A visually stunning and captivating film about coping with trauma of a young girl who accidentally witnesses a violent crime. Directed by Del Kathryn Barton, this Australian film marks the directorial debut for Barton, a well known artist new to film.
It should be noted that the violent scenes portrayed in the film can be triggering and have been noted as being meticulously captured on film as the driver for the transformation experienced by a young girl left catatonic by what she saw.
Julia Savage portrays Blaze, a 12 year old girl who’s life will never be the same after witnessing a horrific rape and murder, she comforts herself and draws strength from the help of other-worldly creatures, particularly an imaginary dragon - beautifully and dramatically created by the artistically driven director Del.
Blaze has a caring father played by Simon Baker, who is desperate to help. He struggles trying to protect his daughter without having any easy answers, made worse by the fact that Blaze is the only witness to the crime and her testimony is crucial to getting justice for the victim, remembering that Blaze is also a victim because of what she experienced. We see here that both Blaze and her father are in way over their heads and the fall-out will be far reaching.
The film is often more cryptic that it needs to be, even steeped in stunning visuals that bring to mind such concepts as loss and rebirth. A somewhat complex film that tries to open the mind and doesn’t always succeed.
This film was nominiated for a number of awards, including Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) awards 2022 for Best Lead Actress in film (Savage), Best Supporting Actor in Film (Baker), Best Supporting Actress in Film (Yael Stone), Best Editing in Film (Dany Cooper), Best Cinematography in Film (Jeremy Rouse).
Del Kathryn Barton was nominated for a number of awards for her directorial duties (and more…) with the film nominations appearing at the following film festivals:
Goteborg Film Festival (2023)
HARD:LINE Film Festival (2023)
Sydney Film Festival (2023)
Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival (2022)
Calgary International Film Festival (2022)
Reykjavik International Film Festival (2022)
Sitgas - Catalonian International Film Festival (2022)
Wasaw International Film Festival (2022)
Melborne International Film Festival (2022)
Tribeca Film Festival (2022)
For the full list of nominations and awards, check here:
Another review of this groundbreaking film:
An interesting film that stuns in more ways than one and a great first outing for a visually inspiring director in Del Kathryn Barton.