London Film Festival 2022: ‘Blaze’ Review
Stars: Julia Savage, Simon Baker, Yael Stone, Josh Lawson, Sofia Hampson | Written by Del Kathryn Barton, Huna Amweero | Directed by Del Kathryn Barton
A pre-teen girl retreats into a world of fantasy after witnessing a horrific sexual assault in this striking horror debut from acclaimed Australian artist Del Kathryn Barton. Superbly acted and consistently imaginative, it’s a powerfully moving coming-of-ager that uses magical realism to process deep-seated trauma.
Julia Savage plays 12-year-old Blaze, who lives in an Australian suburb with her widowed father Luke (Simon Baker). One day, in an alleyway on the way home from school, Blaze sees two adults (Josh Lawson and Yael Stone) arguing, which swiftly escalates into a violent rape and accidental murder.
Unable to process what she’s seen, Blaze retreats into her imagination, represented by a large, sequinned dragon in her bedroom and a collection of little toys. However, when she’s forced to give evidence at the trial as the only witness, the boundaries between fantasy and reality begin to break down as she’s forced to confront what she’s seen.
Barton’s visual imagination is extremely impressive, mixing strong colours and a variety of textures, as well as different techniques such as stop-motion animation. Blaze’s bedroom essentially functions as her mental safe place, which makes it all the more disturbing when she starts using fire to decorate it further (using hot wax to stick things on the walls and ceiling etc), eventually leading her father to take drastic action.
Blaze, then, goes pretty heavy on symbolism, expanding its scope to take in the #MeToo movement and violence against women in general. In fairness, those elements are slightly heavy-handed, when the film might have benefited from a tighter focus, but the central conceit is superbly handled throughout, and the climax is genuinely moving.
Barton packs Blaze with a number of terrific scenes and moments. Highlights include Blaze in the courtroom, imagining a tiny toy dragon incinerating the rapist as she takes the stand, and – perhaps the film’s best scene – a beautifully written encounter between Blaze and her unconventional therapist (Sofia Hampson, superb), who actually treats her like an adult and answers all her questions with complete honesty.
Appearing in nearly every scene, Julia Savage anchors the film with a compellingly intense, utterly heart-breaking performance that convincingly portrays every step of Blaze’s disturbing journey. There’s also strong support from Baker, who perfectly conveys the frustration of being supportive, yet out of his depth when it comes to understanding exactly what his daughter needs.
If there’s an issue with the film, it’s only that, somewhat ironically, the rape and murder sequence is so violent and disturbing that its 18 certificate will mean the film won’t be readily available to the audience who might benefit from it the most. It seems deeply unfair that a film about a pre-teen processing trauma should lose out on its pre-teen audience because the central event is too traumatic, but that’s where we are.
That issue aside, Blaze is a memorable, engaging and richly imaginative tale that marks out both Barton and Savage as serious talents to watch.
**** 4/5
Blaze screened as part of this year’s London Film Festival.
