She’s dredging it up now? Isn’t she partly to blame anyway? And why didn’t she cry out at the time? Real rape victims have to face similar dangerous questions, as does the heroine of this feature film debut by director Tereza Nvotová. Seventeen-year-old Lena’s carefree world comes crashing down when she is raped at home by her maths teacher. The attacker calmly walks away, but Lena ends up in a psychiatric hospital. But even there she can’t bring herself to tell anyone what happened to her, since it doesn’t appear the staff are prepared to combat secondary victimisation… Nvotová offers up a drama which clearly demonstrates that rape only marks the beginning of a series of distressing experiences, and brings to light an often marginalised problem exacerbated by inadequate professional help. The oppressive subject matter acquires form as an assured study of the main character and of those around her, their contours nuanced by Marek Dvořák’s camerawork and by Dominika Morávková, whose Lena comes to realise that only she can find the strength that lies within her. KVIFF
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