STORM

2022 / 83 min/ color

Elin, the protagonist of Norwegian filmmaker Erika Calmeyer’s feature debut, is a single mother of two children, ten-year-old Storm and her younger brother Ulrik. When a tragic accident results in Ulrik drowning during a family fishing trip, Elin is overcome with grief. Despite the unimaginable pain she feels after losing her child, she tries to return to a normal life, mainly because of Storm, who feels lost and confused by the whole situation. The family nightmare gets even worse when a rumor begins to spread at Storm’s school that she caused her brother’s death by deliberately pushing him underwater. Calmeyer’s psychological thriller is reminiscent of Thomas Vinterberg’s excellent The Hunt (2012) in its emotional intensity. Through Elin, played impressively by Ani Dahl Torp, the young Norwegian director presents the viewer with quite a dilemma. She weighs unconditional maternal love and a parental instinct to protect her child against the ability to put emotion aside and look at all aspects of a deeply challenging situation.