15/04/2010

Marieke writes “vendetta” in her diary. Her boyfriend has left her and she is in the throes of an emotional storm. But the worse it yet to come, when the pizza delivery boy assaults her, even trying to drown her in her bathtub.

She decides to experience her trauma in complete isolation, and leaves the city for an abandoned, dilapidated house in the Zealand countryside. Overcome by pain, frustration and anger, which are magnified by the solitude, fantasy begins to blend with reality for Marieke.

After premiering in the Berlinale Forum, the directorial debut of Dutch filmmaker Esther Rots, Can Go Through Skin, is playing in competition at the Lecce European Film Festival. As the camera hugs the beautiful, hardened face and body of actress Rifka Lodeizen, Rots allows us to experience the woman’s psychological drama in a psychological investigation of a subconscious wounded by violence as it wanders through a hostile environment. To Marieke, every shadow and unexpected sound is a sign of aggression from the outside world.

It is precisely the work of sound engineer Dan Geesin in this low-budget film that is most striking: amplified sounds, manipulated instruments and original songs are placed at the service of Marieke’s conflicting emotions. To show that some wounds never heal.

(Translated from Italian)