Holiday

Written and directed by Swedish-born director Isabella Eklöf, Holiday instantly gained buzz in 2018 for a shocking, extended rape scene in which at least some penetration is clearly not simulated. The graphic scene, in which the central character, Sascha (Victoria Carmen Sonne), is violated by her drug-lord boyfriend, Michael (Lai Yde), is about power and domination—which is both the point and the tragedy of the story. Golden-haired Sascha, about whom we know nothing, seems to just pop into being in the film’s opening shot, a naif drawn to shiny objects like the sun and jewelry. Without explanation, she is absorbed into a crime family through a simmering romantic attachment to the much older Michael. While the thugs are on holiday in sun and surf, Sascha basks in their atmosphere of money and pampering, with no need to think about all of the signs that she is only territory for Michael, who zealously guards her from others and tramples on her body and spirit. Eklof nurtures a subtle, reverse psychology angle in the script, in which the more Sascha is objectified, the greater her awareness becomes as to her intrinsic worth and the mess she is caught in, even though she might be powerless to do much about the latter. Holiday is an unquestionably striking film in which several key scenes simply erupt with brazen brutality (in one case prompting the wives of the family’s menfolk to hurriedly usher their children away from the screams of an assistant being beaten for a mistake). A graphic, controversial film that will certainly divide viewers, this should still be considered a strong optional purchase. (T. Keogh)