Retrospekt
(Netherland/Belgium, 101 min.)
Written and directed by Esther Rots
Starring: Circé Lethem, Lien Wildemeersch (Miller, Lee),
Martijn van der Veen (Simon)
Programme: Contemporary World Cinema (World Premiere)
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| Courtesy of TIFF |
Audiences seeking a healthy dose of WTF needn’t look any
further than Retrospekt. This Dutch
oddity is a true original. One might classify it as the first arthouse domestic
violence musical, but that doesn’t really fit the bill since nobody belts a
tune onscreen in Retrospekt even
though the soundtrack is layered with peculiar original songs that twist the
story in myriad ways. It might sound disrespectful; it might sound stupid; it
might sound awful, yet Retrospekt somehow
works thanks to the fearless audacity with which writer/director Esther Rots
pulls it off.
What this whole introduction of gobbledygook means is that
life doesn’t make any more sense in retrospect. Rots lets the audience
experience the jumble of memories as Mette (Circé Lethem, who is absolutely
sensational) tries to recall the events that put her in a hospital with limited
mobility, impaired speech, and other serious physical and psychological damage.
The origin of the ordeal is unclear, but one can assume that the scene with
which Retrospekt begins is an
underlying catalyst to the incident. A very pregnant Mette witnesses an
altercation at a department store dressing room in which she sees a man berate
and abuse his wife. Mette, who is later revealed a domestic violence support
counsellor, tries to intervene and the man puts her in her place. Shaken, the
altercation begins a kaleidoscopic series of encounters with toxic violent men
and women who refuse to be victims.
The shards of memory twist and change shape as Rots reveals
the other pieces of the story. Mette, now deflated and with a young baby, has
taken in a survivor of abuse, Miller (Lien Wildemeersch), who comes to the
office in search of shelter from her volatile boyfriend. As Miller visits Mette
in the hospital post-accident and as Mette tries to mend Miller’s confidence
pre-accident, Retrospekt circles
around the truth of what happened. Countless scenarios arise as one turns over
each fragment of the film and considers it. The scenes with Mette’s travelling
husband, Simon (Martijn van der Veen), himself a bit too hot under the collar,
build suspense and misdirection as one wonders about Mette’s (in)ability to
live the same advice she gives to women at work every day. It isn’t easy to
escape abusive men when they’re as ever-present as they seem to be in this
corner of the Netherlands.
The glue to all these shards is the kooky soundtrack of
songs by Dan Geesin. These humorous refrains offer some much-needed levity to
the story as deep voices and sing-song cadences comment upon Mette’s faulty
memory and the bad things men too often do to women. These songs sometimes
punctuate the film with bright pink title cards, drawing out the absurdity of
the situation while giving Mette the extra nudge to loosen her memory. How can
anyone laugh in face of so much senseless violence? Then again, what other
option does one have while trying to make sense of it all?
