Wednesday 22 June 2016

Edinburgh Film Festival: The Library Suicides (Y Llyfrgell)


I honestly picked this film because of its title. And it also fit in with my schedule. But the story did catch my eye too. Who doesn't love a revenge story involving twins in a library? 

An unusual thing to have in UK film, it's a subtitled film as it is all in Welsh. To be fair, it makes sense for a Welsh film to be written and made in Welsh. The director, Euros Lyn, said that it was not an odd decision as he speaks Welsh at home so it only seemed natural. 

A thriller with basically a cast of 4 people (5 characters - twins are involved) set in one location mainly, the National Library of Wales and that takes places of one night might seem like a stretch but it fascinating to watch. I did find myself wondering how the hell it was going to end and I'm still a tad confused about a few things but despite these qualms I really enjoyed it.



Based on the book, by Fflur Dafydd’s bestseller Y Llyfgell, the story starts after the sudden and suspicious death of their famous author mother, twin sisters, Ana and Nan take matters into their own hands. Believing that their mother was murdered by her editor, they put their plan of revenge in motion. 

The twins both work as archivists in the National Library of Wales, which where most of the film takes place. The impressive building is in a marvelous location which makes it seem imposing and with the help of the perfect soundtrack, threatening at the same time. It isn't exactly a simple murder revenge story, there are also family secrets to dredge up at the most unfortunate time, repressed feelings and the need to be recognised. As I mentioned, the ending is slightly odd and in my opinion can be taken two ways. There are two sides to every story, different way to look at things, which is interesting and as someone in the Q&A said, 'I appreciate this'.

Not sure if the film will get a wide release outside the UK but if you are in the UK reading this, it might be worth keeping an eye out for it.