SFIFF 2011: SHE MONKEYS

Emma (Mathilda Paradeiser) in She Monkeys.

Persona non-grata

By Miranda Inganni

Set in a rural Swedish town, Lisa Aschan’s first feature film, She Monkeys, centers on Emma (Mathilda Paradeiser) and her bid to land a spot on the local horse vaulting team. It’s at the tryouts that she meets the beautiful, pouty Cassandra (Linda Molin), who pulls Emma out of her shell, only to push her around.

Emma’s life seems to be all about control – from perfecting her vaulting moves, to “click” training the family dog, to tightly plaiting her hair – so much so that her coach comments, “it’s not all about strength and control…it’s about presence.” Cassandra, on the other hand, has an abundance of presence. As the two girls flirt, with local boys (Adam Lungren and Sigmund Hovind) and each other, their friendship turns from one of frivolity to jealously to love then hatred.

Initially, Emma enjoys being told what to do by Cassandra, but the increasingly perverse trust games the girls engage in forces Emma to realize her own seductive power (and the power of seduction). The control volleys between the two, with the quiet but tough Emma eventually showing a slightly sadistic side.

While Emma toys with the idea of being in love with Cassandra (or just wanting to be Cassandra), her younger sister, Sara (Isabella Lindquist), a preternaturally sexual yet pudgy child, tries to seduce her much older babysitter, Sebastian (Kevin Caicedo Vega) who happens to be her cousin.

Nothing scares Emma or Sara, but both are filled with anger -- and though it is never mentioned in the film, perhaps it is because there is no mother? -- some of which is finally released when each expresses their rage and frustration through violence.

Conveying the idea that one must hide one’s feelings or risk getting hurt – something often found in Swedish films – She Monkeys (by the way, a lousy title) is a concisely lensed film with some strong performances by young actors.