Anders Walter’s beautiful Oscar-qualifying short drama Ivalu deals with the most tragic of subjects in a sublime fashion. Although its scope is relatively narrow, it feels like a myth, a legend passed down from one generation to another. Seen through the eyes of a young girl, it powerfully contrasts the innocence of childhood against the cruelty of adults, as well as nature’s indifference. Visually and thematically striking, these are 16 minutes one won’t soon forget.
Pipaluk (Mila Heilmann Kreutzmann) lives in Greenland’s harsh, unforgiving environment. When her older sister Ivalu (Nivi Larsen) goes missing, Pipaluk’s father (Angunnguaq Larsen) doesn’t seem to care. Multiple drawings of a child encountering a mythological deity – the Mother of the Sea – provide the only clue regarding Ivalu’s whereabouts.
At school, preparations for the Queen’s arrival are in progress, yet Pipaluk’s mind is on her lost sister. She doesn’t even have a traditional outfit to wear. “You can wear Ivalu’s,” her father says. “That will teach her not to run away.”
One night, Pipaluk has a vivid dream: a crow lands on her windowsill and promises to guide her to Ivalu. Prompted by this vision, guided by her memories, the young girl ventures into the mountains. Perhaps Ivalu is in the cave where the two of them used to hide, unwilling to return home? Or maybe she sailed out on the fjord, where they went fishing? Perhaps she’s at the military base, where the “soil is poisonous”?
When the mystery is finally revealed, it shatters the heart, akin to global warming shattering the ice surrounding Pipaluk’s village. “I don’t want you to have a life like mine,” Ivalu tells Pipaluk in one of the film’s many poignant flashbacks. Children tend to disappear into fairytales, myths and legends – what if Ivalu literally stepped into one? She sought the comfort of a fairytale to escape from human sadism – but encountered Nature’s impassivity instead.
Cinematographer Rasmus Heise captures stunning birds-eye-view shots: an eagle soaring over glacial vistas, a fairy-tale-like village by the ocean, icebergs morphing into pitch-black, icy-cold water. This imbues the film with an epic feel, further complemented by Kreutzmann’s incredible central performance. Whether Pipaluk finds Ivalu at the end or not. . . she now has to find herself.
