Criticism of ‘The yellow roof’, horror in the theater classroom

Not only does it have an enigmatic title that suggests intrigue, it is that ‘The Yellow Roof’, a documentary about a real event, is masterfully narrated by Isabel Coixet with the structure and rhythm of a thriller that captivates you until its last frame. It could be a story that emerged from the imagination of a screenwriter, but the involuntary protagonists of the anguishing trance endorse with their voice the authenticity of what happened. They tell the camera, calmly, without imposition, in simple language, how they suffered, when they were teenagers, abuse by a teacher from the Lleida Theater Classroom. He was the most accredited of the teachers, with whom everyone wanted to study. Sordid situations are described, but Coixet avoids falling into sentimental pornography or blind militancy. The elegant, luminous images contrast with the terribleness of the story, as in the most chilling horror films..

Current interviews alternate with home recordings from when the incidents took place and archival material. What could well be the manual of the perfect abuser is unfolding. One of the girls gives the title key. She remembers that while she was lying next to the monster, which was twice her age, she only saw the ceiling, painted yellow. The tape gains intensity. The worst moments are remembered with maturity and distance, there are no tears, but the camera transmits the intense emotion of those who speak when reliving those days. The script, divided into nine chapters that are dosing what happened, is turning into a chronicle of disappointment. Coixet accurately captures the process. It achieves what is now so popular that it is a creation documentary with only the bare facts, without the need to resort to added fictions. The absence of the man to whom they all point becomes more and more resounding. Where is the? Have you nothing to add to such serious accusations? Why is he silent? As in the best suspense plots, whoever wants to know will have to wait to see the movie to be able to decipher the enigma.

For those who do not trust that a documentary may interest them

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DATA SHEET

Direction: Isabel Coixet Country: Spain Year: 2022 Release date: 16–12-2022 Gender: Documentary film Script: Isabel Coixet, Laura Ferrero Duration: 94 min.

Synopsis: In 2018, a group of nine women filed a complaint against two of their teachers at the Aula de Teatro de Lleida for sexual abuse that occurred between 2001 and 2008, when they were teenagers. It was too late. Out of fear, out of shame, because it took them a long time to understand and digest what had happened, the complaint came when the statute of limitations had expired and it was archived. What they did not know is that, despite the fact that the case had prescribed, their testimonies were opening a door in which, perhaps, all was not lost.