In her directorial debut, When It Melts, Belgian actor Veerle Baetens deftly explores the lasting impact of adolescent trauma. A devastating story and a tough watch, the film nevertheless demands that we don’t turn a blind eye to people’s pain.
Known for her role in the Oscar-nominated drama The Broken Circle Breakdown (2014), Baetens and her co-writer Maarten Loix adapted When It Melts from Belgian author Lize Spit’s novel, The Melting.
Eva (Charlotte De Bruyne) is a quiet, withdrawn young woman who seems to struggle socially. She avoids large groups of people, shrinking into a wall until they pass. When her sister Tess moves out, Eva feels she has lost her only real social lifeline and family, as she’s estranged from her parents. When Eva receives a social media invitation to a hometown memorial for a long-deceased friend, it triggers emotional memories of the pivotal summer after his death and her role as the third musketeer to her friends Tim and Laurens.
Throughout the film we move between present and past, winter and summer as Eva drives home whilst reflecting on the summer that cruelly altered her life. In the present, Eva packs lightly for the trip; she brings her family’s longtime pet turtle and, mysteriously, a big block of ice. In the past, thirteen-year-old Eva (Rosa Marchant) approaches summer with a buoyant spark of energy and hope. She is practically unrecognizable from her adult self, warning us of the darkness ahead.
Young Eva and her two male friends, Tim (Anthony Vyt) and Laurens (Matthijs Meertens), are entering puberty and experiencing the confusion, curiosity and sexual awareness that comes with it. Eva has a crush on Tim, their de facto leader, and envies the older girls who have caught his attention. Meanwhile, Tim’s coming-of-age takes a nastier turn as he often freezes Eva out, and he initiates a game that involves inducing girls to remove their clothes by way of guessing a challenging riddle. Eva recognizes something isn’t right, but she’s desperate to be included and prove herself to Tim. She reluctantly joins in and contributes the riddle for the game.
For those in the audience who already know the riddle (and its answer), hearing it posed onscreen triggers a shocking realization essential to the film’s conclusion. But many audience members will likely be unfamiliar with the riddle, giving them a bigger mystery to solve throughout the film. Either way, viewers remain emotionally unequipped for what’s to come.
The story moves from unsettling to harrowing as it deals with neglectful parents, sexual violence, adolescent cruelty, and betrayal by the very people we count on for protection. Despite the disturbing nature of the story’s developments, the film is handled with precision, awareness and care. It does not glorify or present trauma with the intention to shock, but rather it impresses upon audiences the importance of acknowledging the reality of stories like these and the long-lasting consequences of untreated trauma.
While the film is also not a morality tale, it does strike anger and hopefully motivation in us to continue shifting both adult and youth attitudes and responses towards sexual violence as well as trauma and mental health treatment.
Marchant and De Bruyne give strong performances that work well alongside one another and complement the narrative as young Eva’s arc informs adult Eva’s identity and state of mind. Femke Heijens is also notable in her performance as Laurens’ mother, Marie.
Emotionally tolling, When It Melts will not be for everyone, and some may take issue with how dark it is willing to go, but it is a searing, noteworthy film that also marks Baetens as an accomplished director.
When It Melts had its international premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
© 2020-2023. UniversalCinema Mag.