‘The Castle’: Galway Review

Dir/scr: Lina Luzyte. Ireland/Lithuania. 2020. 91 mins

Sunny determination confronts a mountain of obstacles in The Castle (Pilis). The second dramatic feature from writer/director Lina Luzyte is an assured coming of age story with a spirited, eye-catching performance from teenage newcomer Barbora Bareikyte. Festival invitations and some commercial interest should follow its world premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh.

Luzyte makes her points about family, exile and immigrants with a subtle economy

A young girl’s plucky pursuit of a seemingly unattainable music career sounds like the material for a feel good heartwarmer. Luzyte steers a more unexpected course, largely eschewing the feelgood for something more measured and bittersweet. There are strong echoes of Dardenne brothers social-realism in the story of 13 year-old Lithuanian Monika (Barbora Bareiktye) who has moved to Dublin with her mother Jolanta (Gabija Jaraminaite) and a grandmother (Jurate Onaityte) who requires around the clock care.

The city’s drab streets and grey skies strike a sharp contrast with Monika’s bright-eyed enthusiasm. Her mother is an accomplished musician and Monika has been singing since she was a child. It seems obvious to her that they will form a band. “Music Ladies” and “ Bread And Circuses” are the names she proposes in her giddy excitement.

Michael Lavelle’s handheld camerawork weaves around Monika, caught up in her excitement. Bareikyte invests her with energy and a burning, infectious conviction. Her gait and stride convey a sense of someone in a hurry to take on the world. You almost share her belief that anything is possible. Performing at a funeral lands Monika and Jolanta an invitation to sing at a venue called The Castle (“it was good enough for Elton John”). They seem to be on their way even if the random offer appears like a too-good-to-be-true contrivance from a different kind of film .

Monika’s high hopes are constantly halted by harsh reality. A weary, careworn Jolanta has given up on her dreams. She works in a fish factory and just wants to provide for her daughter and shoulder the burden of caring for her increasingly unmanageable mother. She maintains a rigorous honesty (refusing to steal from the factory) but there is no room for sentimentality in her world. Jolanta seems to reflect the wider Lithuanian community in Dublin, trying to make the most of their circumstances and settling for less than their dreams. The neighbours in Monika’s estate include dodgy wheeler dealer Adam (Andrei Ciopec) and Natalia (Martyna Peszko), a lap dancer who sends money home to her husband and son.

The reality for Monika is that she has no musical instruments, nowhere to rehearse and little chance of making her concert date. The wild scheme she devises takes the film in a darker direction but eventually provides Monika with a better understanding of exactly what her mother has to endure.

The Castle has a real feel for the locations (grey docklands, graffitied walls, crowded housing estates) and the lives of even the secondary characters. Luzyte makes her points about family, exile and immigrants with a subtle economy. The ending of The Castle feels a little abrupt but the journey there is emotionally involving and the highly accomplished Barbora Bareikyte emerges as a talent to watch.

 

 

The Castle

 

Dir/Scr: Lina Luzyte. Ireland/Lithuania.  2020. 91 mins

 

Production companies: Artbox, Samson Films 

International sales: Wide infos@widemanagement.com

Producers: Kestas Drazdauskas, David Collins

Editing:  Benjamin Mirguet

Cinematography: Michael Lavelle

Production design: Tamara Conboy

Music:  Jonas Jurkunas

Main cast: Barbora Bareikyte, Gabija Jaraminaite, Jurate Onaityte, Andrei Ciopec, Martyna Peszko.

 

Sunny determination confronts a mountain of obstacles in The Castle (Pilis). The second drama feature from writer/director Lina Luzyte is an assured coming of age story with a spirited, eye-catching performance from teenage newcomer Barbora Bareikyte. Festival invitations and some commercial interest should follow its world premiere at the Galway Film Fleadh.

A young girl’s plucky pursuit of a seemingly unattainable music career sounds like the material for a feel good heartwarmer. Luzyte steers a more unexpected course, largely eschewing the feel good for something more measured and bittersweet. There are strong echoes of Dardenne brothers social-realism in the story of 13 year-old Lithuanian Monika (Barbora Bareiktye) who has moved to Dublin with her mother Jolanta (Gabija Jaraminaite) and a grandmother (Jurate Onaityte) who requires round the clock care. 

The city’s drab streets and grey skies strike a sharp contrast with Monika’s  bright-eyed enthusiasm. Her mother is an accomplished musician and Monika has been singing since she was a child. It seems obvious to her that they will form a band. “ Music Ladies” and “ Bread And Circuses” are the names she proposes in her giddy excitement.   

Michael Lavelle’s handheld camerawork weaves around Monika, caught up in her excitement. Bareikyte invests her with energy and a burning, infectious conviction. Her gait and stride convey a sense of someone in a hurry to take on the world. You almost share her belief that anything is possible. Performing at a funeral lands Monika and Jolanta an invitation to sing at a venue called The Castle  (“ it was good enough for Elton John” ). They seem to be on their way even if the random offer appears like a too-good-to-be-true contrivance from a different kind of film . 

Monika’s high hopes are constantly halted by harsh reality. A weary, careworn Jolanta has given up on her dreams.  She works in a fish factory and just wants to provide for her daughter and shoulder the burden of caring for her increasingly unmanageable mother. She maintains a rigorous honesty (refusing to steal from the factory) but there is no room for sentimentality in her world.

Jolanta seems to reflect the wider Lithuanian community in Dublin, trying to make the most of their circumstances and settling for less than their dreams. The neighbours in Monika’s estate include dodgy wheeler dealer Adam (Andrei Ciopec) and Natalia (Martyna Peszko), a lap dancer who sends money home to her husband and son.

The reality for Monika is that she has no musical instruments, nowhere to rehearse and little chance of making her concert date. The wild scheme she devises takes the film in a darker direction but eventually provides Monika with a better understanding of exactly what her mother has to endure. 

The Castle has a real feel for the locations ( grey docklands, graffitied walls, crowded housing estates) and the lives of even the secondary characters. Luzyte makes her points about family, exile and immigrants with a subtle economy. The ending of The Castle feels a little abrupt but the journey there is emotionally involving and the highly accomplished Barbora Bareikyte emerges as a talent to watch.

 

ends