Soror

Directed by James Webber

Starring Sian Breckin, Rosie Day & James Alexandrou

Review by Amaliah S. Marmon-Halm

Beautifully made short film with accents of gentle and artistic scenes, Soror (which translates to mean sister in Latin) centres around two sisters, Lisa (Sian Breckin) and Grace (Rosie Day). Lisa is an outspoken and lively woman, who fantasises of escaping to somewhere new and away from the constrictions of her home. With her boyfriend Andrew (James Alexandrou) who doesn’t see the point of leaving the comforts of Hounslow, it doesn’t seem like her dream will be possible. Grace, on the other hand, is a more gentle soul, with an amazing talent for dancing.

The joy these sisters bring each other seems almost paralleled by their quiet and sombre mother Amanda (Kate Dickie), who still seems to be coming to terms with the loss of her partner and the daily struggles of life. We are introduced to them all on the day that will hold a great importance for them all, as they face a future apart.

Usually when a film is set in such a noisy location like Hounslow, a place where you have to get used to the roaring sound of planes overhead, it can cause an issue for filmmakers. In this case, they are used to add atmosphere to the film. What really makes this film more than just a short and more like a piece of art, are the scenes where it seems to cut to the characters inner selves. The emotion, swelling music and lighting almost sway the audience along until it feels like we really are in tune with the characters.

Overall, this is a very well-crafted drama that successfully delves into the lives of these sisters and artistically illustrates the important roles love, family and the need to be one’s self, play in our lives. There are times when the chemistry between Breckin and Day feels so real, that it would be easy to falsely assume that they were actually sisters. The improvised dialogue between the two just adds to this feeling that the characters are truly connected. Though Amanda only plays a small in the illustration of the sister’s story, her character also highlights the constant and almost forgotten consistency of a mother’s love for her daughters. All in all, this is a very wonderful short.

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