Kplus: FEATURE FILMS
Director: Olivier Ringer
Belgium 2011 / 77 minutes
with: Wynona Ringer, Olivier Ringer, Macha Ringer
Languages: French
“If they notice I’m gone, that means I’m important to them. If they drive off without me, that means I’m all the same to them. So what will they do? Will they drive off or will they look for me?“
Inside Cathy’s head is a world of its own. Every weekend she drives with her parents to the house in the country, and the endless hours in the car fill her with her very own thoughts. No one has ever asked Cathy if she actually wants to come along. She would probably get by better on her own. Then she could explore the forest, catch fish and finally sink both her hands into the mud. Who needs a home if you’ve got a canopy of trees above you? Would Cathy’s parents even notice if she left?
I didn't have very high expectations for this film, so I was completely surprised when I watched it! "A Pas de Loup" is an extraordinary and beautiful film. The perspective is what makes it extraordinary: the entire story is told through the eyes of six-year-old Cathy, who is practically the only actor in the film. This perspective allows us to really identify with her thoughts and feelings, and we thus learn about her troubles and fears. It is extraordinary too, that the film is set almost exclusively in a forest and that there is very little action – without it every becoming boring. I found the music very beautiful and the many scenes in which we can see how familiar Cathy is with life in the wilderness. For example, when she takes care of the fish she catches or the way she makes a cosy bed in the soil for her "magic seeds". If you want to join a little girl on an adventure in the forest, this film is most definitely for you!