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‘What Marielle Knows’ Review: A Young Girl Suddenly Acquires Telepathy In Frédéric Hambalek’s Amiable Comedy – Berlin Film Festival
‘What Marielle Knows’ review: A young girl’s suddenly acquired telepathy gives her parents a headache in Frédéric Hambalek’s amiable comedy – Berlin Film Festival
Every adult understands that quotidian lives are a complex jumble of truths and lies, and that honesty, secrets and privacy are malleable given the situation, but that’s not something a child learns overnight, which makes Marielle’s predicament especially disorienting. Things don’t get any better once her parents accept their daughter is telepathic; Julia, as the caring mother, uses it as an opportunity to give Marielle a lesson in hang-up free sexuality (a concept that follows on from Hambalek’s first feature Model Olimpia), but that too misfires. Hambalek makes everything as real as possible, and Bartholomäus Martin Kleppek’s minimalist production design underscores the cold surface comforts of the well-off family’s home, but the hollow ring coming from the footsteps on the metal spiral staircase is indicative of a greater emptiness inside.
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