Review

“… it’s evident from the first moments of her feature debut that Macedonian director Eleonora Veninova has a gift for a passive-aggressive dramatic set-up.

But having said this, in Things Unsaid – which premiered in the Cairo International Film Festival’s International Competition – dramatic developments simmer, rather than combust, Veninova’s screenplay deftly exploring the potential resonance of the title, without resorting to bald ironies. But whilst Maja (Sara Klimoska), the troubled interloping teenager, does initially seem set up as a troubling catalyst who’ll upset their domestic harmony, instead, she gently triggers the couple to crumble of their own accord. Creepily evoking a daughter or niece, rather than a family friend (especially when she coquettishly comes on to both of them), Maja seems wiser and more liberated for the sole fact of her inability to leave things very much unsaid…”