When her coach falls under investigation following the suicide of a former trainee, Julie (Tessa Van den Broeck), a young tennis ace, is thrown into turmoil. In addition to juggling the pressures of school, adjusting to a new coach, and training for the Belgian Tennis Federation’s upcoming trials, she finds herself under acute pressure to speak out. Her reluctance to do so distances her from family and friends, resulting in a solitary struggle that she alone can resolve.
Directed with unerring precision by Belgian filmmaker Leonardo Van Dijl, this is a tense, topical psychological drama where every gesture and movement, every silence and absence, is charged with import. Featuring claustrophobic shallow-focus compositions, darkly lit interiors, and a foreboding soundscape, and anchored by a steely performance from newcomer Van den Broeck, this is a provocative film about the cultures of abuse within the sports world, and the toll it takes on those caught within it.
The movie’s silence is so loaded with the anxiety, obstinance, inchoate anger and desire for anonymity of the traumatized teenage sportswoman that the constant thwack of her racquet hitting the ball cuts through the tension like violent shocks.
David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
A tense, taut, artfully hushed debut feature by Belgian writer-director Leonardo van Dijl, Julie Keeps Quiet also knows the value of control — though its own calm is fraught with anxiety and anger.
Guy Lodge, Variety
A gripping study in dysfunction and repression. 4/5
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
Leonardo van Dijl
Tessa Van den Broeck, Grace Biot, Alyssa Lorette, Ruth Becquart, Koen De Bouw, Pierre Gervais
Belgium/Sweden
2024
In Dutch and French with English subtitles
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Credits
Producer
Gilles De Schryver, Gilles Coulier, Wouter Sap, Roxanne Sarkozi
Screenwriter
Leonardo van Dijl, Ruth Becquart
Cinematography
Nicolas Karakatsanis
Editor
Bert Jacobs
Original Music
Caroline Shaw
Art Director
Julien Denis
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