A dark story with a light touch

Review of Dark Blue Girl – Raindance Film Festival 2017 the Vue Leciester Square

.Writer/Director from Germany Mascha Schilinski has come up with a sensitive portrayal of an unusual “ménage a trois” which fixates the audience from start to finish. Starring Artemis Chalkidou, Karsten Antonio Mielke and Helena Zenkel, father and mother of Luca split up when she is five then fall back in love two years later. Meanwhile Luca has become totally fixated with her father and loves to share his life, jokes, teases and bed (in a purely natural way. There are no allusions to sexual abuse in this film).

When the couple and Luca go to their holiday home in the Aegean, the spark between mother and father is rekindled and Luca becomes naughty, cantankerous and psychotic resenting her father’s romance with her mother. At one points she runs away to a cliff edge and ceremoniously hurls her favourite toy into the sea. Another turn sees her being mean to her mother suggesting she was swapped at birth and saying she only bears resemblance to her dad and not her mum. This puts her mum in such a mood that her mother makes herself scarce and Luca wakes up on her own for her birthday with her father being out of town. She later tells her father she does not want him and her mother to get back together again and when making a birthday wish after blowing her candles out, one can easily guess that the wish is to break up her parents. One thinks of books about naughty children by David Walliams and Roald Dahl amongst other writers. One thinks that a psychology school would find this film a fascinating insight into childrens’ behaviour. I can only say that the acting showing a dysfunctional family with a very wanted daughter comes off well. The original choice for Luca was replaced and this actress is an acclaimed professional ice skater and a fabulous young thespian in her first role

Writer/Director Mascha Schilinski says this is not a true story but the ideas come from a mixture of suggestions from friends. The story and the locations prove that relatively low budget films can win out , grab audience attention and deliver truly meaningful and memorable viewing time.

Penny Nair Price