Synopsis
When Nora witnesses Abel being bullied by other kids, she rushes to protect him by warning their father. But Abel forces her to remain silent. Caught in a conflict of loyalty, Nora will ultimately try to find her place, torn between children’s and adult’s worlds.
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Cast
- Maya VanderbequeNora
- Günter DuretAbel
- Karim LeklouFinnigan
- Laura VerlindenAgnes
- Thao MaertenDavid
- Lena Girard VossClémence
- Simon CaudryAntione
- James Seguy
- Naël Ammama
- Emile Salamone
Recommendations
- 100
The New York Times
This is the first feature from the writer-director Laura Wandel, and it’s a knockout, as flawlessly constructed as it is harrowing. - 92
Paste Magazine
Wandel’s movie is immersive and bruising, full of empathy for its young characters, and unrelenting in its depiction of the challenges they face. And it makes you wonder, with utmost sincerity—how did any of us ever reach adulthood in one piece? - 90
Variety
Wandel’s immersive, impressive debut is rigorous in its resolute focus on one little girl fighting a lonely, frightened battle for her future selfhood, in which what hangs in the balance is nothing less than the shape and measure of her developing soul. - 90
New York Magazine (Vulture)
Playground is bleak, bleak stuff. It’s also electrifying. - 90
Los Angeles Times
No one in this movie has a complete understanding of what’s going on, but Wandel proves that a sensitive enough camera can provide a fuller picture than most. - 88
RogerEbert.com
Fashioned out of fresh faces unable to lie to the camera, “Playground” is a study in human behavior wrapped in equal parts fear and curiosity. - 83
The Film Stage
Wandel pulls no punches in her depiction, and both Leklou and Vanderbeque deliver performances well beyond their years. - 83
IndieWire
While Wandel does well to leave some things to the imagination, like what happens beyond the schoolyard, she not-so-subtly nails the point home in the end, showing how all it takes is one person to stop bullying at its source. Still, her film is an arresting, eye-opening look at how violence begins at an early age, and how we can learn to be bystanders, or have the strength to speak out.
