R eminiscent of a dark fairytale, Isabel Pagliai’s feature debut conjures a multitude of thresholds, lingering somewhere between documentary and fiction, dream and reality. Louise, the young woman at the centre of this beguiling film, is a mirage of a character; introduced in fragments, we first hear her lilting lamentations against a darkened screen. This is followed by closeups of a yellow notebook, in which her fears and desires overflow on every page, as they are read out by a mysterious, unseen man.

When Louise finally materialises on screen, her everyday existence unfurls over deceptively mundane episodes. Through these sequences, Pagliai builds a fascinating tension between the stillness of the compositions and Louise’s agitated psyche. She is often seen in darkness, her face lit

See Full Page