SYNOPSIS

A teenager moves abroad away from her family and friends, away from her family and friends, making a change that proves to be much more difficult than she thought.

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OUR VISION

It is hard not to be impressed by what this 16 year-old director achieved through this film, that reveals a degree of maturity and refinement we often do not see even at more experienced filmmakers. 4242 tackles a delicate contemporary issue from the perspective of the protagonist, who is given the freedom to create a great amount of the story. The final result is a touching film about loneliness, estrangement and fear of the unknown.

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CHARACTERS AND ACTING

The entire film is focusing on the feelings and the emotions of the teenage girl. From our point of view, her state of mind is best depicted in body language, the character coming to life through gestures and expressions. There is an attempt to build the monologue on the stream of consciousness technique, but as it does not manage to overcome some cliches and reach the step where it is fresh and innovative, the impact upon the viewer is not meaningful. Still, the character is complex and genuine and it develops  Regarding the performance of the young actress, we would say that it is remarkably good: she understood the subtle nuances of her character and instilled to it intense emotions. There were scenes where she could have been more natural, but the overall result was not significantly affected.

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CINEMATOGRAPHY

4242 is not outstanding in terms of cinematography; the image is clean and the framing is correct, with a few errors, such as camera not being steady at times. Also, we think that the film would have benefitted from a better colorization, that would have amplified the meanings of the story. What we really appreciated was the creativity and the courage to experiment. Sara Eustaquio had no fear to play with diverse techniques in a fusion of time-lapse, close-ups and images shot in different settings, creating an original and engaging film.

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MUSIC AND SOUND

The music and the sound design stand as another proof that this film was produced with deep attention to details. We really loved the way the sounds of the nature - the birds singing, the waves - were integrated in the picture. The music has a very interesting evolution, growing in intensity, from low piano notes to a fusion of contemporary vibes.

 

CONCLUSIONS

4242 is a very sensible film that denotes deep understanding of an issue that touches an increasing number of teenagers. Sara Eustaquio perfectly captured the mixed feelings filling the abyss between two different worlds: the old one, where everything was familiar and the new one, where the fear of the unknown paralyzes any perspective for the future.