QUEEN OF EARTH’s plot can be told quickly. Two good friends, Catherine and Virginia, meet at a lake house which belongs to Virginia’s family for a short holiday. Catherine can use the relaxation. Her father recently died and her boyfriend broke up with her shortly after. All she wants right now is a bit of peace and some quality time with Virginia who cares for her friend but has also fallen for her neighbor Rich whom Catherine does not get along with. It’s all very similar to their holiday last year except their roles were reversed. As their friendship deteriorates, Catherine’s cracks begin to show.
QUEEN OF EARTH is a visually arresting chamber piece. The camera often takes in the idyllic house and the lake. There’s a lot of silence and observation and when something is said there is often no desire to want to talk about it. The camera is very close and prefers not to show the faces of the speakers but the reaction of the listeners instead. Though the story is only revealed bit by bit it is clear from the minimal retro score that something is fundamentally awry and that the film probably won’t have a happy ending. It isn’t clear what will go wrong though, which makes it more unsettling. Like a good friend whose negative aspects you start detecting, the navel-gazing film about friendship and love turns into a psychological thriller about vicious cycles and dependence. Sometime it’s not our enemies that hurt us most but those that are the closest and most beloved.

Christian Klose (INDIEKINO MAGAZIN)

Translation: Elinor Lewy