RIGA IFF online: Natatorija

Helena Stefansdottir
Natatorium
Natatorium
IS, FI
2024, 105', is
Age 16+

 

Lilja arrives at the home of relatives she has never really known. As she is staying at their modern house, the 18-year-old girl hopes to successfully complete her cello auditions. Her grandmother Áróra's religious rituals and her uncle's questionable health arouse no suspicion in the young girl. Despite her aunt's objections, Lilja decides to stay longer in this surreal place. However, things kept silent start surfacing bit by bit – the dangers she had been warned about.

 

Silence is accompanied by fear, and vice versa. A mystic piece, immersed in water motifs, mythology, occultism, and half-whispers, combines a coming-of-age story with a psychological thriller. The first feature film by Icelandic director Stefánsdóttir premiered at Bright Future, the feature film debut section of the Rotterdam Film Festival, and is one of this year's most compelling and intriguing Nordic films. The genre serves as a mirror (and visually water) surface illuminating the outline of a dysfunctional family, community, society, while retaining a universal and mesmerising quality.