Now at the movies: A Nearly Normal Life

In his award-winning documentary "A Nearly Normal Life," Stefan Sick sensitively explores a reality of life that is rarely seen in cinema: growing up in institutional care, between a safe space and regimentation, between welfare and the desire for self-determination. Over a period of two years, the film follows the everyday lives of four juvenile girls in a youth welfare residential group. Without voice-over commentary or explanatory interventions, Sick observes his protagonists with great restraint and respect. The film does not seek the spectacular, but rather registers the small tensions in their interactions, the moments of closeness, resistance, and exhaustion. It is precisely in this focus on unspectacular everyday life that the film unfolds not only a touching power, but also a political dimension: it shows how precarious concepts such as "normality" and "equal opportunities" remain for the young people depicted. Nevertheless, "A Nearly Normal Life" is not a film designed to shock with a socio-educational impetus, but a sensitive portrait that shows the young people in all their contradictions and, precisely because of this, invites reflection.