Smaragda: I Got Thick Skin And I Can't Jump

If there’s one thing that cinema teaches us, it’s that life tends not to get any easier, and fortysomething Cypriot Smaragda (Niovi Charalambous) is a case in point. Grieving the loss of her mother - something which, like many of the background elements, is intimated rather than spoken aloud by writer/director Emilios Avraam - she also finds herself at a career crossroads while facing up to what ageing will mean for her physically.

When Smaragda gets news that residuals from an old children’s show that she once presented will cease to arrive, her pitch for a new programme centring on environmental themes receives a lukewarm reception, not least due to her lack of social media followers. This is, unsurprisingly, in contrast to a younger colleague who has a huge fanbase. Taking on a job as a children’s resort entertainer, Smaragda makes tentative steps into the realm of video content, which while having an environmental element, also see her begin a journey of self-discovery.

Like Sebastián Lelio’s Gloria, but for the next generation down, this is less about a woman undergoing a radical transformation than it is about the determination to be yourself in the face of others who want to fence you in. Where other films might see Smaragda curl up and cry after she is scorned in the street by a group of young lads over her social media videos, Avraam instead shows her standing up to them and for her rights to do as she chooses. There’s something quietly revolutionary about her rigorous sense of self, evidenced not only in her messages to her video subscribers but in the way she rebuts questions about her childless status.

Charalambous’ portrayal is crucial. She occupies virtually every frame with a steely determination, underpinned by loss that she can see coming towards her as well as lying in the past. This is a stripped back portrayal - Smaragda isn’t a person who hides herself behind make-up - which articulates the level of defiance sometimes needed as a woman in the world, just to continue to be yourself.

There are some signs of first-time feature making from Avraam, not least the inclusion of the title as a line in the film, which always has a tendency to throw you out of the fictional world by reminding you about its construction, but this is nevertheless a confident debut. Generally speaking, Avraam doesn’t spoon-feed us details, letting the various issues Smaragda is facing emerge organically. There are subtle hints of what Smaragda may be facing early on, and the way Avraam navigates this element of what the future might bring feels very true to life - no matter what anyone is coming up against, it’s not something they focus on constantly. Like last year’s Greek-set Animal, the filmmaker also offers an unfussy consideration of what holiday resort life looks like for those employed within that world.

Beyond the excellent work with Charalambous, Avraam has a feel for gentle comedy and the warmth of relationships, so that scenes involving Smaragda’s sister (Eleni Sidera) and old pal (Paris Erotokritou) suggest years of shared experience while remaining economical. Her encounter with a hotel guest (Patrick Myles, who really should get more work), is also believably depicted and nuanced. Watching Smaragda simply keep on trucking in the face of what life throws at her is a reminder that, perhaps, jumping is overrated after all.