NEBELKIND: THE END OF SILENCE

A Review by Novo Ukiri

NEBELKIND: THE END OF SILENCE is a rich exploration of the ghosts of war and its lasting impact across generations. Delving into a particular kind of pain experienced across time, space and people, it poignantly confronts the reality of dispossession and the personal horrors inflicted on women during and after World War II.

Wolf guardian Hannah (Jeanne Werner) leads a solitary life in a Czech forest near the Austrian border. When one of her beloved wolves goes missing, she is drawn back to her grandmother’s native village where her mother now lives as a social outcast. As she searches for the runaway wolf, Hannah uncovers secrets from her family’s past.

The generations of pain are gradually unveiled throughout the narrative. Through sharp, meaningful cinematography, Teresa Kotyk’s film takes its time to unravel the fractures between a grandmother, a mother and a daughter. By presenting the different timelines alongside one other, we witness how trauma takes hold of these women and how, despite the deep love they share, it breeds bitterness and resentment.

The naturalistic elements feature striking settings and images of wildlife. Hannah’s search for the lost wolf in the thick of these forests parallels her journey to discovering the truth about her family history. NEBELKIND: THE END OF SILENCE asks us to consider how many generations must suffer, and for how long, before we as communities can accept and acknowledge the damage inflicted by our ancestry.