Locarno review: Maman Danse (2024)
Locarno Film Festival
Pardi di Domani Competition
In her Pardi di Domani International selection contender Maman Danse, Swiss helmer Mégane Brügger goes on the trail of her childhood trauma with her mother, choosing to dance away the bad memories in their first-ever joint venture into the realm of country dancing.
In the beginning, the matriarch is hesitant to join the project, as she doesn’t feel at home in that world anymore. She admits to not knowing the steps anymore, but there is something bigger behind her hesitation. “They are everywhere”, she utters wide-eyed at one point, her body stiffening at the bare thought of having to face other dance enthusiasts again. For her, it was both a place of joy and isolation from the rest of the participants who, noticing that something wasn’t quite right in her life, would never invite her to the gatherings after the rehearsals. Hers is a world of long-built protective walls, in which the past gets approached with shy caution and small steps to acknowledging a fraction of the larger problem – that the life of her daughter was marked by the abusive, destructive behaviour of a “stepfather” who lived in their house for many years.
Maman Danse opens with a scan of a photograph taken almost two decades ago, showing Brügger as a child with a handful of cooked spaghetti, and her mother standing in the background. Details of it are zoomed in and highlighted: mother’s hand opening the cupboard, the child’s proud look on her face, her little fingers holding what looks like overcooked pasta, and the two glasses of red wine resting next to the cooking pot. Another photo introduces the other members of the family (although the rest are missing throughout the film) – a baby brother held by his mother and the dog. It is a small journey into the normality of a typical family life, innocent and sweet. Just like the short video showing the helmer as a child, singing the French version of Village People’s “YMCA”, a song with lyrics about love for skiing.
We got to find out about the existence of another sibling through a chilling account of one of many domestic abuse episodes, which are listed, in numeric order in Brügger’s word document. We can only see and read the fragments of it, each scarier than the other. These memories of an adult who is searching for answers, drive the filmmaker to return to the – now crumbling – former family home in the tiny village of Thierrens in the canton of Vaud. The only living and breathing matter there is a thick layer of mould. The many “whys” are being asked, and simple, honest answers are given. Most of them won’t be understood by someone who hasn’t lived in a violent home. Maman Danse isn’t an easy watch, but it is a film that shows how nothing in life is black and white and that if the will to listen and let go of the past is there, wounds can be mended.
Mégane Brügger’s sophomore short is a tender, emotional exploration of a deep-running family trauma that approaches the past with calmness and willingness to leave it behind. This film which had its world premiere in Locarno today, is both universal in its topic and original in dealing with it to travel to the world and being seen by a larger audience.
Country: Switzerland
Year: 2024
Runtime: 23′
Production: École cantonale d’art de Lausanne Département Cinéma, Association Climage
Producers: Pascaline Sordet, Paolo Moretti, Jean-Guillaume Sonnier
Written/ Directed by: Mégane Brügger
DoP: Nina Refondini
Editing: Margot Sylvestre
Location Sound Mix: Alberto Gonzalez Morales
Sound Editing: Floriane Roulin
Re-recording Mix: Lana Limar
