A young swimmer clashes with his coach at practice. Then it reveals a deeper trauma.


BLEACH is used with permission from Mattias Graham. Learn more at https://mattiasgraham.com.


Damien is a 16-year-old swimmer. He's also an older brother who enjoys playing with his younger brother at a hotel pool. But when his younger brother expresses excitement at joining the water polo club that Damien is a part of, Damien reacts poorly, confusing his younger sibling and making him realize that larger issues and emotions are hidden deeper inside him.

Then we see Damien at practice, where he clashes with his coach, who upbraids him for his performance in front of everyone. Damien is insolent, and the coach reacts by making the entire team do a punishing drill again. But the relationship between his coach and Damien is murkier than it first appears, and Damien must find a way back to the surface.

Directed and written by Mattias Graham, this tensely evocative short drama captures the confused moments and emotions that occur in the aftermath of violation, especially in how it affects boys and young men. The narrative begins with the interweaving of two separate scenes -- Damien with his younger brother, and then at practice -- overlapping their sounds, motion and textures so that they're blended for both Damien and the viewer as he moves in and out of the water. They're both shot with a shadowy moodiness that's elegant and beautiful, but the musical score's drones add a sinister overtone that all is not what it seems.

There's an uneasiness from the beginning, which escalates as both scenes proceed, continuing to interweave with one another. Damien's reaction to his little brother's excitement at joining Damien's water polo club sparks an angry, aggressive reaction from the older sibling, which confuses them both. At practice, Damien incurs the wrath of his coach, which only sparks more hostility from Damien and then more retaliation from the coach.

While the events of the scenes seem ordinary, the emotional dynamic in each is volatile and intense, complicated by the fact that Damien can't say anything directly, either to his coach or to his brother. But thanks to the film's patient, precise storytelling, it becomes horribly clear how the two scenes are related and why Damien is so trapped in self-censorship.

Actor Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie deftly portrays the loving, connected older brother as well as the young man struggling to manage the weight of a terrible secret. But after a tender conversation with his brother, he summons the courage to resist in the only way he knows how -- though from the haunted moments after, we know he will likely bear the consequences for some time after.

Sensitive, beautifully crafted and resonant, BLEACH handles an agonizing subject matter with care, focusing on the aftermath and the way it affects relationships and lives. It makes its presence felt everywhere, like a pervasive threat, and even the smallest details can recall traumatic events as if they were happening again in the present. But what eventually gives Damien strength is the love he receives from his family at a vulnerable moment, releasing him from his prison of silence that traps many subjected to such ill use of trust and authority -- and giving him the courage to set himself free.