Miss Violence – 2013 – Slowly the truth reveils itself…
“On her eleventh birthday, Angeliki jumps from the balcony and falls to her death with a smile on her face.” That was about all the info I needed before I knew I had to get Miss Violence. These days I’m more interested in strong and repulsive flicks than those that are obvious and gory. Not that gory flicks are all that bad either but I like to think and not get all the info served on a silver plate. I like it to sneak up on me and surprise me at the end. Or even better, this film does, slowly suggest what really goes on in the dysfunctional family.
It’s clear that the father figure, which is actually the grandfather, controls everything. Exactly how he does it or which demands he has over his family isn’t clear. But to begin with, he feels that it’s his responsibility to keep the family together. Even in the opening scenes of Miss Violence when Angeliki turns eleven we clearly see that there’s no happiness in this house. If there’s a smile it’s actually made pretend. Even if it’s clearly stated on the back of the film that Angeliki will fall to her death with a smile on her face, it’s still kind of a shock to actually see it happen.
I don’t know how it’s achieved but it’s a really vile scene. Maybe it’s because she’s looking into the camera as she means to say something to us. Well, she spoke to me at least. I heard her cry for help, her cry for hope in helplessness. Very strong scene!
The Investigation
What happens next is of course investigation of what happened. Or maybe rather why it happened. What made her do that jump? What circumstances led to these events? There’s a lot of talk and dialog with different people and all the time you feel like there’s something you will not hear, something that each and every family member keeps to him/herself. You feel that you need to know the actual truth about what happened. Yet you are afraid to hear it. As a viewer looking for a very revolting truth, you’re also afraid that you will be let down if it’s not strong enough, if it can’t inflict deep enough emotions.
I can’t speak for anyone else but I was certainly not disappointed. The end of the movie is as strong as it gets and I’m most certainly angry. There are some things no one should be part of – ever! That’s all the clues you’re going to get from me. I like it a lot and it doesn’t bother me at all that it is in Greek. It gives me a higher sense of realism. It doesn’t seem stage even though there are some moments where the actors look straight into the camera. But as I said before, I think there’s a point; I think this is a way to communicate with us – the audience. And it’s damn effective if you ask me!
