LFF 2011 Diary: She Monkeys

Lisa Aschan’s debut film She Monkeys bizarrely mixes elements of the Western with the coming-of-age story, told in a cold and, dare I say, detached style with the cinematogra-phy at times overshadowing the relationship between the characters.

The story follows a teenage girl who’s into the niche world of eques-trian vaulting – for those who aren’t familiar, that’s gymnastics on top of moving horses – and tries out for her local team. She strikes up a

relationship with a fellow female equestrian vaulter and a confused relationship of sorts ensues. Meanwhile her younger sister has issues of her own, innocently falling in love with her older cousin.

While the allusions to the Western make the film feel playful and quirky (tumble-weed, twangy guitar riffs, etc.), its solemnity dominates throughout, and overall the film feels closer to a Lukas Moodysson than a John Ford. This is largely due to the acting style, which is at times impassive and rigid, suggesting an underlying complexity of character. Indeed the girls in the leading roles manage, despite this unconventional style, to create a chemistry that is compelling to watch; though in the end it feels like not enough of the emotion has surfaced.

The thing that most impressed me and kept me interested was Linda Wassberg’s cinematography, which often frames characters in an Antonioni-esque manner between doors, curtains and window frames. It also attempts to westernise the Swedish landscape, showing wide shots of the barn where the girls practise, in ad-dition to the tumbleweed we see crossing the frame from time to time. All of this, however, did not seem to complement or reflect what was going on with the characters.

On the whole, it’s a promising debut feature from Sweden that doesn’t quite reach the realms of Lukas Moodysson’s work, but it was a great deal more enjoyable than Tomas Alfredson’s overrated Let The Right One In. Although, I suspect I remain in the minority here. OL