You Won't Be Alone (2022 Macedonian witch film)

[Mister Six]

Probably my favourite film in ages, this.

To reveal too much about it would risk spoiling the experience, but broadly it's about a 16-year-old girl who has grown up apart from human society, who finds herself transformed into a shapeshifter by an embittered and horribly mutilated witch. It's ostensibly a horror film, and sure there's a fair bit of blood, offal and death in there, but really it's a beautifully shot, alternatingly dreamy and brutal meditation on the dangers and traumas that exist in the world, and whether it is worth braving the pain of loss to enjoy the temporary pleasure of human contact.

It's great, although I've no idea where you can see it - we caught it at a little indie cinema. If it crops up on streaming or in a theatre near you, however, I can't recommend it enough.

[Crenners]

Sounds very promising, I'll defo check this out.

[Noodle Lizard]

It's on Peacock in the US, so I'm assuming it's available elsewhere. I started watching it the other night based on a recommendation, and while everything about it was very well-done, I turned it off about 40 minutes in. It's quite ponderous and artsy (you know it is when it's 4:3, set in Eastern Europe and begins with overcast images of farm animals) and it was late at night and I just wasn't quite in the mood for that sort of thing. Looking forward to getting back to it, though.

So, not having finished it, the only thing I'll say is that I really liked the strange, disjointed writing for the girl's internal monologue, befitting of someone who's never really heard ordinary people speak.

[Mister Six]

Yeah, you should definitely save it for when you're in the right mood to go with the flow. We did the same initially, and ended up watching dogshit James Wan flick Malignant instead, which should fucking teach us.

YWBA is very unhurried, but I found that made it all the more pleasurable to sink into. And unlike, say, Lamb (another European dark fantasy flick we watched recently), the artsiness and slowness actually builds into an emotionally resonant and thematically meaningful ending instead of just stopping and going "LOL U DECIDE WHAT THIS MEANS 🤣".

[zomgmouse]

I liked this a lot, as you say Mister Six not totally cryptic yet not wholly evident either. Some really beautiful footage and the core concepts are all interesting to watch unfold, particularly the

Spoiler alert

shapeshifting/identity assuming

[close]

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