the Belgian film (Oscar) that challenges bullying – Corriere.it

A short circuit is created in Nora’s little head, 7 years old, powerless in the face of the physical and psychological violence that his schoolmates commit against his older brother, Abel. They beat him, slander him, lock him in a garbage can. Small, sensitive Nora (Maya Vanderbeque) doesn’t understand why no one can save Abel (Gnter Duret). Nor her, who is told to stay away from the boy. Nor the separated and unemployed young dad who protests but gets only an irrelevant apology. Nor teachers, often incapable. Or distracted. Or, again, caught up in other hardships. The rules, then, seem to be made on purpose to facilitate bad deeds and bad behavior. Abel himself asking his sister for silence. Or it will be worse for you. A cruel world without justice, thinks Nora in a storm of anxiety, anger, melancholy. Children look at us, they judge us. They experience interrupted, misunderstood affections. Beyond that sentimental line, there is the abyss of an inexplicable loneliness.

Bringing the camera to child height, therefore with the figures of adults distant, blurred or cut in half as would have been done at the time of the Nouvelle Vague, The pact of silence – Playground (original title, A world) a sensitive Belgian film against child abuse, signed by the debutant Laura Wandel, ideal standard-bearer of the Day against bullying and cyberbullying (February 7), Oscar candidate for Belgium, in cinemas from March 2 with the support of industry associations. Nora and Abel’s school universe is a hell, a cage, a mountain to climb. The courtyard, the canteen, the classrooms, the recreation area, the swimming pool, the workshops for artistic activities. A normality that excludes malaise, actually pretends not to see it. Are you okay?, the recurring question. But no one is waiting for the answer. Little Nora suffers from her, also due to the separation of her parents. She tries to connect with her father’s love, which is there but it doesn’t reach her. She goes to discover an unknown universe. She faces a new phase in her life and discovers the hostility that surrounds her and the impossibility of defending herself.

The raw and poetic story together. It has a dry connection of style and character with the excellent Close by Lukas Dhont. Wandel does not attempt the sociological lesson. He chooses a subjective, naturalistic narrative. Observe and narrate. It favors the dynamics of emotions, giving itself the mission of overturning clichés: children are not necessarily angels, pure, innocent. They react to adversity with immature tools, increasing the torment. While bullying, which everyone is talking about, is an (underestimated) phenomenon that has deep roots in the family and in society. Nora laughs a little, she always has her head elsewhere. The whirlwind in which she finds herself fuels her courage. Maya Vanderbeque a sensitive, spontaneous, moving interpreter.

THE PACT OF SILENCE – PLAYGROUND
by Laura Wandel
(Belgium, 2021, duration 72′)

with Maya Vanderbeque, Gnter Duret, Lena Girard Voss, Simon Caudry, Thao Maerten
Rating: *** out of 5

In theaters from March 2