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You Won't Be Alone
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Wikipedia article
'You Won't Be Alone' is a 2022 internationally co-produced horror film, written and directed by Goran Stolevski, in his directorial debut. It stars Sara Klimoska, Anamaria Marinca, Alice Englert, Flix Maritaud, Carloto Cotta, and Noomi Rapace.
The film premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition on 22 January 2022. The film was theatrically released on 1 April 2022 in the United States by Focus Features, and was released on 25 August in Australia by Madman Films.
Premise
A naive peasant girl in 19th century Macedonia is taken from a sheltered life of solitude, turned into a shapeshifter by a witch, then abandoned. As the mute girl explores a world above ground for the first time, she learns about humanity, loss and love - but the witch is jealously watching, and her anger may tear the girl's world apart once more.
Plot
In 19th century Macedonia, Maria - a "Wolf-Eatress", or witch, with a horrible burned appearance - enters the home of a newborn baby. The child's terrified mother says that if Maria spares the girl's life, she will give her up once the girl is 16. Maria agrees, but robs the girl of her voice before leaving. The mother hides the child, Nevena, in a cave, and raises her there with no knowledge of the outside world.
On Nevena's 16th birthday, Maria arrives in the form of an eagle; the mother chases the bird out of sight, where Maria kills her and takes her form. She tells Nevena to follow her. Outside the cave, Maria kills a donkey, scratches Nevena's chest and spits the donkey's blood onto her before burning her wound with fire; this transforms Nevena into a witch, giving her retractible black talons on her fingers and palm. Maria then pulls Nevena's mother's guts from a hole in her chest, causing her to resume her previous, burned form.
Nevena, not understanding what has happened, believes the witch is still her mother. Maria kills a shepherd who takes a liking to Nevena, warning her that humans will hurt her, and tries to teach her to catch and kill rabbits and fish, whose blood witches consume for power. But Nevena would rather play with the creatures, and Maria, disgusted, tells her to fend for herself. Nevena follows her for a little while until she sees Maria kill and assume the form of a wolf before disappearing into the forest.
Nevena comes across a village, where she sees a young woman, Bosilka, giving birth to a baby. Shortly afterward, Nevena finds the baby in a crib in the barn. Bosilka attacks her, and Nevena accidentally kills her. Copying Maria, Nevena puts Bosilka's organs into her chest and assumes her appearance; the spell also causes Bosilka's body to disappear.
Nevena, who is still mute, assumes Bosilka's life. Her family believe that she has gone mad, but Nevena slowly learns how to live as a human: how to cook and wash, how to communicate non-verbally, and the differences in how men and women treat her. All the while, Maria watches her from afar.
One night Boslikas abusive husband tries to have sex with her. The unfamiliarity of the process, along with the rough nature of her husband, causes her to panic and kill him. She removes Bosilka's entrails from her chest cavity, reverts to her old self and flees.
On the road once more, she transforms herself into a dog and comes across a group of men. She follows them to their village, then assumes her naked human form and lures one of them away. The man attempts to seduce her, but she kills him and assumes his shape. Now a male, Nevena returns to the village, where he learns to plow the fields and thresh, but still acts in a confused and childlike way. His peculiar behaviour attracts the attention of the women of the village, who believe he is possessed. They attempt an exorcism, which they believe is successful, but say that the Wolf-Eatress that bewitched him will one day come back and spirit him away. Again, Maria appears to him and warns that growing close to normal humans wont end well.
But Nevena persists, and enjoys his life in the village, even having a pleasurable sexual experience with a local woman. That changes when he discovers the body of a dying girl who has fallen from a cliff. Crying for the first time, Nevena sheds her male form and assumes that of the little girl, leaving only the man's bloodstained clothes behind. Now appearing to be a little girl, she integrates herself back into the village. As time passes, she grows close to a boy who is seemingly also mute, and one night she and the other children are told how, according to local legend, Maria came to be a witch.
