チェコ・プラハの名門少年少女合唱団「バンビーニ・ディ・プラーガ」をめぐる実在の性的虐待事件に着想を得て制作されたドラマ。ひとりの少女のまなざしを通して、才能と成功、そして沈黙が結びつき歪められていく過程を映し出す。 共産主義体制が終わりを迎え、社会全体に自由の空気が流れはじめた1990年代初頭のチェコ。カンティチェラ少女合唱団のBチームに所属する13歳のヴァレリエは、選抜チームの姉ルチエの背中を追い奮闘する日々を過ごしていた。ある日、指揮者のヴィテクがBチームの練習に現れ、ヴァレリエを指名して歌わせる。海外ツアーを前に選抜メンバーを決める雪山合宿が始まると、欠員の代役として呼ばれたヴァレリエに、ヴィテクは楽譜を手渡し覚えるよう告げる。少女たちの間では競争と嫉妬が渦巻き、ささやかな悪意が日常に紛れ込むが、それでもヴァレリエは選ばれるため歌い続ける。やがてヴァレリエはヴィテクから特別に扱われるようになり、ついに正式な団員となるが……。 日本では「チェコ少年少女合唱団」としても知られるキーン少年少女合唱団に所属するカテジナ・ファルブロバーが主人公ヴァレリエを繊細かつ力強く演じ、劇中歌曲を自ら歌唱した。監督・脚本は、本作が長編第2作となるチェコの新鋭オンドジェイ・プロバズニーク。
A drama inspired by a real-life sexual abuse case involving the prestigious Czech boys' and girls' choir "Bambini di Praga" in Prague. Through the eyes of a single girl, it depicts the process by which talent, success, and silence become intertwined and distorted. In the early 1990s Czech Republic, as the communist regime came to an end and a spirit of freedom began to flow through society, 13-year-old Valerie, a member of the B team of the Cantichiera Girls' Choir, spent her days struggling to follow in the footsteps of her older sister Lucie, who was on the select team. One day, conductor Vitek appears at a B team rehearsal and singles out Valerie to sing. When a mountain snow camp begins to determine the select members ahead of an overseas tour, Valerie is called in as a substitute for an absent member, and Vitek hands her sheet music and tells her to memorize it. Competition and jealousy swirl among the girls, and petty malice blends into daily life, but Valerie keeps singing in order to be chosen. Eventually, Valerie comes to be treated specially by Vitek and finally becomes an official member, but... Katerina Falbrova, who belongs to the Keene Boys' and Girls' Choir, also known in Japan as the "Czech Boys' and Girls' Choir," delicately yet powerfully portrays the protagonist Valerie and performs the songs in the film herself. The director and screenwriter is Czech newcomer Ondrej Provaznik, for whom this is his second feature film.
Source: cinematokyo.com · Tokyo mini-theater & independent cinema showtimes.