SECOND SIGHT
A film review by Shane R. Burridge
Copyright 1996 Shane R. Burridge
93m.
Jostedalen, 1349. 14th-Century Europe is ravaged by the Black Death, but Norway is one of the hardest hit nations, losing nearly two thirds of its population in the plague's wake. Even given these astonishing figures, you'd think that seven-year-old Maren (Julia Onsager Steen) would have had at least one or two survivors to keep her company after the pandemic strikes her family and friends. But no, Maren is the only one to be spared. If you ever wanted to view a film that depicts a young girl wandering about a picturesque valley alone reciting rhymes to herself, then this is that movie, and not much else. The `Second Sight' of the title refers only to the final scenes, in which Maren is found by neighboring villagers and attributed with clairvoyant powers (she wears her `birthcap' - umbilical membrane - as an amulet). It's a talent she's not sure she wants, or even has, although like everyone else in her world she puts her faith in the powers of the arcane for survival. Almost the only time we ever hear her talk is when she is chanting to drive away wolves, bears, or maleficent spirits. Film draws an interesting correlation between the talismanic manifestations of child logic and the belief systems of the medieval era per se. It's fascinating to see her single-handedly and unconsciously keeping the ritualistic sensibilities of her culture alive, even though we know these beliefs to be doomed and misinformed.
The lack of incident in the film might be overlooked if it was meant to be, say, a lyric piece, or experience of awakening, but it strives for neither. This makes me think that its portrayal of events is intended to be as simple as any medieval tale would aim to tell it. It could be that director Ola Solum wants his story to reach us at a primal level: we are not watching a story, we are merely watching life. Whatever, this leaves young Steen with the task of carrying the bulk of the film, and she's not given a lot to do other than look anxious and shout the occasional chant. However, she makes a believable peasant girl (it's amazing what a liberal application of dirt can do) and looks right at home in her setting - I didn't realize how taken in I was by her performance until the final freeze-frame. The surrounding countryside is also suitably wild and medieval: Solum employs a vertiginous handheld wide-angle lens to good effect. Director Anja Breien wrote the screenplay. Jan Garbarek supplied the rather eclectic score.
(Also known as TROLLSYN)
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