020. The Lost Vlog, The Other Lamb
Finding beauty in everyday moments, and a new film
Hi! I'm Maggie, and welcome to Tender Forms Off-Camera: a weekly newsletter about slow beauty and slow living. If you enjoy and would like to support this newsletter, click the button below! No pressure but thank you if you do.
For any newcomer to Tender Forms, you may not know that one of the videos I love to film and edit the most are vlogs. I started my channel early on with monthly vlogs, but as work picked up, they fell by the wayside.
I hate to say that I film a lot, but often none of the footage makes it onto any platform. Either work gets in the way, or other video schedules shift and take priority. But one of my early and still true loves is finding beauty in everyday moments—things that seem inconsequential or not memorable enough to capture. There's so much grace, tenderness, and love in these moments of the in-between.
All the footage in today's vlog was filmed in the Winter and Spring of this year. After editing it, I'm so glad I didn't delete all this footage. There were some charming and nostalgic moments hidden in these. I hope this vlog provides a bit of respite to your day.
Husband and I finally watched this last weekend, and it's been pulsing around in my mind ever since. When it comes to deciding which films to watch, there's always something that pushes one over the edge into a yes. Most often, that's a combination of three things: actor(s), director, and trailer. The last is the toughest to discern because trailers are tricky and designed to be that way. You have to comb through a lot of what's not true to the film and imagine something truer. Then decide if that something is worth a viewing.
When it came to 2019's 'The Other Lamb,' the trailer itself seemed intriguing enough, but combined with the acting talent, turned it into a yes for me. The director, Małgorzata Szumowska, was new to me, but the two lead actors, Michiel Huisman and Raffey Cassidy, were not. You may recognize Huisman from recent hit series 'Game of Thrones' and 'The Haunting of Hill House,' but I remember him best in Karyn Kusama's 'The Invitation.' Cassidy though a young talent, already has several films under her belt such as 'Snow White and the Hunstman,' 'Vox Lux,' and 'Allied.' But I remember those big blue eyes, framed by dark brows and flowing hair from Yorgos Lanthimos' 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer.' Her performance in that was what sold me on watching 'The Other Lamb.'
The premise is nothing new: a group of women lives on a compound in an isolated forest under a prophet-leader known merely as 'Shepherd' (Huisman). The women are divided into two groups: the wives and the daughters. Already, there's a sense of foreboding. Our heroine, though I think proxy might be a better term, is Selah (Cassidy), a daughter.
Early on, we're walked through daily lives in this community. There's a strong sisterhood and sense of family, but underneath it lies an incredibly tense energy as all the females individually fight to be recognized and gain Shepherd's attention. Selah is no different. Her eyes are always holding their gaze or finding their way to him. During an early dining scene, when we see Shepherd for the first time, while all the women avert their eyes from him at the end of the meal, Selah looks devotedly towards him instead.
This is a very slow (almost monotone in pace), succinct film, and sometimes to its detriment. Many films of late discuss similar themes in more potent ways: 'The Witch,' 'Hereditary,' 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer,' 'Midsommar,' even 'The Invitation' where Huisman plays a similar character. Because there have been so many exceptional ones, it's tough not to watch this and compare.
There are several things this film does right. Both the direction and acting are superb. None of the actors, even the more minor roles, can be called to a fault. I'm very impressed by this cast. The cinematography is breathtaking, to say the least. And it brings home the idea of an 'Eden.'
Unfortunately, what doesn't work were the moments used to shock and break up the monotony. Even in those more vicious scenes, we haven't connected with the character enough to deeply feel that anger, pain, vengeance. And that's where I think the succinctness of the film makes it fall short of what it could have been. Plus, I didn't appreciate being hit over the head with the ram, ewes, and sacrificial lamb metaphors.
Nevertheless, it's a visually stunning film and still a good one in its own right. So it’s worth a viewing. *Available on Hulu.
Editor's Note: Hi! For those who received today's newsletter with the Resonant Frequency portion, please know I have confirmation from the brand that this is still a work in progress! Because it may likely change, I've decided to remove it here and will re-review when the final version is released. Thank you!
Thanks so much for reading! In case you missed it, I'm hosting a giveaway on my Instagram in this post! You can win a duo of Fitglow Lip Color Serums in either Bliss and Kind or Bliss and Liv. Rules and details are in the post. It ends tomorrow!
Housekeeping note: Just a heads up that I'm booked on a project starting Tuesday through September 25th, so I may be slower to respond than usual (especially on Instagram). I'm hopeful the work schedule won't affect the newsletter too much, though!
I hope you have a great start to your week, and I'll see you next Sunday!
