19/10/2020 - The film from Dutch director Mischa Kamp is a well-made inter-generational film full of tenderness when it comes to the inescapable nature of the disease

Dynamic sexagenarian Stine has just bought a new cash register for her hair salon when a client asks her if she really sees herself doing this job for another twenty years: “Of course, why not?” she replies. What Stine does not yet know is that she is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and that her abilities to manage a hair salon will fade away, little by little… but perhaps her 10-year-old granddaughter, Romy, could take over? Romy’s Salon [+see also:
trailer
film profile] is a well-made inter-generational film full of tenderness when it comes to the inescapable nature of the disease, and one for which Mischa Kamp won the Golden Calf award for Best Director at the 2020 edition of the Nederlands Film Festival.

Inspired by the novel of the same name from Dutch writer Tamara Bos, Romy’s salon plunges us into the daily life of Stine (Beppie Melissen) and Romy (Vita Heijmen), split between the hair salon and the grandmother’s apartment upstairs, where the granddaughter stays after school while her parents, currently in the process of getting divorced, cannot look after her. The rest of the time, Romy goes to school, sees her mother who works in a truck stop restaurant, eats always at the same Chinese restaurant with her father every once in a while (when he isn’t at work or with his new girlfriend) and dreams of having a mobile phone. In Romy’s Salon, we observe the world from a child’s height, and quickly come to understand that grandmother and granddaughter in fact do not know each other well and that neither of them is happy about this cohabitation, imposed by Romy’s mother. But when Stine starts to make mistakes when giving clients their change, to forget where she puts her money, to put plates away in the toaster and to sleep with her nightgown in the middle of the afternoon — this woman usually dressed beautifully at all times — Romy realises that she is going to have to take care of Stine, and not the other way around. Young actress Vita Heijem is captivating as a responsible little girl, trying to help her grandmother the best she can without ever infantilising her.

There lies the beauty of the film, in the bond that progressively grows between a grandmother and her granddaughter. The latter, who used to beg her mother not to bring her to the salon after school, finds herself counting the minutes until the end of class so she can run back to the soft and cozy atmosphere of the hair salon. The mutual support and solidarity between these two generations seem suspended in time through Mischa Kamp’s camera, and the elegance and simplicity with which the subject of illness is treated makes the film perfectly accessible to children. We are also witness to the handover between a grandmother lost in memories of her childhood in Denmark, and a disoriented granddaughter looking for some guidance. Because Romy’s Salon is indeed a film about family. Stine’s illness will change the relationships between characters belonging to three different generations, and help them come closer to one another. It is also a film about illness and mental decline. However, Mischa Kamp avoids treating the subject too dramatically, which makes the topic more accessible. The film’s tone is joyful and hopeful (shopping spree and afternoon in a luxury hotel) but nevertheless includes tough and poignant scenes where Romy remains powerless faced with her grandmother’s dementia.

Brilliantly carried by its two lead actresses (Golden Calf for Best Actress for Beppie Melissen), Romy’s Salon paints a beautiful portrait of a woman and of a granddaughter separated by the years, but with infinitely endearing energy and spirit of mischief. The film ends with an adventure full of twists and turns to Denmark, where one finds traces of her past, and the other, new horizons.

Produced by the company Bos Bros Film & TV Productions and Leitwolf Filmproduktion, Romy’s Salon is sold internationally by Canadian company Attraction Distribution.

(Translated from French)