Film Review: SVETLONOC: The Past and Present Collide in a Fascinating Horror Film [Locarno 2022]

Svetlonoc Review

Svetlonoc (2022) Film Review from the 75th Annual Locarno Film Festival, a movie directed by Tereza Nvotova, written by Tereza Nvotova and Barbora Namerova and starring Natalia Germani, Eva Mores, Juliana Olhova, Iva Bittova, Jana Olhova, Marek Geisberg, Noel Czuczor and Zuzana Konecna.

The new Slovakian horror film Svetlonoc (Nightsiren) is crafted by filmmaker Tereza Nvotova with tremendous, skillful craftsmanship. This film’s main action begins with two young girls, one of whom falls off a cliff. The sheer intensity of the scene is matched by the characterization by lead actress Natalia Germani in the film’s central role of Sarlota, a 30-ish young woman who returns to her former home in a village where she must confront her past, present and future despite having feelings of guilt since the death of her sister. This movie grabs your attention immediately and retains it throughout the film due to the strength of Germani’s performance.

Sarlota is given the cold shoulder by many upon her return to her hometown. There is the whole idea of mistrust and assumptions are made which eventually lead people to assess that Sarlota has ties to witchcraft. Eva Mores plays a herbalist named Mira who Sarlota confides in about a miscarriage she once had. Mira is a complicated character within the film just like Sarlota is and both actresses do extremely well in these roles here.

As Sarlota starts to envision a potential future for herself, including having a child one day, the plot thickens as she ends up dancing cheerfully with a man named Rado (Noel Czuczor). In the meantime, the nasty villager Tomasz (Marek Geisberg) will surely see to it that Sarlot’s quest for happiness is thwarted as Tomasz is one who assumes first without asking very pivotal questions.

There are many scenes where snakes appear, there are fires and there is some talk of witchcraft but the movie is not really as successful as a witch movie as it is as a character study of Sarlota who is undergoing tremendous pain in her personal life. We learn she is wearing a wig for reasons the movie reveals and she is a heartbreaking character who is suffering when she should be living happily somewhere else. But, the movie wisely focuses in on her need to confront her past, her family tragedy and her present in order to move forward into an uncertain future which is easier said than done.

Nvotova’s movie targets the stereotypical way people perceive others and does so in a refreshing fashion. There are reasons people are led to make certain assumptions, however unfair they may be. The film has scenes of horror in it but the way the events are conveyed can be quite realistic at times.

Germani and Mores play off each other extremely well and create believable characters who must face the consequences of their actions both past and present. Germani’s performance is something of a wonder and we sympathize with her many times throughout the film especially in the dance sequence which is one of the few scenes that we see the character of Sarlota experience any joy in her life whatsoever.

Svetlonoc is a movie that can be very deep at times with drama that far exceeds the ones most people experience in everyday life. That is the key reason it would be categorized as something of a horror movie but the events that occur throughout the movie are sometimes realistic enough to make us believe that Sarlota could end up a happier person if she only found some sort of place for herself in the world even given all the tragic circumstances of her life.

Director Nvotova has made a movie that works both as a drama and a horror picture. It is occasionally undermined by scenes of sadistic characters who lack depth but that is a small flaw in the bigger picture of what Nvotova is trying to do here. Svetlonoc is ultimately a harrowing journey of a woman who must try to escape a fate that would spell doom for her if she lets it and the movie presents a story full of despair with some potential hope intertwined throughout.

Rating: 7/10

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