Reviews

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  ★★★½ review by Naughty aka Juli Norwood on Letterboxd

  An astounding directorial debut by female Israeli Director Tali Shalom Ezer! A bold unflinching tale of child sexual abuse! Masterfully directed with a keen sense of sensitivity rather than cashing in on the provocative aspects of the film and turning this into a lurid sideshow!

  Having pondered the film overnight I had an epiphany in regards to the coping mechanism implemented by Adar (Shira Haas) and I crumbled under the weight of this realization!

  Admittedly a difficult film to recommend due to the painful subject matter however Tali Shalom Ezer's directorial skills have more than earned your time and goodwill, as a budding young female director with an old soul she has proven without a doubt that she has much more to say and warrants our full attention!

  Shira Haas (Adar) gave a remarkable performance, well beyond her years that inevitably left a lasting impression that will haunt me for quite some time! Her future in film is a cinch and I look forward to her future endeavors!

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  ★★★½ review by Rose 🍿 on Letterboxd

  Not sure it entirely sticks its landing or all of the important beats along the way, but it's an amazingly bold choice to lay out such an esoteric and layered metaphor, not to mention such a complex and painful topic, in a first feature, and I very much respect it. There's a deft sense of confidence in the storytelling all the way through, even when it gets almost too dense (and/or just plain upsetting, though those scenes never felt exploitative to me) to be accessible to the audience, and the powerful performances really make it clear that everyone involved had a deep emotional understanding & compassion for the story. I'm all the more interested to see My Days of Mercy now.

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  ★★★★½ review by Robert Lalonde on Letterboxd

  If Larry Clark slowed down his work to an almost British New Realism I.e. Kes; this is what would be created. It was a truly hard film to watch but something that needs to be picked up by Criterion immediately!! I need to sit on this film a bit longer; it truly drains you!!

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  ★★★★ review by SimonR on Letterboxd

  Princess is the story of a 12 year old girl coping with the sexual advances of her stepfather. Whilst the subject matter will be uncomfortable for many, the performances are spot on and the film unerringly sophisticated in portraying the survival mechanisms of a young girl in a bad situation.

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  ★★★½ review by hila on Letterboxd

  מבט עוכר שלווה לתוך חיה של נערה בת שתים עשרה שנתונה לניצול והתעללות מהבוגרים שאמורים לשמור עליה. כתיבה מעניינת על הדרכים היצירתיות שילדים מוצאים להתמודד עם מציאות בלתי נסבלת שנכפית עליהם. המשחק מצוין, והליהוק הוא עילוי של ממש. כמו בהרבה סרטים ישראלים, הקצב איטי, יש יותר אווירה מעלילה, ובמקרה הזה כבר רוצים למרוט את השערות לפני שהסרט נגמר, אבל העובדה שהסוף אופטימי מנחמת. הסרט הזה גורם סבל לצופה, אבל הוא צריך להיראות, והקול שהוא נותן לקורבנות של אביוז צריך להישמע. אין חוזק כמו זה של שורד אלימות מינית, ואין חוכמה כמו זו של ילד.

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