When it comes to social realism, the Belgians have produced some of the most exhilarating works (mainly due to the prolific careers of Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, arguably amongst the most important filmmakers to hail from that country), and they have left a legacy that has made for some really fascinating storytelling in subsequent years. Laura Wandel makes her directorial debut with Playground (French: Un monde) follows this path of gritty social-issues drama in telling the heart-wrenching tale of a seven-year-old girl who finds herself in a compromising position after she discovers that her brother is being bullied, her attempts to protect him from the harsh words and painful physical abuse of his peers leading her to become the subject of similar disdain once her involvement in the situation is made clear. It’s a powerful and poignant film, but it tends to be quite overwrought at times, especially when we’re dealing with issues that are directly related to reality, which is where it sometimes falters more than it would have a more precise approach been taken. However, this is only a minor problem with an otherwise fascinating film, which takes the form of a rivetting character study between a young child and her surroundings, which she discovers is far from as comforting as she would hope, especially when she starts to see that there are not nearly as many people willing to protect the young and vulnerable as she was previously led to believe, making Playground one of the year’s most harrowing, but still achingly beautiful, works of socially-conscious drama.

Playground is a film that takes place in between worlds, which is why it can sometimes feel a bit too heavy-handed since it is essentially looking at issues relating to adolescence and adulthood from the perspective of a child. Art has always been interested in telling stories that demonstrate how younger protagonists perceive and interact with the world, inspiring many of the greatest works of literature. There is nothing quite as innocent as a child and how they navigate the various challenges the world has to offer. Whether humorous or heartbreaking, there’s always value in the simplification of our environment through the rudimentary, and often excessively honest, perspective that children tend to have. Unfortunately, this doesn’t necessarily come across as clearly here as it perhaps should have, since the subject matter being addressed in Playground is a lot more harrowing, but combined with the childlike view of the issue, it can feel too intense. This could have been the entire point in the first place since Wandel makes it clear that she is not intending to make a necessarily pleasant film. As flawed as it may be in taking this approach, it ultimately does become a lot more effective when we take a few steps back and consider it from a perspective of it being not just a simple story of a young girl enduring the challenges of being bullied, but rather a more intensely personal character study, not necessarily of the main protagonist herself, but of a general group of people. It’s not a particularly comforting film, but it never attempted to be – instead, it takes a very simple story and looks at it from a range of perspectives, which converge into this horrifying but unforgettably powerful drama.

The film is more accurately described as being caught in between a slice-of-life, coming-of-age story and a cautionary tale on the importance of standing one’s ground, regardless of the challenges one may encounter in the process. It’s not often we find a film so frank about the experience of bullying – many stories tend to use it as a narrative theme, but often view it as either comedic relief (to demonstrate the supposed lack of popularity of certain characters) or view it as yet another inevitable challenge faced by those who don’t quite fit in, and where “surviving” is just a process towards becoming stronger and being able to fight back. Playground makes very little work of clarifying that bullying, regardless of the type, is a form of abuse, and should not be tolerated. The film never excuses it with a resounding cry of “boys will be boys”, nor does it claim that it is a part of life. Instead, it takes a very stern look at the victims of this awful tendency, and the people who not only cause it but also perpetuate it. While it would be reading too much into this film to claim that the director was using this as an allegory for larger and more serious forms of abuse, such as sexual violence and bigotry (extremely prescient and worrying issues in the global culture), but she does imply that this culture of abuse starts very early on, and its not only the people who do it directly that make it acceptable, but those who promote a culture of silence, where victims are made to keep quiet, in fear of facing even worse consequences. There are some very deep discussions to be had throughout Playground, and while it isn’t a pleasant film, it does evoke serious thought, which is much more valuable than our comfort.

Wandel had many fascinating ideas when it came to Playground, and whether they were developed enough remain to be seen, and depends on how far the viewer wants to interrogate the subject matter since the story is left intentionally ambigious throughout, forcing us to use our interpretation and question our morals to fully comprehend the scope of the story. It’s a striking, unforgettable drama with a lot of compelling content, which places the viewer in a position where merely being complacent is no longer an option – we’re forced to address our understanding of these experiences, all through the vivid imagery that Wandel evokes throughout the film. At only 68 minutes, it’s a condensed film that proves that brevity can sometimes be an artist’s greatest tool, and the impressive performance by Maya Vanderbeque anchors the film and gives it a sense of sincere humanity, which is otherwise frequently missing in most other works, especially those that don’t have much interest in presenting the realities faced by many young people, who are led to believe that simply accepting that one will have to endure bullying, which the director contests with every moment of this harrowing film. Playground is terrifying, unsettling and unforgettable, and dares to voyage deep into the heart of the human condition, looking at some ideas that are much more complex than they appear at first, but turn out to be the subject of an achingly beautiful account of childhood, done through the endlessly captivating story of a young child defying all logic and warnings, and doing what she considers to be right, which turns out to be both a foolish decision for the consequences she encounters from her valiant act, and a moment of revelation for someone who is finally starting to see the world for what it is.