"The Word" (Obietnica) was directed by Polish filmmaker Anna Kazejak-Dawid, whose biography indicates her interest in "women-oriented problems," including "female violence." Her academic background is in "cultural studies" at both the National Film School in Lodz and the University of Silesia in Katowice.
Perhaps one of the works taught in her cultural studies program was Shakespeare's tragedy "Macbeth." In her film "The Word," Kazejak-Dawid brings the evil machinations of Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth down to the level of a high school domestic tragedy. The Lady Macbeth character in the film is a high school senior named Lila who is jealous of a high school girl who kissed her boyfriend Janek at a party. Lila then effectively uses SKYPE to instruct Janek to kill the rival. If the boyfriend doesn't carry out her order within the next twenty-four hours, she will dump him. Most of the film reveals how the feckless Jankek is on the clock with his assignment.
The film unfolds in a completely naturalistic style. It is as if we are watching a true crime drama, as we await some closing credit that this was "based on a true story." In this regard, the filmmaker explores the causes and motivations for a senseless murder. In the world of "Macbeth," the motivation for killing King Duncan was greed and power. In "The Word," it is more difficult to discern a motivation in the amoral world depicted in the film.
The main area of focus is on the home environment of Lila. Her parents have divorced with the father moving to Copenhagen to start his life over with a new wife. As his daughter is plotting murder, her father is now is the proud dad of a new baby with a new mom.
Lila is currently residing with her mother, who has taken on a lover in a much younger man now in residence. The implication is that Lila's mother is out of touch with the pressures faced by her daughter, and there may even be child abuse, as apparent in the moment when the mother slaps her daughter violently in the face.
SPOILER ALERT FOLLOWS: After the murder has been committed and both Janek and Lila have been arrested, the mother feels such guilt that she wants Lila to live with her father, in the event that she is released from custody. In turn, the father, who is also out of touch with his daughter, apparently returns to Copenhagen after a fist fight with the Lila's mother's live-in lover. Instead of directing all of their attention to the needs of a desperate daughter, both parents withdraw into their cocoons.
It is difficult to feel much empathy with any character in the film except for the murder victim. Was the filmmaker attempting to portray Lila as a proto-feminist? Is social media to blame for the ease with which Lila sent out her death warrant on her rival? Or, is this film primarily addressing the theme of victimology in the abusive treatment Lila experienced at home?
In the final analysis, "The Word" was competently produced with a credible set of performances. But it is difficult to know what to take away from this film experience. Writer-director Kazejak-Dawid paints a disturbing portrait of the thin veneer of civilization and a profound sense of human frailty governing such themes as coming-of-age, the broken family in the twenty-first-century, and absence of sensitivity in human communications.
I look forward to other viewers' comments and reactions to strange a film that approaches cinéma vérité in its style, yet only offers an ambiguous portrait of contemporary mores.
Perhaps one of the works taught in her cultural studies program was Shakespeare's tragedy "Macbeth." In her film "The Word," Kazejak-Dawid brings the evil machinations of Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth down to the level of a high school domestic tragedy. The Lady Macbeth character in the film is a high school senior named Lila who is jealous of a high school girl who kissed her boyfriend Janek at a party. Lila then effectively uses SKYPE to instruct Janek to kill the rival. If the boyfriend doesn't carry out her order within the next twenty-four hours, she will dump him. Most of the film reveals how the feckless Jankek is on the clock with his assignment.
The film unfolds in a completely naturalistic style. It is as if we are watching a true crime drama, as we await some closing credit that this was "based on a true story." In this regard, the filmmaker explores the causes and motivations for a senseless murder. In the world of "Macbeth," the motivation for killing King Duncan was greed and power. In "The Word," it is more difficult to discern a motivation in the amoral world depicted in the film.
The main area of focus is on the home environment of Lila. Her parents have divorced with the father moving to Copenhagen to start his life over with a new wife. As his daughter is plotting murder, her father is now is the proud dad of a new baby with a new mom.
Lila is currently residing with her mother, who has taken on a lover in a much younger man now in residence. The implication is that Lila's mother is out of touch with the pressures faced by her daughter, and there may even be child abuse, as apparent in the moment when the mother slaps her daughter violently in the face.
SPOILER ALERT FOLLOWS: After the murder has been committed and both Janek and Lila have been arrested, the mother feels such guilt that she wants Lila to live with her father, in the event that she is released from custody. In turn, the father, who is also out of touch with his daughter, apparently returns to Copenhagen after a fist fight with the Lila's mother's live-in lover. Instead of directing all of their attention to the needs of a desperate daughter, both parents withdraw into their cocoons.
It is difficult to feel much empathy with any character in the film except for the murder victim. Was the filmmaker attempting to portray Lila as a proto-feminist? Is social media to blame for the ease with which Lila sent out her death warrant on her rival? Or, is this film primarily addressing the theme of victimology in the abusive treatment Lila experienced at home?
In the final analysis, "The Word" was competently produced with a credible set of performances. But it is difficult to know what to take away from this film experience. Writer-director Kazejak-Dawid paints a disturbing portrait of the thin veneer of civilization and a profound sense of human frailty governing such themes as coming-of-age, the broken family in the twenty-first-century, and absence of sensitivity in human communications.
I look forward to other viewers' comments and reactions to strange a film that approaches cinéma vérité in its style, yet only offers an ambiguous portrait of contemporary mores.
