WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
The sway of what has been unrevealed being brought to light. Time moves forward, we experience our lives through the myriad of events both past and present that remain enfolded within our minds, defining who we are, how we act, who and what be can or have become. However, what happens when that which has been lingering like a thorn from the past is abruptly cast from out of the shadows and into our present reality, bringing with it harsh truths we never wished to entertain or believe? It is 2019 Romania, and a kindergarten teacher named Ana (Dorotheea Petre) has many circumstances which altered her life’s course and plans. Upon visiting her doctor, a jarring revelation becomes both a shattering burden and strangely unlikely boon.
Next, my Mind:
The weight of a harried past, the expectations of one’s life path being radically disrupted, reminders of things desired yet remaining unattainable, and the so often sudden, sobering impact of unanticipated divulgence are just some of the primary thematic elements being explored in this purposefully slower burn character drama from writer/director/producer/editor/cinematographer Daniel Wyland, co-producer Anca Wyland, and associate producer Alin Panc. It becomes another perfect example of the validity indie cinema provides in allowing the still heavily ingrained notions and admittedly understandable hunger this filmgoing society has for visual/CGI spectacle and shallower storytelling to be fully laid aside, replaced via a shorter running, wholly character and narrative-driven offering that brings us back down to Earth in a relatable, totally human level. In 18-minutes, this short pulls you in with intent, while also being based on real events, which for this critic anyway adds even more draw and engagement factor.
In expounding on one 40-year old woman’s challenging plight, her having already weathered several events between childhood and now marriage that have more than evidently diverged her ambitions and dreams of success specifically in regard to family, the pacing here allows for us to then learn piece by piece the necessary details that create the portrait of anxiousness she’s experiencing, the moments of still elusive comfort she tries to receive through a stranger, and then the final news shared with her that gives the film’s final act it’s first real punch of affecting volatility. But, what really becomes effective overall then is the aftermath of this, which delivers a totally different extent of poignancy, and puts a beautifully executed tinge of hope and future expectation of acceptance and moving forward into the spotlight to cap the film off. I will say that I didn’t ABSOLUTELY feel the COMPLETE kind of personal emotional resonance or reverberations I might have wished to for a film meant to grab the heartstrings, but it’s still adequately stirring.
Additional thematic explorations brought about by the film encompass concepts immersed in political, cultural/societal, historical, and even faith-based components, all of which serve to mildly or blatantly enhance the realities the primary character is facing while being a very evocative reminder of occurrences that were happening in the collective atmosphere of the past eras being alluded to and the harsh practices that were a part of Eastern Bloc countries. Building upon this, it then puts us that much more in the shoes of Ana and the ways she feels constantly scrutinized or judged by people in her own life while desperately attempting to find some sense of solace in her own reveries of the beauty of what she has yet to possess and possibly never will, though the realization she ultimately comes to at the film’s end does again put the air of positivity and a refreshed outlook she gains, despite the situation she will now need to overcome.
As those who’ve followed my reviews within the indie film world now for years, you know how much I laud actors who can deliver a totally understated performance, yet do it with a passion and drive you honestly cannot help but be moved by. I will say yet again that was the case for me thanks to Petre’s portrayal of Ana, a wonderfully, realistically beautiful woman whose life has been upended to certain magnitudes that have now caused her to come to a point of finally wanting to get some medical results she’s been waiting for that will determine a particular road she deeply wishes to travel in order to see fulfillment. Even as she traverses a benign yet somewhat awkward/hesitant conversation with a stranger in the doctor’s office waiting room, it all leads up to a disclosure that will be both devastating yet healing. Petre deftly navigates this emotive, harrowing journey Ana has with that kind of poise and grace that makes you believe the character while being so quietly intense with depicting the actuality the emotions involved elicit.
Primary supporting roles are present here from Dana Voicu as Flori, the woman Ana ends up in conversation with at the doctor’s office and who very much tries to be a voice of reason, comfort, and encouragement to Ana without even knowing her full situation, Lucian Pavel as Ana’s frustrated and a touch dominating husband (watch the film to understand his own circumstances), Alexandru Georgescu as Ana’s doctor who bears the responsibility of advising her of results she may not wish to becomes informed about while having to then further explain it all, and Adina Stetcu as the office nurse. Additional appearances are made by Emma Elena Ungureanu and Monica Ungureanu as well. So, in total, with its simple, uncomplicated visual delivery, haunting and thought-provoking foundational theme, solidly present music score, and decently dramatic and riveting tone, “27 Children” is a well-presented indie effort that certainly deserves a look as a film to make us realize the shocking things people do to others in the name of misused power and need for control while also illustrating that even when confronted with the hardest of reveals, there can still be an outlet for hope that just might persevere.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
