The teenage years are one of the most difficult periods in everyone’s lives. Memories of that period can resemble a horror film which is too traumatising to ever think about, let alone mention. It must be doubly-hard going through it as a girl. Without even contemplating the the myriad changes taking hold of the body, there’s the peer pressure to conform and entry into the bewildering world of sexualisation. In her new film Blue My Mind, Lisa Brühlmann approaches a familiar subject from a new and original angle.
Mia (Luna Wedler) is a 15-year-old girl who is struggling to fit in at a new school and to deal with the changes happening to her body. She doesn’t get on with her father (Georg Scharegg) and hates her mother (Regula Grauwiller); rebelling by befriending the school’s cool girls, led by Gianna (Zoë Pastelle Holthuizen). As she finds herself experimenting and doing things she wouldn’t normally do to fit in, her body starts changing in ways which aren’t the normal byproducts of puberty.
Blue My Mind is a fresh take on the coming-of-age drama which uses the usual clichés to produce a unique slice of cinema. Brühlmann’s feature debut impresses with its ingenuity and willingness to take risks. The young cast impresses, especially Wedler, and the sound design and camerawork are excellent. Mia is desperate to fit-in, but the more she tries the harder it becomes. Eventually, she realises that the only way to be happy is to just accept who she is. Maybe Mia is just a fish out of water?
Blue My Mind screens at East End Film Festival on 21st April.
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