A great tragedy whips through a small community at the beginning of Holly when a fire breaks out in the high school and ten students are killed. But that morning one girl seems to have a premonition and calls the school to say she won’t come, because she has a feeling that something bad is going to happen.
From this bare premise, award-winning Belgian writer-director Fien Troch (Home, Kid, Someone Else’s Happiness) launches an intriguing exploration into how the psychic gifts of a “special” person affect the people around her in quite different ways, and especially how she deals with these unusual abilities herself. The most interesting thing about the film, however, is not its desultory scenes of school bullying and group dynamics, which anyway play their ordinary-world role in the story. What puts this small art film in another league (and no doubt led to its bow in Venice competition) is its eerie tone wavering between belief in miracles and doubt about the protagonist’s abilities to heal, between the exaggerated adoration of the townsfolk, who attribute supernatural powers to her, and the anger of those to whom healing is denied.
As both screenwriter and director, Troch keeps the viewer on the judge’s bench trying to pigeon-hole the elusive 15-year-old Holly. She is played with angelic softness and passivity by young actress Cathalina Geeraerts (who glows gently in the photography of Close D.P. Frank van den Eeden) and projects an air of ambiguity that can be read in various ways. At school she is a despised outsider who is kept out of all the social groups; her only friend is Bart (non-pro actor Felix Heremans), an intense young man who struggles to control his anger issues and his hair-trigger temper. Only in Holly’s presence does he feel safe and protected against the world (specifically, the class bullies who harass him because he is different.)
Nine months after the tragic fire, a well-meaning teacher (Greet Verstraete, very vivid) organizes a day trip for the victims’ families. Anna is the kind of person who burns incense and essential oils in front of a statue of Buddha at home, and who selflessly distributes food and toys to the poor in her free time. One has the suspicion that her role is being spoofed, especially when she shows her stubborn, authoritarian side to some disobedient students, the flip side of her outer kindness to strangers. She is the first to notice Holly’s calming effect on others, and enrolls the girl as a volunteer on the day trip. The results are amazing – everyone Holly talks to or touches finds peace and serenity and the will to go on living despite their losses.
Soon Holly is approached by other needy individuals who project their sorrows onto her, looking for solace. One of these is Anna’s companion, a handyman at the school (Serdi Faki Alici), who is haunted by the fire and his inability to save the kids. Others just want to exploit her, like the pushy boy Gabor (“You have to save me!”) Her wiser sister warns her to be careful, but her dippy mother proudly shows her off in public in a cringe-worthy scene in a restaurant, where she makes the poor girl stand on a chair while the diners applaud her.
Her new-found celebrity brings Holly a little bit of money for the first time in her life, which she uses to buy trinkets and a new pair of sneakers. Her independence also excites jealousy in Bart and Anna, who are reluctant to share her. When Anna learns she is accepting cash from the grateful people she helps, she accuses Holly of “taking advantage” of her special gift – but there is something Anna wants from the girl, too.
The pace of the film quickens near the end, with many things happening to the notes of Johnny Jewel’s enveloping and vaguely New Age score. The powerful closing image that Troch and her editor Nico Leunen settle on comes as a surprise, yet mysteriously resonates with its own energy, leaving the viewer to ponder its meaning.
Director, screenplay: Fien Troch
Cast: Cathalina Geeraerts, Felix Heremans, Greet Verstraete, Serdi Faki Alici, Els Deceukelier, Maya Louisa Sterkendries, Robby Cleiren, Sara De Bosschere
Producers: Elisa Heene, Antonino Lombardo
Cinematography: Frank van den Eeden
Editing: Nico Leunen
Production design: Natalia Trevino, Sanne Rubbrecht
Music: Johnny Jewel
Production companies: Mirage Films (Belgium), Prime Time (Belgium), Tarantula, Les Films du Fleuve, Topkapi Films, Tabiki Film, Agat Films
World Sales: MK2
Venue: Venice Film Festival (competition)
In Dutch
103 minutes