"Can grief truly disappear, or does it simply lie dormant, waiting to unleash itself again? The loss of a loved one can be one of the most profoundly affecting moments in a person's life, and in Jonathan Glazer's 2004 film Birth, Anna ( Nicole Kidman) is still processing a decade without her husband, Sean. But she's starting to move on, having found herself a loving partner in Joseph (Danny Huston) and accepted his marriage proposal."
"But one evening, at her engagement party, a 10-year-old boy (Cameron Bright) shows up at Anna's apartment and claims to be the reincarnation of Sean. It seems absurd, but the child knows things about Anna and Sean's relationship that he shouldn't be able to. His conviction and knowledge find Anna questioning everything and falling back into the despair of grief as she contemplates the impossible."
"It premiered at the 2004 Venice Film Festival, and the press screening (normally civil, quiet events) produced voracious booing. It garnered some controversy over its uncomfortable subject matter, particularly a scene where Anna and young Sean bathe together (they weren't actually filmed naked together, though the film creates this illusion). Word of the Venice screening spread fast, and Birth felt doomed from the start. The film grossed just $23.9 million worldwide against a $20 million budget."
Anna, a widow still mourning her husband Sean a decade after his death, becomes engaged to Joseph and prepares to move forward. At an engagement party a ten-year-old boy appears at her apartment and insists he is Sean reincarnated, surprising Anna by knowing intimate details only Sean would know. Anna grows consumed by doubt and grief as she confronts the boy's conviction and the impossibility of his claim. The film presents a slow, painterly mystery of the heart and provoked controversy at its Venice premiere, where press screening audiences booed and backlash centered on a contentious bathing scene. Birth underperformed commercially and faced mixed critical responses.
Read at Inverse
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