TIFF 2024: Tata (by Lina Vdovîi & Radu Ciorniciuc) | Review
In the intimate setting of a Moldovan family, Tata, co-directed by Lina Vdovîi and Radu Ciorniciuc, exposes the cycle of domestic violence and the taboos that surround it.
Responding to a cry for help from her father, Lina, accompanied by her partner Radu, joins him at the vineyard where he works in Italy. There, she discovers that her father is being abused by his employer. Torn between the desire to help her father expose the injustices and mistreatment he faces, and the deep resentment she harbors toward him, Lina is caught in a painful dilemma. Growing up in a modest Moldovan family, Lina endured the tyranny of a violent, ultra-possessive father. This ordeal only eased when her father, the sole breadwinner of the household, left to work at the vineyard in Italy. Taking advantage of the physical distance, Lina distanced herself from him.
Out of this ambivalence arises her desire to shed light on and speak out against the violence she suffered as a child, a trauma that continues to haunt her. Lina returns to visit her sister, mother, and grandmother, who remained in Moldova—female figures in her family who were either victims or witnesses of domestic violence, both physical and psychological. Through her camera, Lina captures their chilling confessions, revealing the excesses of a patriarchal society. The father, “tata,” the pillar of the family, holds absolute authority over his household and passes down a family model steeped in violence, which is then replicated by future generations. Within the home, violence becomes an outlet, a way to externalize frustrations and pain.
With its raw realism and lack of aesthetic embellishment, the film skillfully weaves together past and present. Archival footage, likely filmed by Lina’s mother and showing Lina and her sister performing to win their father’s approval, punctuates the narrative and sheds new light on the current situation. Scenes of joy, quickly overshadowed by Lina’s voiceover, reveal the violent atmosphere in which she grew up.
Through this intimate and poignant story, Lina Vdovîi and Radu Ciorniciuc delve into the complexities of family relationships and the transmission of harmful and destructive behaviors across generations. More broadly, Tata opens up a discussion on the flaws of societies built on power dynamics and steeped in violence.
Tata had its world premiere at TIFF 2024 in the TIFF Docs section.
