How far is egotism from love? A childless French couple, Jacqueline and Leon, have just completed a complex adoption process of Karolina and Rytis, a sister and brother from Lithuania. The seemingly caring parents hire bilingual Lithuanian student Gabrielė who willingly agrees to provide temporary help in ensuring the children’s smoother adaptation in their new home and preventing any possible mishaps of lost in translation. The cultural differences, mismatched attitudes, disparate values and diverse educational methods soon ignite sudden conflicts between the adults. Mutual mistrust is obvious from both sides. The inevitable clash between Jacqueline and Gabrielė raises doubts at to the future of two kids.

After two award-winning shorts, “Bridges” and “The Etude”, Austėja Urbaitė boldly examines the rather invisible and usually destructive impacts of selfishness, arrogance, submissive loyalty, fond devotion, excessive anxiety and even jealousy in different relationships in her confident and powerful debut feature film. Sooner or later, the power of manipulation rises above all feelings. The director is interested in exploring the likely consequences of overstepping the healthy boundaries of respect. She raises important and tough questions about the adults’ right to form or change a child’s identity, when the child has no other choice but to obey.

Filmed in two languages, the provocative psycho-drama is powered by the performances of highly experienced actors (Lithuanian Dovilė Kundrotaitė learned French for her first leading role) and the unprofessional children in their very convincing first-time appearances in front of the camera.

Edvinas Pukšta