Playground
In this debut feature by writer-director Laura Wandel, the everyday reality of grade school is seen from a child's-eye-view as an obstacle course of degradation and abuse. Following 7-year-old Nora and her big brother Abel, we see Nora struggling to fit in before finding her place on the schoolyard. One day, she notices Abel being bullied by other kids, and though she rushes to protect him by warning their father, Abel forces her to remain silent, while he endures more humiliation and harassment by his peers. Transposing the gritty realism of such filmmakers as Jacques Audiard and the Dardennes Brothers to the inner world of kids, Wandel crafts an empathetic and visceral portrait of the cruelty of children, and the failure of adults to protect them. Shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best International Film.
"When laid out so matter of fact, the themes Wandel explores may appear trite. But Playground crystallizes the cruelty, the poetry, the life-and-death largeness of childhood like no other coming-of-age film—expertly capturing an experience distant yet familiar to most who will watch. Led by the striking young talent of Vanderbeque, Playground constructs one of the most affecting and sincere portrayals of childhood on the film scene today. A necessary addition for narrative drama collections, Wandel’s coming-of-age film comes highly recommended. EDITOR'S CHOICE." - Video Librarian
"Laura Wandel’s debut feature and multi award winning film, Playground (the original French title Un Monde, translation, A World) is a very uncomfortable but powerful film to watch about the very universal childhood and sometimes adult experience of bullying. While watching the viewer can’t help but feel a sense of impending doom and dread. The film is shot in a very no-frills way. The camera pans to the children’s faces for the most part capturing the raw emotion. The adults are shot from the torso down, making the viewer see what the children see with their own eyes. There is no score. The scenes all take place within the school’s gates. All this adds to the feeling of uneasiness and claustrophobia while watching....In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Department of Education released the first federal definition of bullying. The definition includes three core elements: Unwanted, aggressive behavior, observed or perceived power imbalance and repetition or high likelihood of repetition of bullying behaviors. We see all these elements played out in the film. For academic libraries serving elementary and secondary education departments, this film is highly recommended." - EMRO
"A harrowing and heart wrenching narrative brought uncomfortably and expressively to life by its superb cast. Highly Recommended."- The Sound View
Cast
- Maya Vanderbeque
- Günter Duret
- Karim Leklou
- Laura Verlinden
DVD Features
Bonus Short Film
Les corps étrangers (Foreign Bodies)
Directed by Laura Wandel
Belgium
French with English subtitles
15 minutes
A war photographer who lost a leg and his physical therapist help each other see their respective worlds in a new light.
Discs: 1
- "Critic's Pick! [A] perfect hour and 12 minutes....a knockout, as flawlessly constructed as it is harrowing. A work of striking integrity and force, Wandel is... telling a story that in its piercing, sensitive detail and life-shaping arc is as familiar as yours and mine."
- "A must-see drama about school bullying. A sharply chiseled, wrenchingly observed first feature written and directed by Laura Wandel.... Vanderbeque gives what may be the most fully formed child performance in recent memory. "
- "A gut-punch of a film that is not so much a portrait of schoolyard bullying as it is a sensory immersion straight into the heart of children abusing other children physically and emotionally, Playground is a sit-up-and-take-notice blend of outstandingly natural performances enhanced by spot-on cinematic choices. Tough subject matter sensitively handled in this Cannes Un Certain Regard premiere distinguishes Belgian newcomer Laura Wandel as as a talent to watch."
- "Director Laura Wandel’s début feature Playground (Une Monde, 2021), is a deeply unsettling story that offers no resolution. A visceral observation of bullying shot at the eye level of a seven-year-old, the film reminds us that the dark underbelly of educational idealism is a traumatic experience."
- "With her stunning debut film Playground, Belgian newcomer Laura Wandel unlocks our memories through film. Playground is truly stunning in both its visual power and auditory submergence. Every frame, unlocking the vault of the school memories we keep firmly shut in our subconscious mind. This, in turn, creates an immersive, at times unnerving, and compelling slice of cinema. "
- "Maya Vanderbeque is an incredible young actress."
- "Filmed from a child’s perspective, Laura Wandel’s first feature is a moving, subtle yet incisive tale which impresses for its intense depiction of bullying at school"
- "The film’s originality stems from its creative use of mix-and-match, taking a schoolyard tale and treating it with same hard-nosed intensity as Audiard’s prison thriller and a here-and-now visual immediacy more common to a war film. "
- "Playground is practically an exercise in the use of off-camera space, and a masterful and refreshingly consistent one at that."
- "It's one of the year's boldest and best directorial debuts, in addition to being one of the most incisive films about how children experience bullying yet made."
- "Playground is a poignant portrait of the dynamics of fitting in and finding one’s place."
- "A brilliant debut feature.... Playground’s brilliance is in its simplicity and intimacy. As the tension mounts... Playground cements itself as one of the best films about early childhood I’ve seen."
- "Wandel’s movie is immersive and bruising, full of empathy for its young characters, and unrelenting in its depiction of the challenges they face."
- "Wandel’s film burrows right into the mind of its characters, leaving you gasping for air."
- "Laura Wandel’s refreshingly lean directorial debut captures the casual cruelty of youth free of sentimental embellishments, aided by a heartbreaking performance from young lead Maya Vanderbeque."
- "Wandel’s immersive, impressive debut is rigorous in its resolute focus on one little girl fighting a lonely, frightened battle for her future selfhood, in which what hangs in the balance is nothing less than the shape and measure of her developing soul. But out of focus, amid the background clamor, hover even larger, stranger and more fundamental questions, like how come school is the way it is, and why do we subject our children to it?"
- "Belgian director Laura Wandel’s jarring debut feature plunges headlong into the world of school-aged children and observes their dynamics with chilling precision. It generously studies its subjects — children, bullying, adults confronting the implications of the latter — and extracts haunting conclusions about the Darwinian nature of ostensibly idyllic settings."
- "A gripping psychological drama... Vanderbeque's performance is transfixing."
- "A remarkable examination of childhood, social belonging, and family ties—with implications outside of the school playground. Vanderbeque is never anything but absolutely convincing. Indeed, the film rests squarely on her shoulders. "
- "Playground is bleak, bleak stuff. It’s also electrifying. As Nora, Vanderbeque is quite stunning from the film’s first heartbreaking frame to its last. The moral and emotional trap Nora finds herself in feels organic, perhaps because many of us will recognize it from our own lives. Playground is a tough watch, but it’s also an essential one."
- "An arresting, eye-opening look at how violence begins at an early age, and how we can learn to be bystanders, or have the strength to speak out."
Gallery
Awards & Recognition
FIPRESCI Prize: Un Certain Regard
Cannes Film Festival
Best Debut Feature
Int'l. Cinephile Society Awards
Sutherland Award - First Feature
London Film Festival
Best Debut Film
Haifa Int'l. Film Festival
Best Actress
El Gouna Film Festival
Best Film
Guanajuato Int'l. Film Festival
European Discovery - Prix FIPRESCI
European Film Awards
Grand Prix
Ghent Int'l. Film Festival
Best Youth Film
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
Young Talent Award
Hamburg Film Festival
San Sebastián Film Festival
Palm Springs Int'l. Film Festival
FIPRESCI Prize for Best International Feature Film
Palm Springs International Film Festival