The Eve
The Eve
Directed by Luca Machnich | Review by Riya Saha
Set on the backdrop of Christmas Eve, the director Luca Machnich has created a scintillating film that has mystery, suspense and intrigue in it. While reviewing this film I was really wondering what’s coming next! The film is a complete eye-catching experience, an excellent blend of sound, story, graphics, and animation. The actors did a fine job portraying their individual character but what attracted me the most is the relationship between Valerio Santosuosso as Simon and Ulf Kusdas as Santa Claus. The child waited for Santa for eight long years and finally, he met him. But did Santa make his dream come true? Did Simon get an answer to all his fantasies? Well, just like you, while watching the film I was waiting for the climax.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=4ThS7VTHLWc
In “The Eve” director Luca Machnich portrays the key character Simon as an eight-year-old boy who seems to have everything. He’s a sweet child, he’s rich yet unhappy. The quarrels of his mom and dad make him worried and he senses that there’s something wrong with his life and this leads him to contemplate on various things. What makes the film really interesting is the fervid imagination of Simon, which is, in fact, the imagination of the director, who gave the solid foundation to what the child fantasizes. His greatest wish is to leave the materialistic world behind since he isn’t fond of it. That’s why the only present he wants for Christmas is from Santa Claus. He wants him to take him away to live in his fairyland toy factory at the North Pole. At the same time, a secret that his family has been keeping for a long time suddenly comes to the surface and it is feared that the worst might happen soon. The expectation for the stroke of midnight on the night before Christmas is transformed into reality for everyone on the eve of something genuinely different. Something terrible, the unknown path to the future… The film gave the opportunity to explore the clean and pure world of a child that is often violated by the behavior of adults. While watching this film I felt that children are to be loved, they are to be adored. Parental fights impact the mental wellness of children. Though the genre of this film is horror and science fiction, while reviewing the film I got attracted to the way the director delivered his message.
A child’s mind is clean just like Simon, filled with fantasy, the dream world, and of course with love. Simon wanted to escape to the fantasy world just because he was sensitive to the interaction between his caretakers. He sensed something is not very right between the two of them. By engaging in quarrel after showering their children with love and affection, parents end up sending contradictory information to them. Director Luca Machnich has narrated this rather creative film using his lively imagination in the setting of the Christmas that has nothing mystical or joyful in it. The waiting for another future in “The Eve” was symbolized by the bell tower, which is the leading character in the story. And if you are wondering why a bell tower became the leading character you got to watch this film!
Riya Saha is a Kolkata based writer, editor, journalist and cinephile. She has completed her masters in Journalism and Mass Communication from Calcutta University and currently working as a freelance journalist. Having a great interest in world cinema made Riya join Human Lab Corporation. She is passionate about setting goals and achieving them. She enjoys reading, writing, traveling, socializing and meeting people. She is also very fond of watching International movies.
