Words By: Amanda “Violet” Ravotti
Girls Lost takes you on a surreal, mysterious path of magical authenticity spiced with the yearning urgency of trying to find a sense of self and connecting with who you truly are. Three outcast angst-filled adolescent girls find themselves subject to extreme bullying from misogynists at their high school with a lack of a support system at school with school authority not raising a finger to come to their aid after being ridiculed and festering a feeling of vulnerability for them.
The girls hunger for a sense of belonging when they let serendipity set the sails for the direction of their lives. When Kim, Bella and Momo happen to find a strange seed and plant it, they are surprised and amazed that what grows from it creates a potential side universe that quells their deepest innermost fears. The plant grows overnight and provides the magic of allowing them to disguise themselves and interact with their enemies in the sliest way; it transforms them into adolescent boys after sipping on the flower’s sweet smelling vanilla nectar. They pursue this lighthearted freedom and joy at being turned into boys and go hang out with the guys at school, including their tormentors. So it seems that it’s all about keeping your enemies close, eh? The effects of drinking the nectar from the mysterious flower bring out their innermost desires and wants that coaxes them out of their comfort zones as it allows them to continue to be boys until the effects of the flower wear off after the night passes.
The pivotal moment happens when the next day at school, the girls experience a newfound sense of identity and confidence that gathers up their courage to stand up to these male tormentors. They shed their insecurities and are confrontational when the boys make personal jabs and get in their space and Bella challenges them to hit her back. Kim experiences triumph and demands winnings from a boy after winning a baseball game. But the risks with depending on the flower stirs up the balance between the three girls when one of the girls becomes very interested in pursuing one of the troublemaker boys at school, which confuses and upsets Momo as Kim becomes seemingly obsessed. There is an unraveling of ambiguity as the girls encounter new conflicts with what had only seemed like a lighthearted game at first.
Girls Lost is a coming-of-age tale radiant with poignant energy that raises your empathy for these girls trying to bring sense and belonging into their lives. You see their friendship become altered and turbulent with the great wonders and risks of this newfound plant. It’s symbolic of anything that has the potential to bring freedom and new opportunity also has potential to rattle familiar grounds and really change you. The girls explore these consequences and the journey is certainly moving as you see their personalities evolve and see what becomes important for them to pursue.
It projects a very thoughtful, moving and emotional backdrop in recognizing the importance of letting go of your insecurities and letting yourself pursue what is right for you. As the girl struggle to come to terms with their genders and identities you witness a beautiful evolution as they develop into stronger, more confident and purposeful individuals. It’s a very skillfully crafted film of identity seeking and sexual confusion dressed in a mysterious magic.
GIRLS LOST is available in the U.S. and Canada via Wolfe Video: on DVD & VOD and across all digital platforms including iTunes, Vimeo On Demand, and WolfeOnDemand.com and many major retailers.
