Julie zwijgt

I'm on to these types of indie films which have a rapid fire sequence of mundane scenes. The director is simply trying to hide the fact that the plot is razor thin, and that is his attempt as well to keep the audience's attention.

This, Unfortunately, is a classic example of that.

That said, this was an okay watch.

In the credits of this film, one name stands out: that of Naomi Osaka as an executive producer. The tennis player has made no secret of the mental stress caused by top level match playing.

That's exactly what this film is about. It shows Julie, a promising teenage tennis player, coping with the effects caused by a scandal in her tennis club. She is not directly involved by the events, but she cannot escape them either. Although the people around her urge her to 'talk about it', she refuses, insisting there is nothing to say.

Julie seems to be a rather withdrawn girl, although she is popular with her friends. For the viewer, it is not easy to identify with a protagonist who doesn't show her feelings. The result is that not a lot happens in the film. We see Julie training, talking with her friends and parents, walking her dog, and going to school. On the surface, her life is not very eventful. It is up to the viewer to explore what's going on beneath the surface. We get indications, and we see her struggling, as the people around her do. But everything stays unspoken, as is clearly indicated by the title of the film.

Viewers around me at the Film Festival in Ghent, seemed dissapointed but not dismissive. "I was hoping something would happen at the end", the girl on my right side remarked. "What was exactly the point?", a woman to my left remarked.

I think the director has left the answer to that question intentionally open. He didn't spell it out, but has left it for us to discover. If there is a point, I think it could be that preparing young people for a very competitive sports environment should be done with ultimate care.

I know, that doesn't sound spectacular and it probably won't stimulate large crowds to see this film. But some film makers prefer quiet 'slice of life'-movies over high-octane spectacles. Just ask the Dardenne brothers. They are also producers of this film.

Before saying anything I would like to show my admiration to Tessa who played Julie in the movie because if this was acting I would be exaggerating if I said she definitely deserves to be nominated to the oscars, and I am not .truly I never saw an actor who made you feel the character like that. If she wasn't acting and this is here normally I would say she needs to see a therapist. All the cast was amazing which again leeds me to the director who made the movie seem to be a documentary the scenes the acting everything and the best thing making the viewer imagine and think which makes you like or not part of the movie itself.

This is truly a little masterpiece, executed to perfection. Cinematography, acting, editing, setting and the sparse use of music -all combine seamlessly. It feels effortless, revealing just how much love and effort went into it. There is a natural blend of Flemish and French unseen in Belgian cinema. But this is exactly how kids talk in the affluent communities around Brussels. And yes, don't they all struggle with German.

This film is so delicate that even the verb in the title throws it off balance. Simply 'Julie' would suffice. And yet, each bounce of the tennis ball feels like the dynamite straight out of Clouzot's 'Wages of Fear'.

This quiet, intense film shows its protagonist coming to terms with an abusive tennis coach and the damage he has wrought. The story is told chronologically in short scenes, generally with static camera, and often events important to the plot happen between scenes. This technique, coupled with the dim Flemish light beautifully captured by Nicolas Karakatsanis' photography, increases the sense of foreboding that pervades the film. We're never quite sure what Julie is thinking (she's a teenager!) as she finds her way through the minefield in which she finds herself. Tessa Van den Broeck, who is in most every frame, does an outstanding job portraying both the inscrutable teenager and the hypercompetitive tennis star. Caroline Shaw's music is used sparingly but effectively to comment on the action. The dialogue moves seamlessly back and forth between Flemish and French, with English phrases here and there. All in all, an outstanding job of telling a complicated, nuanced story with subtlety and grace.