DOK Leipzig 2024: The Other One (dir. Marie-Magdalena Kochová) | Review

Imagine that you are at a crossroads: on one side are your dreams and aspirations, on the other side are your loved ones who depend on you, and their entire lives seem to be anchored in your presence. What if choosing between these two worlds requires more than just sacrifice, but becomes a true test of your soul? This is the basic dilemma of 18-year-old Johana in Marie-Magdalena Kochová’s The Other One (original title: Ta druhá), where growing up becomes a quiet but agonizing struggle with her own desires and her duty to her family. At DOK Leipzig 2024, the film won the MDR Film Prize for Outstanding Eastern European Documentary. Produced by the Czech Republic and co-produced by Slovakia, this project was praised for its sincerity and insightful look at important social and personal issues.

Johanna is the glass child, the one whose life is hidden behind the external needs of another family member. Her younger sister Rosa suffers from autism, and her behavior requires constant attention. At many moments, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed by the weight of her story. Johana’s whole life revolves around this, but there comes a moment when she must make a decision: continue living for others or go to another city to fulfill her dream of studying psychology.

Kochová’s film is deeply personal and touching, almost unbearable in its honesty. It takes the viewer into a world that feels so real and so close, it’s hard to look away. The cinematography observes Johanna as a quiet but intense process of internal struggle. We see her not through major twists of fate, but through silent glances, small gestures that, like the clicks of closed doors, conceal a vast world of unexpressed emotions. The music, like sighs, pierces the frames. Melodies, almost elusive, are overlaid with moments of silence, and in that silence one hears all those unspoken words that the heroine cannot utter. 

Kochová masterfully conveys an atmosphere of hopelessness as the heroine faces a choice that prevents her from remaining invisible, but also prevents her from being fully herself. We see her as part of a family, yet she is separate – her life is spent waiting and accepting that she should be in the background. The director is not afraid to show the moment when growing up becomes not an act of liberation, but a terrible realization of the chains from which it is impossible to escape. The main character Johanna doesn’t exist for herself. She exists for everyone around her who needs her care and silent self-sacrifice.

There is no room here for the romance of growing up – every decision about her future becomes a new experience for her. While watching it, a lot of close-up shots involuntarily catch your eye. It is especially about close-ups of the main character’s face, devoid of emotions, but filled with an inner conflict that cannot be conveyed in words.

We attended the 67th edition of DOK Leipzig in person, from October 28th to November 3rd, 2024.