You Won't Be Alone

Amazingly enough I saw this film at a local AMC during its limited run. This film is very much a cross between The Witch (2015) and Under the Skin (2013). It is very slow moving and methodical but follows a coherent plot. A very visual film and though it has a narrator there isn't as much as emphasis on dialogue. If you enjoy folklore, A24 type horror films then this is worth your time. This film has a very narrow audience and will not appeal to many people. You have been warned.

"Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be" - Grandma Moses

I'm sure the people who tuned in anticipating a medieval feature on witches were shocked to their very conscience. The first act might resonate with familiar feelings that of a horror-centric set-up. The second act on the other hand sponsored a sudden change of course and heart in the core direction as well as in its style of narrative.

To summarize, "You Won't Be Alone" is not your ordinary tale revolving around some den full of witches nor does it have to do anything with their origination, those characteristics are merely used as backdrops to a much larger objective at play. To put it mildly, the story speaks of possibilities, of choices, all from a perspective of a young woman who's just been given the invaluable opportunity to look into her surroundings and her life itself.

With her innocent, compassionate gazes, we can see the world, the people, and all that is around her through a much simpler lens. Reflecting the very foundation of life itself that is fraught with pain, suffering (here it is symbolized through the toxic patriarchy), and everyday hardships, which are fairly synonymous for all human beings, irrespective of their genders or their sexual identities.

Yet, amidst all these inconveniences, there are moments worth cherishing, and there is love worth fighting for, even after so many nasty experiences, we are still left with the people whom we can trust, whom we can spend our whole life with, in those particular facets lies the true significance of living, the unreal feeling of existing, the incredible feeling of being Alive.

And I strongly believe, that's what the film wants to convey. We often make things too complicated for ourselves, we more often than not make things much more difficult for us as well as for our loved ones. At those peak moments of disquietude, and hopelessness, we might wanna take a look from a different perspective, we might wanna bring back our inner child, which is long forbidden. Perhaps, that childlike innocence, that very naivety would help us in those dire circumstances, maybe that is what we need, that is what our situations call for.

I was impressed by the unusual storyline as a woman attempts to fit in with normal people even though she is a witch with abnormal abilities. The cast is excellent and scenery spooky. Rapace leads the ensemble and everyone is up to the task. The film is in Serbian and the subtitles are at times not grammatically correct. Even so, I rank this as a top tier horror movie.

I've never heard of this one - but it's my first Macedonian language film, so I think I can be forgiven for that. As with the last film, I'm not convinced I have the right temperament for a horror film - but things worked out very well last time, so fingers crossed.

We follow Nevena who has a very boring childhood - promised to a witch as a new-born (and made mute at the same time), her mother brings her up in a cave until the age of sixteen when the witch reappears, takes the form of her mother and turns her into a witch as well. I mean, we've all been there, right?!?

Unfortunately, Old Maid Maria (the original witch) isn't too impressed with Nevena's witching skills - she prefers playing with the animals rather than breaking their necks and eating them raw (apparently that's what real witches do). This results in Maria leaving Nevena to fend for herself with no knowledge of the real world - which goes just about as well as you'd imagine it would. To start with anyway, but as time goes on she gets the hang of things and the film manages to conjure up a surprisingly emotional ending.

It's possibly a little too deliberate at times - some of the scenes certainly couldn't be accused of rushing things. For "horror" (it's not really a horror film at all, but it has some horror elements), it's very poetic and beautiful - The Guardian calls it spellbinding, but I can quite imagine that a lot of people would describe it as dull - for me it fell somewhere in between. It was very nice to look at and I was somewhat intrigued as to how it was going to end, but it really could have done with getting there a bit quicker.

It's a very atmospheric film with stylish visuals (and some very cool locations) and a sparse, yet effective soundtrack. It portrays a sense of wonder well - lots of things are being seen through Nevena's eyes for the first time and you get the mix of confusion and awe well. Overall, I'd say it's well written and shot (by Goran Stolevski) but maybe some harsher editing wouldn't have gone amiss - although it's not the sort of film that would benefit from being rushed.

However, because of that sense of wonder, the actors often don't have an awful lot to do other than gaze into the middle distance - Nevena is played by seven different actors across the film (if you include the baby!) and Sara Klimoska, Noomi Rapace, Carloto Cotta and Alice Englert all do a good job as adult Nevena so it feels harsh not to mention Petra Ciric Leontina Bainovic and Anastasija Karanovich as the other incarnations, even if they have less to do. The only other character we really spend any time with is Old Maid Maria who is played well by Anamaria Marinca, but she's rather disguised under tons of make-up (as a result of a rather unfortunate "burning at the stake" incident).

One last thing to talk about is the way that the witches shapeshift because it's really quite something - they take the guts of their intended target and shove them into a cavity which magically opens in their chest. I can assure you that would never have occurred to me, but I guess that just proves I'm not a witch!

WIkipedia tells me that it actually counts as an Australian film and was put forward as their nomination for the Best International Feature Film Academy Award. It also tells me it's shot in IMAX aspect ratio (1.44:1) - which feels like an odd choice but directors do odd things and we've had a lot less weird aspect ratios this year than we had last, so I'm considerably more tolerant of it!

All in all for me, I think it's an "admire" rather than a "like" (although I did like the ending), but is it a recommendation? Probably not to be honest - it has a lot to recommend it but I'm just not sure who'd really "like" it. But if you're in the mood for some fantasy/horror which gives you plenty of time to ponder the very nature of humanity whilst regaling your eyes with some beautiful visuals, then this is just the film for you and it's available to rent in all the usual locations.

Imagine what you'd do, living life without a clue, growing up inside a cave, a mother's one and only slave, until such time does come to pass, you're a fully grown up lass, but there's dust between your ears, years and years devoid of peers; then you're freed by an old maid, a sorceress has come to aid, taking you as an apprentice, the omens are truly portentous, she's a little overcooked, and her talons are quite hooked, quite a disaffected soul, you may well pay, a hefty toll.

Absolutely nothing to do with witchcraft or horror once you've peeled away the skin, but a magnificent and engaging exploration of the influences and effects that take their toll and shape your soul.