The Language of Being Seen
| Title: | The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin) |
| Watchable: |  |
| Director: | Colm Bairéad |
| Writer: | Colm Bairéad (based on "Foster" by Claire Keegan) |
| Lead Performances: | Catherine Clinch (Cáit), Carrie Crowley (Eibhlín), Andrew Bennett (Seán) |
Cáit observes Eibhlín perform clothes hanging while they share a silent understanding through their eye contact in The Quiet Girl. A recognition. The way Colm Bairéad depicts children learning love through daily care activities includes moments like when someone places a glass of milk on a table and when someone warms a towel by the fire and when someone waits patiently for a child to find their speaking voice. The act of witnessing seems to be more important than the act of being watched. The experience of being observed differs from the experience of being observed. The experience of being observed differs from the experience of being watched.
The film depicts Catherine Clinch using her body in a particular manner which demonstrates her comprehension of how children who are neglected tend to shrink their bodies. She reduces her size to a natural extent. She uses her body to minimize her presence in every room she enters. Her body language shows she learned to conceal herself because displaying her true self led to unfavorable reactions.
A person who has never known real love will respond in what manner when they encounter someone who shows affection? The director Bairéad shows character interactions through delicate non-dramatic body movements. Eibhlín teaches Cáit about proper table setting techniques. Seán removes cookies from the tin while remaining silent to her. Eibhlín declares to Cáit at the start that their home contains no hidden truths yet she conceals a vital truth about their farm. The absence rather than the secret creates the atmosphere of fear which permeates throughout the entire farm. The three individuals share a common understanding of loss because they each lost something important in their lives.
The film allows viewers to understand Cáit's gradual transformation through her small yet noticeable actions. She rushes to collect the mail before beginning her farm work even though no one asked for her help. She runs as her daily activity to conclude her day. She runs because she wants to experience the pure joy of moving through space after shedding her fear of being observed. Seán gives her the permission to live completely when he says "Your running style is like you have wings on your feet."
The foster care and temporary family stories reveal that our current beliefs about belonging do not have any actual basis. The combination of blood ties and time spent together and physical closeness does not guarantee that someone will experience love. People who have never known us since birth might understand us better than our family members who have known us since birth. A single summer season can transform all aspects of life. Or is it? The film presents us with two possible outcomes for Cáit's future yet I remain uncertain about which one holds more importance because she experienced true love during that summer.
The summer season brought her the experience of receiving love which brought her the fulfillment she had been seeking. The summer season brought her the love she needed to achieve her sense of fulfillment.
