It's not easy as a 13-year-old girl, and apparently it hasn't been that easy three times in Lithuania. At least not in the social milieu in which Marija (Vesta Matulytė), the protagonist of Saulė Bliuvaitė's directorial debut “Toxic“, grows up. Deported from her mother to her grandmother in some gray industrial town and dismissed by all the school bullies due to a congenital walking disability, Marija dreams, despite all obstacles, of a career as a model – and thus, above all, of an escape from her dreary, poor life. It's all the more terrible for her when her classmate Kristina (Ieva Rupeikaitė) steals her stylish jeans from the school locker room and then wears them to the model casting herself a few days later.
A street brawl later, however, everything is back on track – and an unlikely but even closer friendship develops between the two girls, who initially seemed to be enemies. It's almost a kind of kindred spirit, welded together by the circumstances and by the willingness to do (almost) anything to escape them. And they have plenty of opportunities to do almost anything: adults are completely absent as guardians and role models, and the older men with whom they come into contact in this world sexualize the young girls without any shame or restraint.
One of the most unlikely places for a true friendship between girls: many see model casting as their last chance for a way out.
People also whisper that you can quickly earn a few euros with “massages” – and speculate who in the clique has already allowed themselves to be carried away by sexual services. In any case, money is urgently needed for Marija and Kristina, because the coaching from the shady model trainer Romas (Eglė Gabrėnaitė) is expensive, and the tapeworm that you order online to finally become thin enough for your big dream also costs Money…
Oscillating between the growing familiarity and intimacy between the two friends and a depiction of social neglect that is sometimes all too familiar from the cinema of Eastern European miserabilism, director Bliuvaitė stages a coming-of-age piece in the tradition of Larry's humanistic white trash studies Clark (“Kids”) and/or Harmony Korine (“Spring Breakers”). Although “Toxic” is told in an absolutely solid and empathetic manner, it actually has little new to offer in terms of narrative – and occasionally you get the impression that you have seen films like this one too many times in international art house cinema. Formally, however, Bliuvaitė pulls out completely different registers, and in doing so she actually raises the film, which was awarded the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival, to a completely different, higher level.
A formally outstanding debut
On a formal level, an astonishing ambition meets great visual talent – and in consistent contrast to a certain formlessness that all too often characterizes social realist arthouse cinema, there is hardly a picture to be found in “Toxic” that is not designed and meticulously composed is. Every camera shot is first and foremost thought out from the perspective of the image, and that makes Bliuvaitė's debut an incredibly beautiful film, despite the dark subject matter. And while such an infatuation with images can easily go overboard in less talented hands and produce pretentious poverty-porn festival cinema, everything comes together miraculously in Bliuvaitė's direction.
Last but not least, this also happens under the sign of credible humanism, because even among the cynical, absent, selfish and not at all perfect adults, basically no one here is really denounced through and through. Nobody really gets along in this world, everyone struggles with their demons – and yet sometimes a moment of tenderness or care blossoms, just when you no longer expect it.
You can feel the visual talent of debut director Saulė Bliuvaitė in every shot.
In the end, the main impression left is that the 30-year-old directorial debutant Saulė Bliuvaitė is a great talent entering the world cinema stage. In terms of content, “Toxic” may still be a little too tied to the familiar conventions of coming-of-age festival cinema, but one can definitely be very excited about further directorial work from the young Lithuanian, hopefully soon. Because it's been a long time since we've seen such narratively conventional material staged with more formal ingenuity and actual visual creativity.
Conclusion: Certainly not the most original film of the year, but one of the most visually beautiful. The Lithuanian debut director Saulė Bliuvaitė tells the story of a girl's friendship against the background of poverty and social neglect in captivatingly beautiful images, without losing sight of empathy and love for humanity. Beautiful as a film, and excellent as a showcase of the talent of an exciting new filmmaker.
We saw “Toxic” as part of the 19th Around the World in 14 Films Festival in Berlin.