Murmur

Canada – 2019 – 84′

Donna, a woman in her sixties, feels isolated. She lives alone, estranged from her daughter. Sentenced to community service at a local animal shelter after an impaired-driving conviction, she ends up taking home an elderly dog who is scheduled to be euthanized. The new-found companionship eases her loneliness, and to fill the void in her life further, Donna keeps adopting pets. It isn’t long before she realizes she has taken on more than she can handle.

Young’s attention to detail, deliberate sense of framing, and unique approach to narrative suggest the emergence of a bold new voice. As Donna, newcomer Shan MacDonald delivers a powerful and astonishingly raw performance as a woman struggling to cope with the paralyzing fear of existing in a world with no one to care for, and with no one to care for you.

Donna, la soixantaine, est condamnée à des heures de travaux communautaires dans un foyer pour animaux après avoir conduit en état d’ébriété. Touchée par le sort d’un vieux chien voué à l’euthanasie, elle le recueille contre l’avis de tous, introduisant une spirale inquiétante d’adoptions sauvages destinées à combler une immense solitude. Après plusieurs courts métrages primés, Heather Young poursuit sa manière unique, hybride naturaliste entre le documentaire d’observation et un certain lyrisme cru de l’ultra-quotidienneté. La quête absurde de Donna, fragmentée en courtes vignettes, compose un récit pathétique et attachant, magnifié par des plans toujours extrêmement inventifs qui captent le regard. (FNC)

• Director /Réalisatrice

Heather Young

• Festivals

Toronto International Film Festival (FIPRESCI Prize – Discovery Programme), Atlantic International Film Festival (Best Atlantic Screenwriter, Director, Cinematography, and Feature Film), Calgary International Film Festival (RBC Emerging Artist Award – Best Canadian Narrative Feature), Vancouver International Film Festival, Montreal Festival du nouveau cinema, Nominee – DGC Discovery Award

• Quotes/Critques

“In sharp, spare images and a handful of one-sided conversations, Young shows us the despair her protagonist carries but can’t articulate to anyone who might be able to help. ” – Norman Wilner, Now Toronto

•   Stills