'Amulet' is the story about an ex-soldier, Tomaz who does odd jobs and lives in a slum. He is approached by a nun, Sister Claire who offers him a chance to board with Magda, a quiet woman living in a dilapidated house, caring for her ailing mother. As Tomaz moves in, he helps out around the house. The two become close, sharing in conversation and growing fond of each other. However, all is not as it appears to be as a more sinister plan is at play.
The story focuses on exploring the character that is Tomaz by splicing together scenes from his past as a soldier living by himself at a forest checkpoint and the present, where he lives at Magdas. During his time as a soldier, we see that he comes across Miriam, a woman on the run during the war, attempting to cross a border to see her daughter. Tomaz helps hide Miriam from other soldiers and warns her that she would be killed if she attempted to travel further. In parallel, the present day Tomaz is shown as a more mature and quiet person. In his exchanges with Magda he remains reserved, indicating of a past trauma that has influenced him to remain withdrawn.
A confrontation between Tomaz and mother, Magdas ailing elder, makes him convinced that he must save Magda from the house and the situation she is in. Seemingly uninterested, Magda states that it is her duty to remain by her mothers side, as love is 'sacrifice' and 'an offering'. Later on as the two decide to go dancing, Tomaz becomes afraid and runs from Magda after the two kiss. She remains at the club, as he runs away.
We find out that the fear and anxiety Tomaz is experiencing stems from an incident that happened during his army days as the woman hiding out at his post stated she wanted to leave, to reconnect with her daughter. Tomaz confronted her, stating that she needs him and his protection. As the woman attempted to run, he chased her down and raped her.
The violent shift in tone of the revelation that Tomaz committed such an atrocity truly creates a sense of shock and unease. The man that had here to for been presented as kind and helpful has immediately lost his credibility. The sense of shock in realising that one can never truly know someone and their past puts the viewer in a sense of unease that lingers long after the film has concluded.
'Amulet' has effectively utilised the medium of horror to explore an existing and very real terror that torments women. Namely a sense that many men have, - to be responsible for and protect women and children. As the film explores, this sense of duty is not always welcome. Magda is shown to be undeterred by Tomaz's actions, and she carries on as she would have without him. Similarly, the woman from Tomaz's past attempted to make her own way, to pursue what she wanted, yet Tomaz was unable to comprehend the thought of not being needed. This inability to reconcile the though of not being necessary is further shown to lead to a violent outburst, where Tomaz rapes Miriam.
After Tomaz confesses his past wrongdoing to Magda, he still professes to want to save her from her abusive mother and her current life. Tomaz attempts to kill mother and we discover mother is actually a man that had in his past harmed his wife and children. It is revealed that Magda and Sister Claire (who is not actually a nun) work together, find men who have harmed women and exact revenge on them. ‘Amulet’ shows the persistent need for some men to want to be the ‘saviour’, to attempt to help a more vulnerable individual, as Tomaz consistently returns to Magda to try to do right by her. Magda never asks for his help, showing that some people, and men in particular, have a compulsion to try to do what they believe is necessary.
The film is an insightful exploration of masculinity. We get to see Tomaz do what he believes to be the right thing. He lives well with his female counterparts, in a compassionate and understanding environment. Yet after a while we see how his instinct to act as a ‘protector’ or ‘saviour’ for the women creates a toxic environment, where Tomaz has to act as a force, not realising that no one asked for it. The shock of learning what Tomaz had done in his past delivers a truly extreme portrayal of violent masculinity, making ‘Amulet’ a horrifying yet truthful vocalisation of the violence men are capable of towards more vulnerable individuals.
Alec Secareanu portrays Tomaz as a gentle and intelligent person. This subtle performance amplifies the shock and horror when the story unfolds of his past wrongdoing, driving home the point of not really knowing someone until you discover their past. The torment and angst Tomaz goes through helps us sympathise with the character, and Secareanu delivers a truly empathetic performance that makes us question the true essence of ones being.
Carla Juri plays Magda, a curious type that showcases a slightly naive personality, yet manages to maintain a confident and intelligent air about her. The performance is spectacular in that Juri displays a range of traits leading the viewer to believe she is a soft spoken and relatively simple person, yet eventually revealing the true intentions of her actions. Juri portrays the shift in Magda‘s personalityin a manner that we do not feel tricked in the end when she exacts revenge on Tomaz, rather allowing us to see deeper into her being. It’s not that the character is not all of the things she was previously displaying, but that there is much more to her and that does not diminish her other less sinister personality traits.
Angeliki Papoulia portrays Miriam, a character that is straight forward in her motivation and personality, expressing the mannerisms of an independent individual in a desperate situation. Papoilia’s delivery of Miriam is effective in displaying a person in a dire situation that is anchored by her ability to persist and strive to achieve her goals.
Imelda Staunton portrays Sister Claire, initially a benevolent god-fearing woman that radiates a giving and nurturing atmosphere as she helps Tomaz. Conversely, the violent shift to revealing her true nature and the reason for her actions is carried out beautifully by Staunton, exhibiting the awesome range the actor has.
‘Amulet’ being Ramola Gerai’s directorial debut is an impressive feat, as she has managed to create an entertaining body-horror feature and touched on a very serious issue. Also having written the screenplay, Gerai has delivered a movie that creates a lasting impact on the viewer as the visual effects accentuate the proposed evil that exists in masculinity by displaying horrific creatures as the embodiment of the terrors men can exact on women.
Overall the movie delivers a strong punch regarding independence, masculinity and insecurity about the inability to reconcile the two concepts. With visually striking representations of evil, and a calming yet dark tone throughout the film, ‘Amulet’ is an insightful look at the relationship between men and women, how the two can co-exist and how the former can harm the latter when they are exercising what they believe to be in their nature.
Score: 3/4
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