TRANCE (Transe) (2006) - ♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Teresa Villaverde

Written by - Teresa Villaverde

Starring - Ana Moreira

"TRANCE by TERESA VILLAVERDE is set in recent times, and yet could just as easily be an starkly updated version of a classic novel in which the leading heroine spends most her time getting abused and torn. 

It is the story of Sonia, a girl from St. Petersburg who decides to seem a better life in Western Europe but quite unexpectedly and abruptly she is also forced into prostitution. The film's storyline is just a descent into misery and depression. Sonia's tale is like an ALICE IN WONDERLAND tale gone wrong, and as the film progresses, she seems to go down deeper and deeper into the hole of her desperate situation. 

VILLAVERDE's film is quite eccentric with stylization, both editing wise and with its cineatography that is quite composed. A centre-piece scene in a brother seems to recall the purposeful explicitness of PASOLINI's SALO. This approach leads to occasional excesses, while the relentless abuse experienced by Sonia on the screen is enough to make you question how much abuse can be shown on the screen until it starts becoming abusive and redundant on the viewer. 

But for the most part, the loudness of the film and its provocation work to a great impact. Given the fact that the film is almost solely focused on one character, ANA MOREIRA does a good job to chronicle her helplessness. This is shown alone by her blank stares and her body language - a commendable physical turn that must have been psychologically daunting but that was absolutely necessary in the overall vision of the film."

Drama, Italy/Russia/France/Portugal