Filthy (Tereza Nvotová, 2017): Czech Republic, Slovakia

Reviewed by Brianna Franklin, viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Tereza Nvotová (Meciar, Hráci) stepped into murky territory by making this film. Rape is an issue that most people don’t want to deal with. We think of victims as broken people. We place more blame on those who don’t deserve it than those who do. We are not helpful to those who need it. This seems to be especially true in Slovakia, where the film is set. Filthy is a film that does not care what makes you uncomfortable. It is real and it is hard to watch. It is closer to reality than any other film in its category.

Dominika Zeleníková (Little Feather, The Candidate), née Morávková, plays 17-year-old Lena, who for all intents and purposes is an average young woman. She is raped by someone in authority, and falls down a dreary and unrelenting path. Lena attempts suicide shortly after and it put in a mental institution by her parents. She won’t tell anyone what happened, and struggles to deal with it. Her process of healing is a complicated one, but that is what makes her so relatable. The grey area of dealing with trauma is on full steam in this gorgeous film.

Nvotová uses color, light, and reflection to highlight the pain of her protagonist, as well as the sad state of the country. Everything in the film is grey or beige. There is no vividness. This sets the tone for the film. Nvotová also implements lighting to describe the scene. The film opens on Lena in a club, where there is strobe lighting. One would think that this is to show that she is a partier, but it instead shows the audience just how average Lena is. The use of reflection in the film is especially powerful. Every time Lena catches a glimpse of herself, something happens. She can’t begin to fathom what has happened to her, and often doesn’t recognize the girl staring back at her.

Filthy is an incredible film that is unflinching in its dealings. Nvotová makes certain that this is a film one won’t forget. Where other filmmakers would have tempered things, she drives through to the core. Filthy is absolutely a film worth seeing.

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Published:
02.19.18 / 2pm
Category:
Films, Santa Barbara Film Festival 2018