‘Perla‘ (2025) is the second feature film by director Alexandra Makarová. She also wrote the screenplay, drawing inspiration from events within her own family—specifically from her mother and grandmother’s biographies, both of whom share many traits with the film’s titular protagonist. ‘Perla‘ is a co-production between studios from Slovakia—Makarová’s birthplace—and Austria, where she currently lives and works. It is a political drama that reflects many real-life personal stories from the Cold War era, a time when the Iron Curtain divided Europe for 40 years into two vastly different worlds.
The story is set in 1980. Perla is a Slovak painter and political refugee living in Vienna, where she is raising her 10-year-old daughter, Julia—a talented pianist—as a single mother. Life is far from easy, but her fortunes seem to turn when she meets Josef (an encounter that effectively ends his relationship with another woman). The genuine affection of this Austrian man provides her with both material and emotional security. Yet, just as things begin to stabilize, her past catches up with her. A phone call comes through from Andrej—Julia’s father and the man with whom Perla had once attempted to cross the border illegally. Now out of prison and gravely ill, Andrej calls, urging her to return to Czechoslovakia. It would be a highly risky journey, as Perla could still face prosecution for what was, in the communist world at the time, a severely punishable crime: illegal border crossing. With Josef’s support—and accompanied by Julia—Perla agrees to return, using an assumed name and, perhaps, a forged passport. This homecoming triggers an identity crisis, intertwined with the rekindling of a youthful romance and a deep nostalgia for her native land. Andrej is no longer the man he once was, nor is he even the person he now claims to be. Initially, the strategy seems to work, but matters gradually grow more complicated, leading toward a traumatic awakening to reality.
The film’s greatest strength, in my view, is its visual aspect. The chasm between two worlds—geographically close, yet worlds apart in terms of mentality and atmosphere—is captured brilliantly on screen. The screenplay, however, struggles with credibility—not so much regarding the situations themselves, but rather concerning the psychological evolution of the protagonist. At times, her decisions are “too bad to be true,” lacking both emotional grounding and any foreshadowing. The film features two brutal scenes clearly designed to deliver a strong psychological impact. The second of these—a traditional Easter folk ritual transformed into a horror sequence—requires further explanation to be fully understood. The lead role is played by Rebeka Poláková, a fine actress who brings nuance and complexity to the character, though she cannot quite illuminate every facet of her inner experience. The issue lies not with her performance, but with the script. The fracturing of the continent during the decades of the Iron Curtain’s existence gave rise to many tragic situations, and quite a few films have explored them from various perspectives. ‘Perla‘ only partially succeeds in presenting a credible version of these difficult stories.