Feature film debut
Oscar-nominated Irish film: “The Quiet Girl”
Catherine Clinch as Cáit in a scene from the film “The Quiet Girl”. photo
© -/Neue Visionen Filmverleih/dpa
Irish director Colm Bairéad’s debut is quiet – and focuses entirely on interpersonal dynamics. Small gestures take on great meaning in “The Quiet Girl.”
Cáit (Catherine Clinch) is silent a lot. The nine-year-old girl gets the clear message from her parents’ house: keep your mouth shut and don’t become a burden. In the summer of 1981 she was sent to live with relatives in the country. The little girl doesn’t know why, how long or what she should do there. That was in 2023 Irish director Colm Bairéad’s feature debut nominated for an Oscar for Best International Film. It is based on the novella “Foster” by Claire Keegan.
“The Quiet Girl” is a quiet film. He takes his time, tells the problems of a young girl and never leaves his perspective. Just as there are many things they don’t understand or aren’t told at all, the audience often remains unclear about the circumstances and background of what is happening.
At home, Cáit only knows her drinking father (Michael Patric) and her mother (Kate Nic Chonaonaigh), who is overwhelmed with the crowd of children. In the care of her relatives, Cáit slowly blossoms, discovers a whole new life and experiences something like love and security.
The foster mother Eibhlín (Carrie Crowley) looks after the girl lovingly, while the foster father Seán (Andrew Bennett) hardly pays Cáit a glance at the beginning. Not everything is perfect with Cáit’s temporary foster parents. A tragedy that is initially kept quiet weighs heavily on the atmosphere.
Trailer
Director Bairéad primarily stages the development of the characters’ relationships with one another. This is how small gestures take on great meaning. In particular, how Cáit and her foster father gradually approach each other and slowly get closer to each other is worth watching. What makes the film authentic is that Bairéad shot it in Irish.
The Quiet Girl, Ireland 2021, 96 minutes, FSK for ages 12 and up, by Colm Bairéad, with Catherine Clinch, Carrie Crowley, Andrew Bennett.