The Magic Life of V (Tonislav Hristov, 2019)

The Magic Life of V is an interesting specimen, in that it actually becomes less compelling of a film the more we learn about its protagonist. In the beginning, we don't know a great deal about Veera, or "V" as she calls herself. We simply see her entering various LARPing scenarios -- one based on the Harry Potter universe, another that is vaguely futuristic and paramilitary, involving tracking and killing dangerous mutants. But as the film goes on, we see that V is using LARPing as a form of therapy to to partially deal with, partially avoid, certain aspects of her past. She grew up with an abusive alcoholic father, and she seems to feel a responsibility to protect her mentally disabled brother Ville from their dad.

This documentary has played at Berlin, Sundance, and now True/False, and I must say I am a bit mystified by the broad embrasure. There is something rather PBS-pedestrian about both the film and its broader message. Not to be insensitive, but hundreds of thousands of young people have grown up in Veera's unfortunate circumstances, and it is unclear what makes her story so extraordinary, aside from the fact that it's hers. Also, I found myself very dubious about the access granted to the camera, and all the things we are somehow able to witness. In particular, Veera's eventual meeting with her father after 15 years seemed somehow staged for the purposes of the film. Otherwise, why would this man allow a camera crew into his home? 

A brief news report on the TV in the background indicates that alcoholism is a widespread problem in Finland, and so it's quite possible that Magic Life has a wider cultural relevance in its home context. But as Hristov organizes the film, its focus is entirely too narrow. This perspective, together with a twee, overdirective score, give he impression of a "found" piece of YA literature, and its emotional stakes are accordingly one-dimensional.