It’s an interesting juxtaposition to make, but the whiplash between them doesn’t allow for the audience to be immersed in either element.įrustratingly fascinating, You Won’t Be Alone provides several ideas that intrigue about the intricacies of life. The intricate designs in production, costume and make-up create an uncomfortable watch, which frustrates as it fluctuates between a light ethereal score underpinning that of Nevena observing nature, to the vicious brutality of death that she continues to stumble upon. Klimoska plays Nevena with a transfixing wide-eyed innocence and is riveting to watch as she explores new terrain, however when the film explores the different perspectives through the bodies of those she kills, we lose her magnetic performance and the film suffers from losing this presence. The moments where she kills and transforms provide elements of body horror that will leave the pit of your stomach churning. The dead bodies of those she kills seemingly disappear too, perhaps with the witch’s spell, but it’s not touched upon by the film’s narrative. 19th century Macedonian culture might account for this, but it feels disingenuous to see it from that viewpoint. It’s shrugged off as female-madness by friends and family. it’s all too seamless, because when the people she inhabits have lives and voices lived, it feels like no one bats an eye. She, after all, is voiceless and feral so when inhabiting people who have lived a life, she remains voiceless.
It’s intending to speak on the many foibles of life, complete with Nevena’s internal voice that can be heard over various gorgeous shots of nature, but all of this is an illogical annoyance. Maria then turns Nevena into a witch, complete with black talons and the ability to transform into the creatures she kills by inserting their guts into her own cavity.Īfter being abandoned by Maria, Nevena inhabits different people, including that of Bosilka (Noomi Rapace), viewing their life and the patriarchal tendencies of society through her naivety. The unbeknownst Nevena follows who she believes to be her mother until Maria transforms back to her scarred self. That is until Maria returns to claim Nevena – assumedly on her 16th birthday – by killing the mother and taking her shape. Once again Stolevski may not be interested in the why, but the audience sure will, and should be, because why would you not enjoy the 15 years of having a child you could love unconditionally and embrace that time before sending her away when she turns 16?Īs the years go by, Nevena (Sara Klimoska) grows up and becomes a feral child, a prisoner in her own voiceless existence.
Hiding her child – who becomes feral after being cooped up for so long – negates that point. The “why” of it all is not on Stolevski’s mind as he is more interested in creating the nightmarish image rather than a compelling story, but as a set piece to begin with, it sets the macabre tone wonderfully.Īfter Maria leaves, the mother whisks the baby off and hides her in a cave that she declares holy and therefore safe from Maria, or as she’s also referred to as here: a “wolf-eateress.” It’s a familiar trope as the parental figure shields their child from demonic presence until they come of age, but it decries against logic. Maria, instead of just agreeing to this, decides to bloodily take away Nevena’s voice by putting her scarred fingers down the throat of the crying child in horrific fashion. When attempting to eat baby Nevena, her unnamed mother appears and persuades Maria (Anamaria Marinca) into saving the baby, instead offering her up to become Maria’s when she becomes 16. Macedonian folklore talks about Old Maid Maria, a horrifically scarred shape shifting witch who has a penchant for blood, especially that of newborns. However, its painstaking lack of momentum and repetitive storytelling devalues the interesting elements that focus on viewing life and the human condition through different eyes and experiences. Goran Stolevski’s You Won’t Be Alone is a disturbing folk horror set in rural 19th century Macedonia that combines indelible imagery with visceral sound design in a way that will make your teeth ache.
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