Svetlonoc
Světlonoc
Directed by:
Tereza NvotováCinematography:
Federico CescaCast:
Natalia Germani, Eva Mores, Juliana Oľhová, Zuzana Konečná, Marek Geišberg, Peter Ondrejička, Noël Czuczor, Jana Oľhová, Iva Bittová, Matúš Ryšan (more)Plots(1)
Following her 2017 debut feature Filthy, writer and director Tereza Nvotová returns with Nightsiren, a spellbinding contemporary drama that expertly blends psychological and supernatural horror to explore the intersections of misogyny and religious zealotry. In the wake of a tragic past, Šarlota (Natália Germáni) returns to her mountainous hometown after years of absence. After befriending Mira (Eva Mores), a spirited young herbalist, Šarlota stumbles upon the forgotten tale of an ancient witch and a wild child. Together, they embark on a quest to unearth the village’s buried secrets. But as Šarlota delves deeper into the mysteries, she becomes entangled in a web of ancient legends turned reality. Accused of witchcraft and murder by fearful villagers, she must explore the darkness at the heart of the town to clear her name and confront the shadows of her past. Tereza Nvotová has created a captivating cinematic experience which has wowed audiences and critics alike on the international festival circuit, including Locarno where it won the Golden Leopard - Filmmakers of the Present award. Beguiling and atmospheric, Nightsiren is a superb effort from one of the most exciting new voices in cinema. (Arrow Films)
(more)Reviews (2)
The Nightsiren is made on a very high production level and offers an engaging mystery plot, although some segments are quite predictable, but under the weight of the interesting visuals it doesn't matter at all. It's more of a dark family melodrama than the horror film that the marketing primarily tries to make it out to be, which will probably disappoint many viewers, but for me it's still a very solid step out of the comfort zone of Czech/Slovak films and in its own way a very interesting genre piece that works well with themes such as dangerous superstitions, ingrained prejudices and misogyny.
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Tereza Nvotová has halfway pulled it off this time. The least that could bother me is the light ripoff of Eggers, von Trier, and with a certain bit of overstatement Kubrick, as together it works quite well as a social drama with elements of folk horror. The problem is that there are multiple themes being developed, most of which ring a bit hollow in the end. However, the atmosphere and cinematography are top-notch, some moments are really strong, and overall it feels quite original and auteur in the context of Czechoslovak filmmaking. Unfortunately, Tereza Nvotová has not surpassed her excellent debut Filthy. [45%]
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