‘Holly’: Venice Review

Dir/scr: Fien Troch. Belgium/Netherlands/Luxembourg/France. 2023. 102mins

In this intriguingly sparse metaphysical drama from Fien Troch, a 15-year-old schoolgirl Holly (Cathalina Geeraerts) wakes up to an oppressive sense of dread on an otherwise unremarkable morning. She somehow knows that “It’s a bad, bad day” and calls in sick at her inner city secondary in an unspecified Belgian town. That same day, the school is consumed by fire and 10 lives are lost. In the raw grief that follows, Holly’s premonition, and her uncanny ability to bring comfort to those who crave it, takeson a mythic significance within the wider community. But the demands of the desperate and needy start to take their toll on the shy, bullied outsider.

Enigmatic, deconstructed storytelling – as much a series of intense memory fragments as a linear narrative.

This is the fifth feature film from Belgian director Troch (Home, Kid) and, in common with her feature debut, Someone Else’s Happiness, it deals with the theme of a community coming to terms with a collective trauma. This is enigmatic, deconstructed storytelling – as much a series of intense memory fragments as a linear narrative. There is a sense that Troch conceals almost as much as she reveals when it comes to the storytelling, not least the answer to the question of whether or not Holly’s gifts are authentic or imagined. As such, it will likely find a receptive audience on the festival circuit after its premiere in competition in Venice – but Holly may be better suited to a streaming platform release than the challenges of an overcrowded theatrical market.

Fragile, with almost translucent-looking skin, huge, haunted eyes and an air of neglect that clings to her, Holly is one of those kids who seem doomed to be excluded from the tight-knit social circles of her contemporaries. The instinctive lens of director of photography Frank van den Eeden (Lukas Dhont’s Close) is tuned in to Holly’s alienation and the low-level hostility that greets her daily. Her friendship group consists of her older sister, who tolerates her, and fellow outsider Bart (Felix Heremans). Although a diagnosis is not specified, we assume Bart is autistic. Neurodivergent non-professional actor Heremans is terrific in the role, bringing an angular, abrasive humour to the character. Rejected by the other kids and physically threatened by the older boys, Bart is dependent on the calming, non-judgemental presence of Holly. When the rest of the town starts to make demands on her time and her well of empathy, Bart feels the competition keenly.

And Bart is not the only one to feel a sense of ownership over Holly. Anna (Greet Verstraete), a well-meaning teacher at Holly’s school who also organises the extra-curricular volunteer program, recruits Holly to help with a therapeutic trip for bereaved friends and families following the fire. She is immediately struck by the palpable comfort that Holly seems able to bring, through a touch on the arm, a gently squeezed hand. But Anna’s altruistic character is balanced by a hard, judgemental streak: when Holly accepts money for offering comfort to the needy, in Anna’s eyes, her protege’s halo permanently slips. While the story is told largely through Holly’s viewpoint, her perception of the world is shaped by the way others see her at a particular time, something that Troch explores through smart use of sound. The world becomes an increasingly cacophonous, hostile place.

This latest addition to the ‘teen girl with powers’ genre is a mysterious, evasive story – less overt than, say, Joachim Trier’s Thelma. And beneath this tale of a high school outsider, the film asks philosophical questions: about the parasitic nature of the need for spiritual comfort; about doing good, and whether a truly selfless act can ever really exist.