 15-year-old Selah, played by Raffey Cassidy .

action

The leader of the sect describes the area around Lough Tay, where the film was shot, as " paradise on earth "

The young Selah grew up within a sectarian community made up entirely of women, with the exception of the leader, a man referred to as the "Shepherd," their shepherd, whom they worship like a Messiah. Their camp is hidden in the forest and they have to do without modern technology. The everyday life of women is determined by work so that they can survive as a self-sufficient community far away from modern civilization. His wives all dress in red, while his daughters dress in royal blue.

Completely submissive, they vie for his “grace” and put their bodies at the disposal of their leader. He warns his followers about the corruption of the world out there, a broken place that was created by broken people and from which they absolutely must stay away. The Shepherd, on the other hand, describes their little idyll with the waterfall and the small lake, near which they have their camp, as “ paradise on earth ”.

Selah, now 15, has almost left her puberty behind and has matured into a real woman. Now she too is supposed to become a wife of the Shepherd. She is haunted by visions that are full of bloody images. In addition, she is initiated into a rite, which shows her what happens to the women in the community when they get older. Life here is the only life Selah has ever known. But increasingly she is beginning to question her belief in all of this.

The authorities are actually not very interested in the life of the sect as long as they do not commit a serious crime. When the police pay a visit to the sect, the Shepherd explains to his followers that they need to find a new home, even deeper inland. But Sarah, who now suspects that he is responsible for her mother's death, begins to tell the story of the sect anew, a privilege that her leader has so far reserved.

production

Staff, film title and cast

It is in The Other Lamb to the first film by the Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska in English. CS McMullen wrote the script . Film critic Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times writes, even if the practice in the film cult is not exactly religious, the agenda could the shepherds in a certain way as a grotesque failure of Psalm 23 , as a shepherd Psalm or Psalm of the Good Shepherd called, be read , in which the sentence “He grazes me on a green meadow” rarely takes on disgusting undertones. For its part, the lamb named in the title of the film should be understood both literally and figuratively: "The women tend their own little flock of sheep, one of which is Selah." Chang says of the word " Selah ", which appears repeatedly in the Psalms, you could think of it as a kind of “ amen ” and such an opportunity to pause and reflect.

Raffey Cassidy took on the role of young Selah, Michiel Huisman plays the cult leader. Denise Gough plays Sarah, whom he has cast out.

Filming and costumes

The shooting took place entirely in the town of Wicklow and the county of the same name on the east coast of Ireland. Some recordings were made at the nearby Powerscourt Waterfall and at Lough Tay , which the leader of the sect describes in the film as "Paradise on Earth". Filming ended in March 2019. Michal Englert acted as cameraman and Jarosław Kamiński as film editor .

The costumes are from Jenny Nolan . She makes the women in the film wear uniform clothes, the “daughters” in dark blue, the “wives”, all women with whom the “shepherd” has slept in blood red. This difference in clothing already creates a visual contrast between the two groups, according to Roger Ebert critic Monica Castillo. Loren King noticed by the Alliance of Women movie Journalists, the strict women's costumes coupled with their evenly braided hair, were a reference to polygamous cults and a rigid religious hierarchy, which The Other Lamb the atmosphere of a gloomy, but majestic horror fable or allegory grant .

Film music and publication

The film music was provided by the Belgian Rafaël Leloup and the Pole Paweł Mykietyn , which consists largely of stringed instruments. In addition, the film contains some acapella performances of folk songs sung by the cult members, such as the scary English nursery rhyme Babes in the Wood and the song Down to the Valley to Pray , but also the pop song The Last Goodbye by the indie rock band The Kills .

The film was shown for the first time on September 6, 2019 as part of the Toronto International Film Festival . Also in September 2019 there was a screening at the Festival Internacional de Cine de San Sebastián , where the film was shown in the main competition. In October 2019 it was presented in the official competition at the London Film Festival , in March 2020 at the Glasgow Film Festival. On April 3, 2020, the film was released by IFC Films in the USA and is also available as video-on-demand . In April and May 2020, it should Nights Film Festival of Fantasy as part of the Fantasy Film Festival will be shown.

reception

Reviews and age ratings

In the USA, the MPAA gave the film an R rating, which corresponds to a rating of 17 and over, due to, among other things, violence, nudity and some disturbing sex scenes.

