Directing: B+
Acting: B+
Writing: B
Cinematography: B
Editing: B+

Vera Dreams of the Sea is currently making the rounds at film festivals, having first premiered at Venice in September 2021, now playing at the Seattle International Film Festival, and in these post-pandemic times, I fear for its potential to reach the number of eyeballs it really deserves. This is an accomplished feature debut from Kosovo, by director Kaltrina Krasniqi and writer Doruntina Basha. Krasniqi was at the screening I attended, and she noted that this film, running at a tight 87 minutes, too her seven years to make. The result is imperfect yet worthy of that effort, and all I can think about is what potential it has for limited theatrical runs. Even on eventual VOD or streamers, will this film always just be a hidden gem?

It’s potent fodder for discussion a cross section between film studies and gender studies, in any case. The title character is a middle-aged woman whose husband has just committed suicide. His death brings out secrets regarding his gambling habits, and unpaid gambling debts, which are linked to a house in a village Vera hopes to sell in order to secure a better future for her daughter and granddaughter.

Krasniqi is working within the framework of a society and culture that still has deeply embedded gender norms, which dictate that the word of men always takes precedence over even legal leverage of women. But Vera, as played by the wonderful Teuta Ajdini, is kind of a quiet badass. She’s managed to secure an unusual level of independence due to a unique skill: sign language, learned from her late, deaf mother. She now works as a sign language interpreter, a fact which plays a subtle but pivotal role in the plot.

Granted, everything that happens in Vera Dreams of the Sea is subtle, and while watching it, the story seems deceptively simple—until you try to explain it. There isn’t a lot of complex plot twists, and the pacing is relatively slow. But the editing is arguably the best thing about this film, only ever showing us exactly what we need to know at any given moment. This is a quiet film, with broad implications.

As pressure mounts for Vera to sign a contract handing over the village house to a man claiming it was promised to him, Vera consistently pushes back with steady resolve. Pressure turns to threats which escalate to a bit of violence, and it begins to feel like she’s being defeated. In a way, she is, which left me spending a lot of time eager to see her put one over on her oppressors. Whether or not Vera gets what she wants, exactly, the way her story ends is nice and satisfying.

This is a movie that rewards patience. I’m glad I saw it, and if more people seek it out, they will be too.

Overall: B+