THUNDER
Switzerland
Production company: Close Up Films
World premiere: Toronto International Film Festival
Participants
After the sudden and mysterious death of her sister, a 17-year-old novitiate explores her God-given right to experience life to the fullest, during the summer of 1900 in Switzerland.
Nestled in a lush Swiss valley in the summer of 1900, 17-year-old Elisabeth — the second of four girls — is preparing to take her vows at a nunnery, where she was sent to pray for her family’s protection from the disasters of life. After five years in pious seclusion, Elisabeth’s fate is abruptly altered when she is summoned home to work the fields following the death of her elder sister, Innocente. While it was Innocente who instilled in Elisabeth a devotion to God, she learns that her sister’s soul has been condemned to wander. Obedient siblings Adèle and Paule seem to understand their prescribed roles, but the maddening silence surrounding Innocente’s mysterious death pushes Elisabeth to seek answers from three childhood friends — now young men with their own cravings for truth and connection.
CREDITS
Director: Carmen Jaquier
Writers: Carmen Jaquier
Editor: Xavier Sirven
Producer: Flavia Zanon
Cast: Lilith Grasmug, Mermoz Melchior, Benjamin Python, Noah Watzlawick
World Sales: Close Up Films
Consultant editor