Carmen Jaquier’s solo directorial debut may be called Thunder, but the film’s quiet power rings the loudest.
Competing on behalf of Switzerland for a best international feature film nomination at the upcoming 96th Academy Awards, Jaquier’s 1900-set drama chronicles Lilith Grasmug’s Elisabeth, a 17-year-old novitiate who’s forced to delay her impending vows and return to her remote family farm after the unexpected death of her older sister, Innocente (Léa Gigon). Elisabeth dreads the journey so much that she has to be physically dragged out of her convent, but she ultimately makes the trek home to a valley in Southern Switzerland, only to receive a tepid welcome from her parents and two younger sisters. After all, they sent her to the convent years earlier to protect the family through prayer, but their best-laid plans have now been met with disaster.
Unable to get any direct answers about the circumstances of her sister’s death, Elisabeth eventually discovers Innocente’s diary of her innermost thoughts, and this particular story point took inspiration from Jaquier’s own discovery of her great-grandmother’s diary. “She was living at the end of the 19th century, and a lot of women at this time couldn’t really share their fears or what they had in mind,” Jaquier said during a recent THR Presents panel, powered by Vision Media. “And so she inspired me to do research about this time and these women that aren’t really interesting to historians. I wanted to give a voice to these people.”
Elisabeth proceeds to immerse herself in her deceased sister’s thoughts, with the hope that she’ll be able to decode the mystery surrounding her death, and it quickly becomes apparent that Innocente’s diary is primarily focused on her newfound sexual experiences with boys from the nearby village. Reading about Innocente’s encounters begins to awaken Elisabeth’s own sexual desires, which she’d repressed in anticipation of her vows. She is soon tempted by three local boys she knew from childhood, but she takes a markedly different approach from her sister. “The experiences of her older sister were quite dark, and in a way, she’s afraid of it,” Jaquier added. “But then she learns to find another kind of sexuality and sensuality in relation to her own body.”
A recent UCLA survey determined that nearly half of its Gen Z respondents prefer to have no sexual content in their movies and television shows, but Jaquier believes that stories involving sexuality need to be passed down from generation to generation, especially when very few have been told through the female lens. “It’s so important to explore, and to share our questions, after how many years of male gaze,” Jaquier said. “Every generation has new things to tell. It might be the same story, but the way to tell it is different.”
The younger generation even plays a key role in the conclusion to Elisabeth’s story. Once her strict parents and community catch on to her sexual interactions with the three teenage boys, drastic punishment is exercised in her case, but less so for the boys, highlighting a long-running double standard between genders. However, Elisabeth’s two younger sisters, having watched both of their older sisters’ lives unfold in similar ways, take action to prevent history from repeating itself. “If there is no transmission of stories, it is hard to learn. So the younger sisters will do it differently, for sure,” Jaquier said. “They’re resistant. They will tell a new story about women and possibilities.”
Support for Jaquier’s film continues to grow, as she recently welcomed two new executive producers from Aluna Entertainment, Vanessa Kirby and Lauren Dark. The producing partners were bowled over by a screening of the film at the Marrakech Film Festival, and now they’ve joined on to help with its Oscar push.
While reminiscing about the making of her first feature film, Jaquier singles out a particular shooting day where she and her crew had to pivot due to unforeseen snowfall. “It was a really special moment. We were full of faith and we were connected to God in a way,” Jaquier concluded.
This edition of THR Presents is brought to you by DDA and Dada Films.
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