MARA - THE SEAL WIFE
Reviewed by Tracy Nicholas
Hear an interview with the director in Episode 115 here
Mara – The Seal Wife is a brooding film that starts by setting present day in 1988, where tragedy strikes immediately when Sine gives birth on the beach in the middle of the night and then disappears, leaving her husband Magnus in a state of shock and despair. Magnus’ search for answers takes him into his
memories, heading further and further back, wrapping mysteries inside older mysteries and crisis inside former tragedies. The film moves quickly from one moment in time to another and, as the story is told in reverse, it leaves the viewer uncertain of all that really happened leading up to the moment of Sine’s disappearance until the final moments of the film, if even then.
Many of the scenes are without dialogue and the actors deliver them skillfully, well supported by a score that conveys emotion in often surprising ways. The desperation Sine feels when being chased is heightened by the use of quick, lively music that might otherwise seem upbeat if not for her obvious distress. The anguish that Magnus feels as he searches for his lost wife and falls into heavy drinking to numb his pain is made even more piercing with a low instrumental piece that slowly takes on a keening tone as his despair grows. Even in the happier moments, supporting vocals seem to warn of a dark future.
The cinematography is beautiful but forbiddingly stark throughout much of the film. The shots of the sea often seem misty as if to hint at the blurring of the creatures of land and sea. The otherworldly dance of the selkies scene is bathed in a blue overtone, with the light coming from the land and the sea obscured in darkness, while the selkies hover for a moment between two worlds. The sweeping landscapes are often dreary, the water wild and the buildings patched together as if to warn how hard a fisherman’s lot can be, and that tragedy is never far.
The characters remain mostly mysterious throughout and at times it feels like we are traveling forward fuelled by pure emotion rather than following a linear story. It can be difficult to hang on to exactly where you are in time as the story jumps back and forth, but there is a clue in the appearance of Magnus, who grows more grizzled over the decade that the story spans. The other characters either don’t age or are only shown in the present, hinting that some of this story may belong to Magnus alone, further supported by his friends growing concern over his behavior. The supporting cast seems to be a missed opportunity because those characters are less developed and a small amount of background on several of them would have helped round out the story. The character James seems to be intent on brutally killing seals with no real explanation why. Magnus leaves his newborn baby with Maggie, who he feels comfortable enough with to barge into her house and indeed her bedroom in the middle of the night, but we have no idea who she is. To be fair, there were scenes cut to adhere to Festival guidelines, so perhaps a new cut that included those would fill in these gaps.
Mara – The Seal Wife is a moving and engaging film that gets to the heart of the complex and difficult relationships between man and selkie of folklore. Did the differences between Magnus and Sine predestine their tragic fate or was the story living in Magnus’ mind as he processed his grief? It is unclear in the end, but a journey well worth taking nevertheless.
Reviewed by Tracy Nicholas
Hear an interview with the director in Episode 115 here
Mara – The Seal Wife is a brooding film that starts by setting present day in 1988, where tragedy strikes immediately when Sine gives birth on the beach in the middle of the night and then disappears, leaving her husband Magnus in a state of shock and despair. Magnus’ search for answers takes him into his
memories, heading further and further back, wrapping mysteries inside older mysteries and crisis inside former tragedies. The film moves quickly from one moment in time to another and, as the story is told in reverse, it leaves the viewer uncertain of all that really happened leading up to the moment of Sine’s disappearance until the final moments of the film, if even then.
Many of the scenes are without dialogue and the actors deliver them skillfully, well supported by a score that conveys emotion in often surprising ways. The desperation Sine feels when being chased is heightened by the use of quick, lively music that might otherwise seem upbeat if not for her obvious distress. The anguish that Magnus feels as he searches for his lost wife and falls into heavy drinking to numb his pain is made even more piercing with a low instrumental piece that slowly takes on a keening tone as his despair grows. Even in the happier moments, supporting vocals seem to warn of a dark future.
The cinematography is beautiful but forbiddingly stark throughout much of the film. The shots of the sea often seem misty as if to hint at the blurring of the creatures of land and sea. The otherworldly dance of the selkies scene is bathed in a blue overtone, with the light coming from the land and the sea obscured in darkness, while the selkies hover for a moment between two worlds. The sweeping landscapes are often dreary, the water wild and the buildings patched together as if to warn how hard a fisherman’s lot can be, and that tragedy is never far.
The characters remain mostly mysterious throughout and at times it feels like we are traveling forward fuelled by pure emotion rather than following a linear story. It can be difficult to hang on to exactly where you are in time as the story jumps back and forth, but there is a clue in the appearance of Magnus, who grows more grizzled over the decade that the story spans. The other characters either don’t age or are only shown in the present, hinting that some of this story may belong to Magnus alone, further supported by his friends growing concern over his behavior. The supporting cast seems to be a missed opportunity because those characters are less developed and a small amount of background on several of them would have helped round out the story. The character James seems to be intent on brutally killing seals with no real explanation why. Magnus leaves his newborn baby with Maggie, who he feels comfortable enough with to barge into her house and indeed her bedroom in the middle of the night, but we have no idea who she is. To be fair, there were scenes cut to adhere to Festival guidelines, so perhaps a new cut that included those would fill in these gaps.
Mara – The Seal Wife is a moving and engaging film that gets to the heart of the complex and difficult relationships between man and selkie of folklore. Did the differences between Magnus and Sine predestine their tragic fate or was the story living in Magnus’ mind as he processed his grief? It is unclear in the end, but a journey well worth taking nevertheless.