And Nothing Happened
2017 · 10m · USA
Directed by Naima Ramos-Chapman
Genres: drama, experimental
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, surreal
After an assault, a woman moves through an ordinary day while reality keeps slipping into magical-realist sideways. Everything tilts toward a meeting with a lawyer that the film has been building to without admitting it.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
Most films about assault settle for either the realism cliche or the metaphor cliche. Ramos-Chapman, working with Terence Nance on camera, finds a third option and that's why this one stays.
Naima Ramos-Chapman uses magical realism as the most honest available language for post-assault disorientation — Daughters of the Dust in tonal lineage. Brave choice, well-executed.
Trauma narrative that refuses the realism playbook and uses surrealism as the most honest available language — Naima Ramos-Chapman building toward a meeting with a lawyer through magical realism is principled formal thinking.
Reviews
Her captivating screen presence never settles for an easy reaction, always feels truthful. As a filmmaker, her frames are brimming with life and color.