Nick Scott reviews the acclaimed Irish, Gaelic language, film – An Cailin Ciuin – The Quiet Girl.

This film had some exceptional reviews in the UK press and I was curious to see what it was all about.

It is also interesting because all the dialogue is in Gaelic (with English subtitles), a curious but beautiful language.

A little girl, 9 year old Cait, part of a family under stress, is sent to live with relatives.   She discovers a new way to live life but as she grows closer to these people, she discovers a painful secret about them.

The movie does not tell the story in the usual beginning to end fashion but shows different scenes from the little girl’s life and these become connected as the film progresses.

This was one of those films where you do not realise the greatness of it until an hour or two after the final credits rolled.

If you have studied film you will recognise that every shot has been carefully set up like a painting and all the movement and dialogue builds the character of Cait. In this way it can truly be considered a work of art.

I would recommend this film but your brain may have to do some work as everything is not easily explained and presented on a plate. This is made up for by the very beautiful images and the language.

Nick Scott Nick Scott has a B.A from The University of Waikato where he studied film under Sam Edwards. Nick has retained a keen interest in cinema. He studied Te Reo Maori at Te Wananga O Aotearoa part-time for 3 years and then from 2014 to 2016 Nick collaborated in writing “The Traveller’s guide to Maori Place Names”.  Nick is a regular Film Reviewer on ARTbop and has contributed an episodic novel “Temple’s Job”, a creative’s Q&A and a short story Doppelganger (in WORDS)

Many of the films Nick Scott reviews are shown at The Rialto Tauranga.

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