Looking after her younger siblings and meekly serving the reverend’s family, Emma is praised for her exemplary nature. She even gets nominated for an award for it. The year is 1943 in Switzerland, a neutral state whose officials are nevertheless handing people over to Nazi soldiers. The villagers would rather mind their own business, and even a reporter visiting the area prefers to sketch out vignettes of the workers’ lifes instead of writing about politics.
The debut feature from Marie-Elsa Sgualdon doesn’t play down the connections between its historical story and the present day. A Swiss soldier refers to those pursued by the Nazis as “illegals”, other people describe the situation as “difficult” or “complicated”. But there are also exceptions. The reverend has ceased to see God’s presence in the world – or even in himself.
The idyllic landscapes of the drama are skilfully veiled in irony: the forest is a place where soldiers roam, rabbits’ necks are snapped and pregnancies are aborted. Emma, too, is led to question the good and the beautiful, as she descends from good society down to the ranks of disreputable women.
Lead actress Lila Gueneau’s restrained performance appeals to the viewer’s moral sense and their emotions in equal measure. Political responses and tears are equally hard to restrain.
MARIE-ELSA SGUALDO (s. 1986) hails from near the Jura mountains and French border, the Swiss town of La Chaux-de-Fonds. She studied film In Geneva and in Brussels and has since also taught it. Sgualdo directed her first short film Vas-y je t’aime in 2009. In 2013 she directed a short film You Can’t Do Everything At Once, But You Can Leave Everything at Once in which she used archival footage and leaned towards autofiction. It debuted as part of Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes Film Festival. Silent Rebellion is her first feature. It has garnered praise for it’s beautiful cinematography and it’s depiction of resilience.
Kaisu Tervonen