Tench: NZIFF Review

Patrice Toye's sensitively handled portrait of a young paedophile returning to society has much in common with Paul Schrader's First Reformed.

23 year old Jonathan (a fearless Tijmen Govaerts) has just returned to his home, having been released from prison and into the care of his mother. Apparently acquitted, Jonathan is trying to integrate back into life - when temptation literally moves in next door in the form of a young girl, Bes.

Faced with temptation, Jonathan finds himself at a crossroads, and dangling between what he knows is right and wrong.

Like First Reformed, Tench deals with the notion of temptation and societal ills, but also delves deep into the psychology of what the struggle is for those caught up in the worst of society's criminals and perceptions.

Stunningly empathetic, but not overtly so, Tench aims to open up a conversation around paedophilia. For this, it's confrontational in some ways, but it's also carefully constructed and all the more troubling for it.

As mentioned Govaerts delivers a tortured and fearless performance with the conflict rippling through every frame that Toye puts on the screen. Muidhond asks much of Govaerts, and it's a tough film that places you squarely in the place of the paedophile, but Toye carefully pieces together a nuanced film that is as thought-provoking as it is troubling.

Tench is nowhere near as confrontational as it could - or indeed should - be. The film is more about what could happen - scenes like when Jonathan is tasked with placing a plaster on Bes' knee ripple with uncertainties over what may transpire, and Toye gently leads the audience to a darker place and perception, rather than painting every moment on screen.

Not once does the film ever walk the guilt away, or absolve its protagonist of its pain and paint things in a perfect light.

For that, Tench makes a discomforting watch, and poses a lot of questions, rather than preaching the answers. Granted, the subject matter won't be for everyone, however, thanks to Toye's sensitive framing and Govaerts' ferocious turn, Tench makes for compelling, if uneasy, viewing.