Centuries ago Maria, ageing and unmarried, happened across a witch and begged her for a husband and child. The witch scratched her chest and spat blood in her face - the first two steps of creating a witch - before walking away. Later, Maria is approached by a man who offers his son's hand in marriage. She accepts, but upon arriving in his home discovers that the son is dying of disease. She is made to have sex with him, because his mother doesn't want him to die a virgin.
Maria falls sick herself, and attempts to drink a cow's blood to give her strength, but is discovered and burned as a witch. The fire completes the witch's spell and transforms Maria into a witch herself - but only after her body has been left horribly burned and scarred.
For Nevena, many years pass and she decides to marry the boy from her youth. As they grow closer, she reveals her witch's talons, but he is not afraid. They make love, and she becomes pregnant, but tragedy strikes when her husband is killed by a boar - implied to be Maria in disgusie. Nevena shuts herself away, afraid that Maria will take her newborn child, but the women of the village promise to protect it.
However, one chilly morning she discovers her midwife has been killed, and that Maria has seized her baby. The witch ridicules the child before cutting its throat with her talon. Without stopping to think, Nevena kills a goat, takes a mouthful of its blood and performs the Wolf-Eatress spell on the dying infant, turning it into a witch and saving its life. Maria is astonished that Nevena could love the child so much that she would use up her one chance to make a witch without thinking. Nevena then kills Maria.
As Maria dies, Nevena looks at her baby and remembers all the lives she has led, and thinks that despite all the violence and cruelty of the world, there is always hope.
Cast
* Sara Klimoska as Nevena
** Leontina Bainovi as Young Nevena
* Anamaria Marinca as Maria
* Alice Englert as Biliana / Nevena #4
** Anastasija Karanovich as Young Biliana
*** Sofija Jeremi as Biliana's Mother
*** Daniel Kovacevi as Biliana's Father
*** Senka Kolozova as Biliana's Grandmother
*** Jelena Velkovski as Biliana's Sister-in-Law
* Flix Maritaud as Jovan
** Danilo Savi as Young Jovan
* Carloto Cotta as Boris / Nevena #3
** Milena Nikoli as Boris' Wife
** Branislav Cubrilo as Boris' Father
* Noomi Rapace as Bosilka / Nevena #2
** Jasmina Avramovi as Bosilka's Mother-in-Law
* Arta Dobroshi as Stamena
** Artan Sadiku as Stamena's Husband
* Predrag Vasi as Groom
** Verica Nedeska as Groom's Mother
** Nikola Markovi as Groom's Father
* Mladen Vukovi as Stojan
** Djordje Zivadinovi Grgur as Young Stojan
* Djordje Misina as Miroslav
* Irena Risti as Elica
* Kamka Toinovski as Joana
* Viktorija Jakovljevi as Little Girl
* Marija Opsenica as Ur-Witch
* Milo Panti as Dusan
* Teodor Vini as Vladimir
* Nikola Ristanovski as Milan
* Veselina Mihajlovi as Midwife
* Djordje Koi as Woodcutter
Production
In December 2020, it was announced Noomi Rapace, Anamaria Marinca, Alice Englert, Carloto Cotta, Flix Maritaud and Sara Klimoska had joined the cast of the film, with Goran Stolevski directing from a screenplay he wrote, with Focus Features set to distribute. Principal photography concluded by December 2020.
Release
The film premiered in the 2022 Sundance Film Festival on 22 January 2022 in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section. It is also selected in Bucheon Choice Features section at 26th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival and was screened on 10 July 2022.
It was originally scheduled to be released in the United States on 28 January 2022, but it was delayed to 1 April 2022. It premiered on the American streaming service Peacock in May 2022. It was released in Australia on 25 August 2022 by Madman Films.
Reception
Box office
In the United States and Canada, the film earned $124,750 from 147 theaters in its opening weekend. It added $49,750 (a drop of 60%) in its second weekend.Critical response
The film received critical acclaim from critics.Awards and nominations
References
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