Robert Fulghum wrote a book in the late 80s called “All I Really Want to Know, I Learned In Kindergarten.” It was full of tried and true advice about growing up. “Hold hands together and stick with each other,” “play fairly,” “look yourself,” and many more suggestions that we are taught early but never follow. Other things that we learn in school are not found in books, but they are perfect for Laura Wandel’s first feature Playground( Un monde), Belgium’s submission for the 2022 Oscars Best International Film. The film offers advice such as: dominate to avoid dominance, be right while making others wrong, don’t show weakness and adults are more interested in their problems than yours.
Maya Vanderbeque’s remarkable debut performance as a sensitive and shy girl trying to fit in in a hostile environment is a deeply disturbing look into power relationships in a French elementary school. Nora (Karim Léklou from “The Stronghold”), who was left behind by her father on her first day at school, must navigate a world where only the most powerful or manipulative can survive.
The subtitle of the film is “Un monde”, which is “the world,” and refers to the fact the the playground is all the viewer has ever known. It is a fictional work, but it has the feel of a documentary. This may resonate with people who have tried to forget their disturbing childhood memories. Nora’s brother Abel, played by Gunter Duret in “Working Girls”, is constantly bullied by other boys. He is unable, due to his size and because he is continually attacked, to defend himself.
Frederic Noirhomme (A Good Doctor) shoots the entire film from the perspective of the children. We only see adults when they bend down to talk to a young child. The expressions of Nora, who is mainly shown in close-ups reveal more than can be said: her fear, her hurt, and even the gradual loss of innocence. The film is not a narrative, but a series of events that are repeated with increasing urgency. Nora is unable to reach school officials, who are uninterested in her brother, and so she turns to her father, who makes complaints to the school officials, but does not achieve much beyond confronting their obvious stonewalling.
Abel feels his sister has betrayed him and their relationship is suffering. Nora gets the worst as the bullies at school turn on her. In this world of dog-eats-dog, it is evident that the bullied becomes the bully in order to get some imagined revenge. Playground reminds me of Emir Baigazin’s Harmony lessons, in which an oppressed student plots revenge against his tormentors. It is not a pleasant film to watch but it does convey a powerful experience of light.
