A young woman struggling to survive in the wake of the First World War takes job at a candy store as a wet nurse for the owners clandestine adoption agency. However things are not as they seem.
This is a bleak black nightmarish historical drama mixed with fairy tale mixed with horror film. This is not a remotely happy film and it's like being forcibly plunged into the deepest pit of hell. It's a film that dwells in the dark places of human existence. It's a film that places our heroine in a dark world of poverty before we even get to the candy store.
This is a stunningly shot film. The black and white images are amazing. The look of the film echoes the images of the original NOSFERATU, BEGOTTEN and some half remembered dream. The aspect ratio is narrow and thus claustrophobic. The some of the sequences, like the opening montage are stunning. When they are married to the score this film slices its way into the center of your being.
That said, and despite the mood getting under my skin, I find that I admire this more than I like it. The issue for me is that the film is very much a work of art under the control of the director. That normally is okay but here there is a definite wall of artifice that kept me from falling head over heels for it.
Don't get me wrong this is one of the best looking films and creepiest films of the year, and as such you should see it, but I don't know if you'll make a return trip.
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