A Menina Silenciosa

It is not so unusual to witness family situations in which parents treat their children as burdens, oblivious to their responsibility for bringing them into the world. Or of the reason why they did it. The discourse on parenting is precisely the film's pivotal element, and it is carried out gracefully. The Quite Girl is not an original film, or particularly entertaining, but it succeeds in offering a perfectly constructed story from beginning to end. It certainly conveys a great love for cinema and its language, this in the attention and subtle use of detail, in the beautiful cinematography and in the image construction. An outstanding piece of work indeed.

The movie "The quiet girl" is an exceptional piece of drama. Beautifully adapted from Claire Keegan's book "Foster," writer/director Colm Bairéad makes a heavy, harrowing movie about the influence of a dysfunctional and neglected family in the development of a child.

Cáit (Catherine Clinch) is a little girl who spends most of her time quietly on her parent's farm. She feels the disdain of her family who is going through financial difficulties, she doesn't get along with her sisters and she is bullied at school, which affects her ability to read and write. Her parents then decide to send her away to spend some time with her aunt's family. As soon as Cáit arrives at the new residence, she begins to discover the true feeling of a family environment. That's when director Colm Bairéad shines, through small gestures and details, he manages to convey Cáit's blossoming, the feeling of existing and being loved, and at the same time shows the healing process of her uncles' tragedy.

This is a beautiful movie about discovery, healing and miserable childhood.

Catherine Clinch stars here as Cait, a girl of about ten who is sent to live with an older childless couple in rural Ireland. The biological mother and father are unfit parents with a brood of children living in a filthy and unkempt house.

Mom is expecting another child to add to her flock and the foster couple grow more and more attached to the quiet girl.

Two thirds of the way in, a terrible secret is revealed and it only deepens the attachment of Cait and her guardians.

Most of the film is in Gaelic with a few portions in English. The subtitles work fine but some of those spoken in English were difficult to understand.

The scenery is beautiful and story a tear jerker. The pretty young actress is a scene stealer.

I expect an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Picture.

Imagine what you'd do, a young child where there's a few, in a rural Irish setting, father likes drinking and betting, mam's another on the way, so they send you far away, to relations you don't know, you have no say, you have to go.

Occasionally you come across a piece of cinema that leaves you stunned, buckled and undone; when performances and story, within a time and a place, just flow so elegantly and refined, against the most inelegant and unrefined backdrops.

If you have a heart, and a soul, an ounce of empathy, and a pathway from a screen straight to them, then prepare to be walloped by this heartfelt offering from the Emerald Isle.

I start with the story. This movie is an eye-opening wonderfully made piece of art about the most precious things in life. The movie demonstrates the importance of kindness, love, and care which you may not be aware of unless you lose them. That is one aspect of the story. Another important aspect of the story is children's problems in integrating with the environment, even with their own family, based on their personality. To have a different personality could be hard and gets amplified in a toxic family. The aspect of a toxic family, especially toxic parents has been presented as masterfully as possible. I won't explain the details to avoid spoiling the movie.

Storytelling is straight. Minimum metaphors and vague scenes have been filmed, maybe zero. Also, the movie does not include any form of parent love cliches which is a strong point in my opinion. You hardly find any unnecessary moments in the film and the scenes are sequenced perfectly. However, there could be some extra time for the girl's biological family. Other than that, everything is great. The story will get you right to the end which is emotional and lovely.

The cinematography is perfect as well. Excellent facial close-ups and sceneries help build up the atmosphere for different parts of the story. The performance is superb. You will accept the actors as their characters without doubt and cannot expect a better performance or cast. Especially the little girl is excellent.