Synopsis
A young woman constructs a reality for herself by imagining what her life would be like after the death of her parents. Absorbed in the slow process of working alone in the family greenhouse, she relives the ghostly memories of her Cambodian mother and father. The ritual of healing through physical labour is gradually revealed over time. As the plastic roof above her bears the weight of the natural elements, the increasingly uncertain climate threatens this new solitary life.
A word from Tënk
The Plastic House swings like a pendulum between the dim, enclosed space of a bedroom where a young woman is trying to sleep and the luminous greenhouse where she grows vegetables; on one hand, a place to empty her mind, and on the other, a place where life unfolds. The water motif connecting the two spaces reveals its ambiguity: this same nourishing liquid that enables plants to grow is damaging when it pours down in a storm or seeps into the house. Based on this paradox, the film is shot through with a peculiar atmosphere, weaving together sensations in a musical manner. Its tranquillity is soothing yet morbid… Between the drips, in blurred and out-of-frame images, the absence of loved ones echoes loudly.
Olivia Cooper Hadjian
Member of the Cinéma du Réel Selection Committee,
Critic for Les Cahiers du Cinéma