Michiel Huisman plays the sect leader

Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times writes that Raffey Cassidy plays this teenager who grew up in an incestuous , polygamous sex cult , as in Vox Lux or The Killing of a Sacred Deer , where her watchful intelligence and uncanny, supernatural prudence make her was noticed, as captivating as ever. Ultimately, however, Chang can't shake the feeling that Selahs, and thus Cassidy's, the next chapter could be the more interesting film.

Ryan Lattanzio from IndieWire reminds The Other Lamb of the movie Midsommar and especially the book or the TV series The Handmaid's Tale , when women are only seen as birthing machines and nothing more.

The film critic Antje Wessels also recognizes an orientation towards The Witch by Robert Eggers, about a godly family pushed to the edge of a forest by the village community. Wessels emphasizes the strong leading actress and the fantastic camera work, but also notes that the symbolism used seemed worn here and there.

Kaleem Aftab from the online film magazine Cineuropa writes what makes The Other Lamb such an uncomfortable, challenging but also excellent thing is the idea that this system can only work with the permission of women. The women complained that their shepherd once eyed them with the same gaze he now does at their daughters. This is unsettling and just one of the messages conveyed in the film, which is always close to horror . The relationship between these outsiders living in the sect community and the system from which they are trying to escape reminds Aftab of Debra Granik's film Leave No Trace , and in his conclusion he speaks of a bewitching, complex film that is open to many interpretations.

Awards

Festival Internacional de Cine de San Sebastián 2019

London Film Festival 2019

  • Nomination in the competition (Małgorzata Szumowska)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Other Lamb. In: tiff.net. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  2. ↑ http://filmireland.net/2019/12/30/review-of-irish-film-cork-film-festival-2019-the-other-lamb/
  3. ↑ a b Kaleem Aftab: Review: The Other Lamb. In: cineuropa.org, September 24, 2019.
  4. ^ Małgorzata Szumowska Shoots Her First English Language Film. In: filmneweurope.com, February 26, 2019.
  5. ↑ a b Justin Chang: 'The Other Lamb' Review. In: Los Angeles Times, April 2, 2020.
  6. ↑ http://filmireland.net/2019/12/30/review-of-irish-film-cork-film-festival-2019-the-other-lamb/
  7. ^ Ola Salwa: Małgorzata Szumowska wraps principal photography for The Other Lamb. In: cineuropa.org, March 27, 2019.
  8. ^ A b Monica Castillo: The Other Lamb. In: rogerebert.com, April 3, 2020.
  9. ^ A b Antje Wessels: The Other Lamb. In: wessels-filmkritik.com. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  10. ↑ https://awfj.org/blog/2020/03/29/the-other-lamb-review-by-loren-king/
  11. ↑ Joey Keogh: Review: Malgorzata Szumowska's 'The Other Lamb'. In: vaguevisages.com, April 2, 2020.
  12. ↑ http://filmireland.net/2019/12/30/review-of-irish-film-cork-film-festival-2019-the-other-lamb/
  13. ↑ Ben Dalton: BFI London Film Festival selects 10 titles for 2019 competition. In: screendaily.com, August 28, 2019.
  14. ↑ Glasgow Film Festival 2020 - Program booklet. In: glasgowfilm.org. Accessed April 7, 2020 (PDF; 12.1 MB)
  15. ^ Upcoming Women Centric Films. In: womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  16. ^ The Other Lamb. In: fantasyfilmfest.com. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  17. ↑ Audrey Callerstrom: The Other Lamb. In: moviejawn.com, April 3, 2020.
  18. ↑ Ryan Lattanzio: 'The Other Lamb' Review: Chilling Parable of Abuse Has Echoes of 'Midsommar' and 'Handmaid's Tale'. In: indiewire.com, April 4, 2020.
  19. ↑ Kaleem Aftab: Review: The Other Lamb. In: cineuropa.org, September 24, 2019.
  20. ↑ Jennifer Green: San Sebastian Festival Adds Six Films to Competition. In: The Hollywood Reporter, August 22, 2019.