Genius Loci

‘Genius Loci’ is the movie of the perfect silence that delivers more emotions than any word could do.

Pascal Griesshammer’s feature combines a wide variety of techniques used in literature and in cinematography to create a project that can stand out and amaze the audience. We will take a closer look at concepts such as claustrophobia, silence, betrayal, and space, taken in consideration that they are the elements that draw the whole artistic vibe of this movie.

From the very first scene it is clear that nothing good is going to happen – three persons in a car, two of them speaking of a robbery and we still weren’t expecting what happened next as the storyline we were imagining took a full shift and made us reconsider it. The young woman found herself alone and trusting no one; she had to find a way to deal with this problem, and most of all, avoid her boyfriend, one of the robbers. We found her in a house, in perfect silence, alone. From here on, time and space have new valences. She moves in her own way, lives in her own way in a definite space the viewer can determine. She seems caught in a rat race, where, even if it’s not the perfect place to be, it is better than the outside world for her. The sense of claustration isn’t felt by the woman, but for sure is sent to the viewer who starts empathizing with the character. The walls are getting thicker, the room has a dim light, and you never know if someone is behind your back, willing to stab you or not.

The betrayal is haunting Franzi, not only on surface, but also in her subconscious. There are moments when she isn’t sure who or what haunts her more – the demons of the people she left at the heist, or the hypnotic supernatural house she is living in. The space is very important here, and Pascal Griesshammer made the most out of it, playing with it, breaking barriers, taking chances, risking anything to make a movie that has a huge potential to last!

We were thrilled by the performance of Marie Gesien, being terrific as an individual in such a way that any other characters that she could have portrayed would have totally been in her way. ‘Genius Loci’ has the potential of becoming a cult film in the future… but it only takes the right audience to take it to that level.