The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open

Great because it manages to avoid revelling in misery too much and at the same time doesn’t give you a happy or easy ending.

an intimate pseudo-single take two-hander covering the immediate aftermath of an indigenous woman's domestic abuse and a wealthier, "whiter" indigenous woman's attempt to help. wise, unflinching, unresolved filmmaking, sidestepping the traps these premises usually fall into; i was so sure a misguided climactic confrontation or reconciliation over a certain plot point was coming that i near whooped with delight when the credits rolled. thing is perfectly judged, catch it on netflix.

What the Dardenne brothers want to make

There's no gimmick in the film's single, two-hour long shot—behind or in front of the camera. The script is sensitive, raw, and genuine, the performances natural and subtle, and it's all so profoundly real it just doesn't work as cinema. The film lost my interest after its deeply moving post-title opening (the realism is just too awfully awkward), but the terribly and beautifully authentic story never did.