‘Amor Segundo Dalva’ (‘Dalva’): Film Review | skin 2022

Dalva (Zelda Samson), a 12-year-old girl, homeschooled and hidden from the public until she is forcibly taken away by the police, only slowly realizes that her father has sexually assaulted her in the writer-director’s influential artistic debut. Emmanuel Nicot.

The young Belgian director has clearly done the necessary research into how some surviving children struggle, especially during incest, to understand that what the adult did to them was wrong and not an acceptable expression of love. The subject matter itself is inherently disturbing, but Nikot makes sure all insults are removed from the screen and never uses his young, unprofessional lead actor in a grand presence.

However, as several projects about arrested and abused youth have recently appeared on the market – Lenny Abrahamson’s Living room (2015), by Goncalo Waddington Patrick (2019), including Tina Faye Invincible Kim SchmidtJust to choose between three random examples – you might be reasonably interested to know if I love to drink It brings something fundamentally new to the table. It certainly offers an almost clinically accurate examination of how difficult it is for an abused, well-cared-for child to return to the community from the safety of an orphanage.

But, interestingly, the most influential moments are not necessarily the turning points of dramatic epiphany. Instead, there are quick, spontaneous scenes in which Dalwa tries to befriend children her age, especially Samia (Fanta Giras), her state orphanage, illustrating how much she missed a typical childhood. .

From the moment we first see him, Dalva is clearly not a typical child. Nicot’s economic background is explained by the fact that the police took Dalva’s father (Jean-Louis Culoc, who brings the necessary humanity to the role), while shouting his name and calling him “Jacques” and not “Papa”. . High-necked hair with thick fingernails, she wears a lace blouse next to her bedding, drinking like a cross in an Edward Manet painting, amongst a boy dressed as a baffle bartender. Bar in Folies-Bergere For Halloween and escorts.

Dalva is placed in foster care and placed under the supervision of a social worker, Jayden (Alex Manent), and begins attending a local school, though other children soon realize that Dalwa may be linked to Jacques’ well-known prison. The fact that they know about her case reinforces her confidence a little.

But the thing seems to be that it is only after he starts to see himself through the eyes of other children that Dalwa is able to realize that it is actually not normal for a daughter to “show love” to a father through sexual acts, phraseology. Returning to work with workers with a chilling lack of emotion.

In fact, the drink’s slightly robotic quality can sometimes indicate Nikot Samson’s inexperience as an artist. He hasn’t pushed his young star here to the heights of histrionics, but he makes the piece all the more appealing when we see them drinking in shifting emotions through small smiles or anxious looks.

Likewise, Nikot draws an equally naturalistic and dazzling turn from the rest of the young actor, especially in Charlie Ditch’s role as Lucille, class rival Dalva and beloved Roman Custer Hatch as the gang’s prickly little Dimi. It will be interesting to see if Niko continues to work with young, non-professional players who have demonstrated such natural ability.