Movie reviews

CICHA ZIEMIA (SILENT LAND) Q&A

The director's diploma film had been with the same cinematographer and pair of actors. The starting point for "Cicha ziemia" ("Silent Land") was the Lampedusa catastrophe and the 25-minute diploma film protagonists - a few years later they're confronted with the situation in this film. They are meant to be emotionally bankrupt. That's why the actors had to reduce emotionality. The protagonists don't want to leave their comfort zone so they stay passive. Jean-Marc Barr from "Le grand bleu" ("The Big Blue") impersonates the diver. Again. No soundtrack, no music, the sound layer is also ascetic. Originally the title was to be "Sucha ziemia" ('sucha' is Polish for dry or arid). She meant "Silent Land" meaning no commentary and the silence between the two protagonists. They started looking for a location in Costa Smeralda but the glass-covered pods were not that. It had to be secluded and half-faulty. It's a divers' base, only part gets used in the film - a sleight of hand. They used a photo board, next decided how long they wanted to look at each - sometimes it works as tension. The actress finds the protagonists cold and hard to get attached to. Indifference, suppression, helplessness? Why are they passive? In Ruben Östlund's "Force Majeure" only the man could have reacted, here both could. He cleanses himself jumping into the water. Lots of field for interpretation left. The film crew came from all over Europe, Italy kept Covid-testing them, they kept the restrictions too - no disco in town.