futurescape

A highlight from this year's Tribeca, short for: Triangle Below Canal (as in Soho: South of Houston and Nolita: North of Little Italy).  

A SMALL WORLD Newsletter:

The Exploding Girl is a beautifully restrained coming-of-age story of a young woman (Kazan) attempting to cope with physical and emotional turmoil. Home for summer vacation in Brooklyn, Ivy negotiates a painful break-up via a series of phone calls with her boyfriend, the crowded, noisy streets of New York and a burgeoning romance with a childhood friend. She is dealing with common young adult issues, but what makes Ivy different is her epilepsy, a condition that she keeps under control with medication and temperance (illegal substances might lead to a seizure). The dice are loaded from the beginning; we are waiting for Ivy to ‘explode’ at any moment. When she does, her seizure is a relief for the audience. It feels like a catharsis of some kind, the release necessary for Ivy to move forward. For many viewers, the film is a meditation on young love. And for others, Ivy’s epilepsy serves as a symbol of alienation or loneliness. For New Yorkers weathering the effects of the recession and experiencing the residual post-traumatic stress of 9/11, The Exploding Girl is particularly poignant. Often, it is only when we fall apart that we realise how strong we are and how many people there are to support us.