| Toxic | |
| Native Name: | |
| Director: | Saulė Bliuvaitė |
| Cinematography: | Vytautas Katkus |
| Editing: | Ignė Narbutaitė |
| Music: | Gediminas Jakubka |
| Studio: | Akis Bado |
| Distributor: | Bendita Film Sales |
| Runtime: | 99 minutes |
| Country: | Lithuania |
Toxic (lt|Akiplėša|lit=a bold, shameless person) is a 2024 Lithuanian drama film written and directed by Saulė Bliuvaitė in her feature directorial debut. Starring newcomers Vesta Matulytė and Ieva Rupeikaitė, it tells the story of two 13-year-old girls who attend a modeling school that pushes them to their physical and emotional limits. The film premiered at the 77th Locarno Film Festival, where it won the Golden Leopard.
13-year-old Marija's mother has sent her to live with her grandmother in a bleak unnamed industrial town. Marija is tall and lean but walks with a slight limp, making her the target of school bullies.
In particular, temperamental Kristina is constantly targeting Marija. While Kristina is from a somewhat more intact family, her father prefers to spend his time with his girlfriend. In the changing room at the swimming pool, Kristina steals Marija's designer jeans from her locker. When the two girls meet again auditing for a model agency, Kristina cockily shows off Marija's jeans. After a brawl over the jeans on the street, surprisingly, the two girls become close friends. Kristina is more courageous than Marija and believes herself to be smart enough to survive on the street. Both girls start hanging out with older boys, who provide them with alcohol and drugs, but not without asking for favors in return. Kristina also talks Marija into applying at a modeling school which is popular among the girls at school.
To achieve their dream of successful modeling careers, Marija and Kristina develop different strategies. Marija tries hard to hide her limp on the catwalk. An instructor at the agency prefers her over the other girls for her particular appearance and height, which leads to jealousy. Kristina tries to lose weight with tapeworm eggs she has ordered on the Internet. She is surprised to find out that her father has sold his car so she can participate in an overpriced photo shoot. Marija is confronted with the unexpected return of her mother, who would like to take her back home, but Marija refuses to leave.
Writer and director Saulė Bliuvaitė was inspired the 2011 documentary film Girl Model, as well as her own experiences as an aspiring model in her youth.[1] [2] She stated, "Through the story of young girls navigating toxic landscapes, I wanted to explore the concept of the human body – the body as a project, currency, an object of desire, the body as a source of pain and magic."[3]
The process of casting the two leads took roughly two years.[4] Filming took place in Kaunas and Vilnius in mid-2023.[5] Bendita Film Sales secured the international distribution rights to the film in July 2024.[6]
Mariana Hristova of Cineuropa wrote, "It is rare for a film with an even narrative to hold viewers' attention from beginning to end. With Toxic, this happens miraculously, perhaps thanks to the genuine close-up portrayals of both female protagonists – each of whom is a narrative in herself – and the growing affectionate relationship between them."[7] Amber Wilkinson of Screen Daily wrote that the film "benefits from a pair of excellent performances from the young, first-time leads, with [Vesta] Matulytė's more introspective approach dovetailing perfectly with the mercurial energy [Ieva] Rupeikaitė brings to Kristina."[8] Guy Lodge of Variety also commended the performances of Matulytė and Rupeikaitė, calling them "extraordinary".[9]