Not A Word (Kein Wort) Drama-Thriller. Noosa Sun Matinee

Not A Word  film trailer HERE

M  90 min. 

A mother and son must confront years of silence and misunderstanding in writer-director Hanna Slak’s atmospheric fourth feature, that brims with tension and cleverly combines a chamber thriller with an intense family drama. 

When orchestra conductor Nina’s (Maren Eggert, I'M YOUR MAN) teenage son Lars (Jona Levin Nicolai) is injured in an odd  accident at school, she decides to take an inopportune break from city life and her demanding orchestra rehearsals to be completely there for him.  They head from Munich to an island in western France where they usually spend their summer vacation. What's meant to be a weekend away stretches to 5 days when a storm sets it in and the winter conditions are not so conjusive to a jolly weekend away.  Some of the locals are also not as friendly to visitors as you might expect. 

At a place imbued with fond family memories their stay at the beach house is initially uncomfortable as mother and son are forced to face each other and attempt closeness and communication. Constant calls from Munich threaten to derail her music career and Nina is further haunted by her inability get through to Lars who also has a confrontation with girl on the island leading to doubts about what has ocurred at school. Could Nina have been blind or too busy to notice her's son's issues?

Misunderstandings multiply, suspicions arise, and during the storm a dangerous confrontation ensues. When Lars finds their old boat in a dilapadated state, a joint project offers both mother and son, not a way off the island but a way to re-connect. 

“A compelling and efficiently moody thriller.”  The Film Verdict

"A hidden gem at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival shares the same premise as a major studio film, that of an ambitious female conductor undergoing a crisis, but this German-French outing doubles as a revealing portrait of the mother-and-son bond." A Good Movie To Watch.com 

Offical Selection Berlin International Film Festival 2023

Offical Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2023

Winner - Ecumenical Jury Award Warsaw International Film Festival 2023

Hanna Slak is a writer-director who has worked in multiple languages. Born in Warsaw she has directed in the Slovenian language and is one to watch for sure as she delivers her best film, with narrative, direction and treatment all working and bringing it all together in a neat 90 min.