Reflective Encounters

“From France-based director Chenghua Yang, Self Scratch is, at the outset, an uncompromising rumination on melancholy, alienation and isolation. We follow the post-breakup devastation of Wen, who has sunk into a state of depression and all that comes with it - anxiety, losing sureness of oneself, the feeling of being abandoned and the inevitable diminishment of self-confidence. It’s a film that makes for uncomfortable yet compelling viewing, bolstered by an assortment of unique design choices: the blurred edges of the line work and the deep, sunburn-red hues of the main character’s skin that grows darker as the mood becomes more oppressive. It’s in stark contrast to the comparatively playful, almost goofy representations of what little positivity she is capable of summoning up from within herself.

As the film progresses we see these positive affirmations, manifested as a troupe of miniature infants that cavort among the shards of broken glass intended for self-harm, present a united front to rebuild Wen’s self-worth, incrementally beating down her propensity toward negative thoughts. In the wrong hands the moments of levity would be too jarring a juxtaposition, but Yang succeeds in pulling off the interplay between light and dark as harmoniously as possible.”

— Ben Mitchell