3 LIVES ** Germany 2019 Dir: Juliane Block. 81 mins
woman who’d been raped 15 years ago is abducted, and when she wakes up locked in a bunker, discovers she knows her eventual rescuers—the man who raped her and his former friend. They flee from violent ex-soldiers pursuing them through the wilderness and try to uncover who’s responsible for their plight. There’s an intensity to 3 LIVES that is brought to life by the three leads—Mhairi Calvey, Martin Caps, and Tyron Ricketts—as their natural chemistry helps give depth to the relationships between the three characters. It does seem like they have known each other for years, and Calvey, in her portrayal of rape survivor Emma, brings a vulnerable strength to the role that allows us to see her as a person and not just a “victim.” Although the film lags in the middle, as we watch our heroes argue in the woods, deliver cliched dialogue, and evade laughably cliched villains, the satisfying ending and important message make it a worthwhile addition to the rape-revenge genre.
Review by Julia Lynch
