Ivalu is a 2022 short film (16 minutes) from Denmark, directed by Anders Walter.
The story is set in Greenland and the whole film is told in the Greenlandic language. Pipaluk, a Greenland girl in her early teens, wakes up to discover that her older sister Ivalu is missing. Her father cannot be bothered to look, and her grandmother, while concerned, has no idea where Ivalu has gone. Pipaluk visits the various spots where she and her sister used to hang out together. Eventually it becomes clear that Ivalu has suffered a tragic fate, as a direct result of abuse she experienced at home.
Tropes:
- Bittersweet Ending: Close to Downer Ending. Ivalu has drowned herself and her father will face no punishment for his crime. But at least Pipaluk has escaped, leaving her father's house to live with her grandmother.
- Catapult Nightmare: Pipaluk wakes with a start from a strange dream of a raven at the window, calling to her in her sister's voice.
- Clever Crows: Pipaluk has a dream in which a raven appears at her window and seems to call for her in her sister's voice, before issuing a strange, echoing cry. That was a dream, but afterwards the raven is continually seen flying above Pipaluk, seemingly guiding her to the truth about her sister and the spot where her sister went into the water.
- Establishing Character Moment: The father reacts to Pipaluk telling him that Ivalu is missing, by telling her not to bother him and going back to sleep. Although the audience later learns much, much worse about him, he's immediately established as a completely uninterested parent.
- Flashback: Many, as the lives of Ivalu and Pipaluk are shown in flashback as Pipaluk looks for her sister.
- Inner Monologue: The story is told in a running inner monologue narration from Pipaluk, as she walks around the area looking for her sister.
- Karma Houdini: No suggestion that the father will ever face any consequences for molesting his older daughter and driving her to suicide.
- No Name Given: The father is never named.
- Parental Incest: Ivalu's father was sexually abusing her, which drove Ivalu to suicide.
- Reveal Shot: And a very dark Call-Back. A flashback shows Ivalu wearing a nice dress for her confirmation, which draws the attention of Mikki, a boy of Ivalu's age. Later Pipaluk has that same flashback again—but then she remembers "Dad was looking at you too," and the camera pans over from Mikki to show their father, giving Ivalu the same sort of look.
- Scenery Porn: Plenty of shots of the stunning glaciers and ice-blue waters of Greenland.
- Suicide by Sea: Not shown. But Pipaluk finds her sister's bracelet and scarf at different locations on the beach. That, and some comments Ivalu once made about swimming down to untangle the hair of the "Mother of the Sea", leads Pipaluk to conclude that her sister walked into the ocean and drowned herself, to escape their father's abuse.
