Written, directed and shot by Amia Voluntad, ‘Brisé’ is a short drama that treads the fragile line between ambition and collapse. It tells the story of Dillon, a gifted young ballet dancer, played with sincerity by Pono Lundell, whose life derails following a sudden cancer diagnosis. The film immerses us in the uneasy present of a young man fighting for control over his own body.
It opens with a hauntingly dreamlike flashback: a young Dillon dancing alone by a stream. It’s a memory full of grace, innocence and freedom. That tenderness is ripped away as we’re thrown into the rigidity of his adult training and, soon after, the crushing revelation – stage 2 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Dillon’s world fractures, and so does his body.
Voluntad’s widescreen cinematography is impeccable, with each frame composed like a photograph, yet pulsing with anxiety. Ms. Anna, Dillon’s dance instructor, is played by Stacey Ava Marie Rabut with clipped, biting precision. Her coldness isn’t antagonistic – she simply doesn’t know his struggle. She pushes him hard, far too hard, and her words land like knives. Dillon doesn’t push back. He just pushes himself harder. Perkisimo potrays Dillon’s concerned father.
As Dillon’s body reaches its breaking point, ‘Brisé’ offers no false hope and no final act. It ends in suspension, with no answers. And perhaps that’s the beauty of it. This isn’t about the outcome – it’s about the unbearable weight of now.
A striking, intimate portrayal of resilience on the edge. Voluntad doesn’t flinch, and neither does her film. Poignant and unsettling all at the same time.
