email print share on Facebook share on Twitter share on LinkedIn share on reddit pin on Pinterest

BIF&ST 2022

Domenico Croce • Director of Crystal Girl

“If there is a dark side somewhere inside of us, we need to look into it”

by 

- The director chatted with us about his first feature film, a psychological thriller about a young woman who never steps outside of her bedroom, which is competing in Bari’s Bif&st

Domenico Croce • Director of Crystal Girl
(© Bif&st)

The young protagonist of Crystal Girl [+see also:
trailer
interview: Domenico Croce
film profile
]
- the feature film debut of 29-year-old director Domenico Croce (awarded the 2021 David di Donatello for Best Short Film via Anne) - is called “She” (Carolina Sala) and she hasn’t stepped outside of her bedroom for an unspecified period of time. She lives at home with her dad (Tommaso Ragno), who lovingly passes her food through a flap cut into the door, and her beloved dog Hiro who comes and goes through this very same flap. Her only contact with the outside world is through a boy (Marouane Zotti) whom she chats with online. She has all the makings of a hikikomori, an adolescent who voluntarily decides to shut herself in her bedroom and to no longer see anyone. But the strange comings and goings of her neighbour who lives opposite reveal a shocking truth. We spoke about this and more with the director, on the occasion of the film’s world premiere in Bari’s Bif&st which will soon be followed by its cinema release on 7 April.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

Cineuropa: What did you already know about the hikikomori phenomenon when you first were asked to direct this film?
Domenico Croce:
I was familiar with the term and with the broader lines of what it meant. Once I’d read Luca Mastrogiovanni and Ciro Zecca’s treatment (they also wrote the screenplay), I started to look for further information in articles and interviews. What attracted me to the subject was the fact that there was a kind of mystery inherent to the protagonist, and straight away I thought about how I might be able to depict this in a film. I also had an unconscious desire to rediscover myself, to look for inner strength, which is reflected in the investigative truth aspect of the film’s plot.

Is reality distorted for the protagonist when she looks through the glass?
The glass represents transparency, but it could also be a mirror, depending on the angle you approach it from, just like our souls when it comes to events and people. I’m attracted to stories which explore a dual reality; Hitchcock is a great reference point for me. It’s a film based heavily on images and voiceovers, it’s only natural that it leads to confusion; the ultimate aim is emotion. We’re always by the protagonist’s side, seeing things from her viewpoint and from her emotive state; everything that happens is filtered through her.

The film doesn’t tell us how long the girl has been in that state for, or hint at her past.
She’s confused herself; she’s been in there for who knows how long, but she has found her own peace. She’s unable to work out what’s really happening; the truth she tells herself is that she’s happy like this, she’d rather not remember. I wanted to leave these things open, for viewers to ask themselves questions, with the understanding that this isn’t the aim of the film: it’s more of an escape movie about someone who’s trapped somewhere and needs to get out.

Crystal Girl is entirely set in a bedroom, a place of seclusion which is nevertheless full of colour, lights and plants. What was your initial plan for the set?
From the word go, we saw it as a colourful place, with plants and purple neon lights, whereas the mood was darker. That changed when we chose Carolina as our protagonist; she needed to be the key feature in this portrait and everything else had to fit in around her and the way she carried the story forwards. I worked with the set design team and gave them three main directives: colours, transparency and reflections. I like to think that we’ve made subversive use of colour and of the elements which make up the bedroom, but always linking into the theme of a hiding place and the concealed side of the protagonist and the story.

The protagonist drives the story forwards, so choosing the right actress was crucial. What was it about Carolina Sala that won you over?
I got the idea of using a fairy tale tone straight away, especially in the first half of the film because it would help allow me to turn things on their head later on. From the very first self-tape she sent us, it was clear that Carolina could fit into that environment. And then, during auditions, in the dialogue scene she shares with Marouane and Tommaso, there was a disconnect, of sorts, between what she was saying and what she really felt; when you closed your eyes you heard one thing, but when you opened them you saw another: that friction seemed the perfect basis on which to build the story’s mystery.

In this era of pandemics, lockdowns and tricky times for youngsters, your film is highly topical. What would you like to say to young people who see your film?
That they shouldn’t be scared of taking a good look at themselves or of opening up. If there is a darker side somewhere inside of us, we need to look into it. Willingness is a fundamental tool, a muscle which needs to be exercised. It’s not an easy thing to do these days because we’re bombarded with thousands of events, which can also be quite shocking. But behind these shadows, there are lights we need to see. We shouldn’t be afraid of the sun.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

(Translated from Italian)

Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.

See also

Privacy Policy