A gently sympathetic portrait of a young Lithuanian woman meandering through life as she looks for a sense of direction, Elena Kairyte’s modestly staged film Roberta is easy to watch though never becomes revelatory. As a central character Roberta Dell is engaging and easy to spend time with, and it is ultimately charming that as the final credits arrive there is a sense that she finally may know where she is going.
The film opens in a nightclub with a close-up on Roberta, smiling and swaying to the music, appearing calm and confident. Spending time with her dog Aya, she looks for work with a smile, though commenting that failing to get a position leaves ”that bitter taste of failure in my mouth.” That said, she never lets things get her down. She is offered a job in Germany, but fails to submit appropriate paperwork in time.
There is a sense that she is constantly creating and recreating herself, always moving and changing – houses, outfits, direction, jobs and hairstyles – but also apparently happy in that position, veering between an outsider/skater to being a responsible nanny looking after a young boy. Later she is content and curled up in a Vilnius squat playing with her dog, before we see her tattooing a piece of art onto a friend’s leg.
It appears that Roberta is also more than happy to lead a quiet life. She finds work in a restaurant (once again sporting short hair after a stint with dreadlocks when she was nannying) and at home, surrounded by her plants and pets. She is acquiring debt (although she notes how she can eat dumplings every day at her work-place) and procrastinating, but her restless attitude also marks a transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Shot over several years – and with many attendant hairstyles, tattoos and piercings – the film reflects her growth as a personality and as a woman, and her knack for shifting gears, changing direction and hatching plans attests to her potential.
As the film draws towards a close she admits to a plan! She intends to graduate in hairdressing and also go on to study make-up so that she can try and make a career in theatre, television and cinema. “It is an easier ticket into that scene if I have the qualifications,” she says with that familiar smile. “I feel it is getting close,” she adds.
The film succeeds in being an immersive, intimate and generous portrait of a young woman looking to find her way in the world, though in truth it also lacks sufficient dynamism or drama as it tells her story, instead relying on Roberta’s warm-hearted nature and sense of optimism. Filmed in a matter-of-fact cinema verité style it succeeds in capturing the mood of a generation without ever offering great insight or examination beyond the admission that success seems to be all about money.
Lithuania, 2023, 80mins
Dir: Elena Kairyte
Production: Baltic Productions, Lithuanian Film Centre
Producer: Ruta Jekentaite
Cinematography: Elena Kairyte
Editor: Darius Šilenas
With: Roberta Dell
