A couple of times over in “When It Melts,” the directorial debut of Belgian actor Veerle Baetens, Eva, played as a morose, withdrawn adult by Charlotte De Bruyne, looks at a photograph of herself as a 13-year-old. In the picture, child Eva (Sundance prizewinner Rosa Marchant) is grinning a lopsided, optimistic tomboy grin, unaware of the violent end of innocence lying in wait for her. The space between these two Evas — a vast gulf not just temporal but scarringly psychological — is territory painstakingly mapped out by Baetens, whose grip on the tone of gathering dread is sure, until it becomes suffocating. As the story pivots back and forth between its two timelines, as though hoping one will hold the key to the other’s release, it grows oppressive, as hard to witness as a cornered bird battering itself helplessly against one window, then the next.
Eva is a shy photographer’s assistant,...
Eva is a shy photographer’s assistant,...
- 2/3/2023
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
It’s somehow been a decade since Veerle Baetens was named best European actress for her incandescent, heart-wrenching turn in The Broken Circle Breakdown. As a bluegrass-loving tattoo artist gradually obliterated by tragedy, Baetens’ performance was complex, unflinching and emotionally raw. When It Melts, the Flemish filmmaker’s Sundance-premiering feature directorial debut, cuts similarly close to the bone. Adapted by Baetens and co-writer Maarten Loix from Lize Spit’s bestselling Flemish novel, it centers on an isolated woman named Eva (Charlotte de Bruyne) who returns to the village she grew up in with an ice block in the back of her car. There, […]
The post “I Wanted To Take a Closer Look at How People Shut Down”: Veerle Baetens on When It Melts first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “I Wanted To Take a Closer Look at How People Shut Down”: Veerle Baetens on When It Melts first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/21/2023
- by Isaac Feldberg
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
It’s somehow been a decade since Veerle Baetens was named best European actress for her incandescent, heart-wrenching turn in The Broken Circle Breakdown. As a bluegrass-loving tattoo artist gradually obliterated by tragedy, Baetens’ performance was complex, unflinching and emotionally raw. When It Melts, the Flemish filmmaker’s Sundance-premiering feature directorial debut, cuts similarly close to the bone. Adapted by Baetens and co-writer Maarten Loix from Lize Spit’s bestselling Flemish novel, it centers on an isolated woman named Eva (Charlotte de Bruyne) who returns to the village she grew up in with an ice block in the back of her car. There, […]
The post “I Wanted To Take a Closer Look at How People Shut Down”: Veerle Baetens on When It Melts first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “I Wanted To Take a Closer Look at How People Shut Down”: Veerle Baetens on When It Melts first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 1/21/2023
- by Isaac Feldberg
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Versatile Belgian actress Veerle Baetens, known for her incandescent turn as the bluegrass-singing mom whose daughter takes ill in Oscar-nominated “The Broken Circle Breakdown,” joins the Sundance World Feature Competition with her provocative feature directing debut, “When It Melts,” an unflinching portrait of the lasting impact of untreated trauma. Film screens Jan. 21.
What drew you to adapt Lize Spit’s prize-winning novel “The Melting”?
At first, it was an offer a producer made. I read the book and I was touched by young Eva’s desire to be valued, to be loved. With the adult Eva, I felt sorry, but I found her difficult to grasp and thus fascinating. I know people who have been silenced and later on silence themselves. By making this movie I wanted to get closer to understanding people who have buried their pain deep inside of them, where no one can see it and where it silently hollows them out.
What drew you to adapt Lize Spit’s prize-winning novel “The Melting”?
At first, it was an offer a producer made. I read the book and I was touched by young Eva’s desire to be valued, to be loved. With the adult Eva, I felt sorry, but I found her difficult to grasp and thus fascinating. I know people who have been silenced and later on silence themselves. By making this movie I wanted to get closer to understanding people who have buried their pain deep inside of them, where no one can see it and where it silently hollows them out.
- 1/21/2023
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Belgium director Olivier Meys chooses a tale of social realism for his feature debut “Bitter Flowers”, 9 years after the documentary “A Disappearance Foretold” and the short film “Première nuit à Beijing”. Co-written with Maarten Loix, “Bitter Flowers” is an independent Belgium-Switzerland-France-China co-production exposing the very real phenomenon – which has been increasing exponentially since the early 2000s – of Chinese women being lured into fake promises of easy earning in European countries.
“Bitter Flowers” is screening at CineCina iFest
The story is narrated from the perspective of a mid-thirty woman and starts in Yeling, in the cold province of Dongbei, North East China. Lina (Qi Xi) and her little family, an affectionate husband and a son, live modestly in an urban apartment. Their life is not unpleasant, but it could be better; more money would allow them to start a little business and provide a better future for their son. This mirage...
“Bitter Flowers” is screening at CineCina iFest
The story is narrated from the perspective of a mid-thirty woman and starts in Yeling, in the cold province of Dongbei, North East China. Lina (Qi Xi) and her little family, an affectionate husband and a son, live modestly in an urban apartment. Their life is not unpleasant, but it could be better; more money would allow them to start a little business and provide a better future for their son. This mirage...
- 7/28/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Belgium director Olivier Meys chooses a tale of social realism for his feature debut “Bitter Flowers”, 9 years after the documentary “A Disappearance Foretold” and the short film “Première nuit à Beijing”. Co-written with Maarten Loix, “Bitter Flowers” is an independent Belgium-Switzerland-France-China co-production exposing the very real phenomenon – which has been increasing exponentially since the early 2000s – of Chinese women being lured into fake promises of easy earning in European countries.
“Bitter Flowers” is screening at CineCina iFest
The story is narrated from the perspective of a mid-thirty woman and starts in Yeling, in the cold province of Dongbei, North East China. Lina (Qi Xi) and her little family, an affectionate husband and a son, live modestly in an urban apartment. Their life is not unpleasant, but it could be better; more money would allow them to start a little business and provide a better future for their son. This mirage...
“Bitter Flowers” is screening at CineCina iFest
The story is narrated from the perspective of a mid-thirty woman and starts in Yeling, in the cold province of Dongbei, North East China. Lina (Qi Xi) and her little family, an affectionate husband and a son, live modestly in an urban apartment. Their life is not unpleasant, but it could be better; more money would allow them to start a little business and provide a better future for their son. This mirage...
- 7/28/2020
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
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