The symbolism of an eruption of love to define an incredible connection with another person is usually just that: a metaphor to put a feeling into words. But in the aptly-titled Erupcja, the latest film from filmmaker Pete Ohs, volcanoes actually do erupt every time its protagonists see each other, and they can’t deny that there’s something about getting together that has enormous power. It adds just the right amount of fantasy to a deeply engrossing story about two women who have quite an effect both on each other and everyone else they encounter.
Bethany (Charli XCX) arrives in Warsaw with her boyfriend Rob (Will Madden). It’s not her first time there, and she suggested it when Rob, planning a proposal, initially wanted to go to Paris. Bethany almost immediately goes to find Nel (Lena Góra), a florist she met years earlier whose on-again, off-again girlfriend Ula (Agata Trzebuchowska) has also just returned to town. When a chance encounter with American painter Claude (Jeremy O. Harris) brings them to a party where Nel also happens to be, Bethany finds herself entranced while a clueless Rob has no idea where the woman he wants to marry is.
This is Ohs’ second film on the festival circuit this year following The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick, which debuted at SXSW this past March and has yet to be released. Like his previous films, including the standout Jethica, his entire cast receives a co-writer credit since they develop the story together. This 71-minute odyssey feels extremely naturalistic and authentic, with its characters taking in the (subjective) beauty of Warsaw while the film jumps from subject to subject, not tethered to any one protagonist in particular since they’re all part of the story, even if Bethany and Nel are at the center of everyone’s world.
Much of this film is in Polish, though all of Bethany’s scenes are in English since she doesn’t speak the language. While in other cases that would mean that people would be talking about her in front of her knowing that she can’t understand, there’s no real language barrier, and she gets instant translations when needed. Nel’s fluency in English means she’s capable of adding emphasis and intention to what she says, though so much of what she and Bethany share is unspoken and doesn’t require words in any language. What they feel for each other is palpable and infectious, and comes across very potently.
It’s wonderful to see XCX, best known for a thriving music career, deliver an enthusiastic and curious lead performance as Bethany. Best described as a mix between Lady Gaga and Bel Powley, she’s full of energy but also capable of seeming impossibly distant. Góra is more sedated and communicates so much with her body language. As the partners who don’t get enough of their attention, Madden and Trzebuchowska fill their parts commendably, while Harris, who was part of Ohs’ previous film, seems to delight in saying what everyone else around him isn’t and almost deliberately adding fuel to the chaos.
This film is hypnotic in the way that it follows its characters and the joy and wonder they experience, but it’s also whimsical thanks to the serious narration that adds facts and details that aren’t necessarily relevant or of utmost concern. This film is an entertaining and effective exercise in collaborative cinema, showing that Ohs’ approach can yield spectacular results, and that films don’t need to be much more than an hour to be captivating and feel satisfying. It’s impossible to know what he’ll do next given the arc of his filmography, but Erupcja is undeniably a high point in his credits.
Movie Rating: 8/10
