Directed by Jarmila Stukova, Martina Izingová was doused with acid by her ex-boyfriend causing third-degree burns to the upper half of her body and almost complete blindness. She copes with the loss of physical attractiveness and her search for a new meaning in life.
When acid attacks have become more and more common in recent years, it’s a perfect time to explore the bigger picture and the life for survivors. As well as the fact that it touches upon the relentlessly relevant topic of violence against women by their partners. While all these topics could be seen as highly politicised, Is There Any Place for Me, Please? doesn’t come from a place of outrage, it’s extremely personal. Jarmila Stukova does her utmost to show Martina Izingová in an honest and sensitive light.
Stukova gives Izingová a place to talk about her experiences and how she has found a new way of life after such a harrowing experience. To recount both the continuing struggle and surgeries that follow her, as well as how she is trying to start fresh, to find new passions and a new profession. The tone and style of the film closely matches that feel, it’s surprisingly soft and gentle, even though dealing with something so harsh, it finds the touching, intimate side of things.
Although, it does feel like there were avenues that Is There Any Place for Me, Please? only briefly touches upon that had more to add to the conversation. In particular, it spends a disappointingly short amount of time on how Izingová spreads awareness about acid attacks. It makes clear that she’s involved in activism around it but never delves fully into it, which is surprising when it feels like such a vital aspect of her story.
Is There Any Place for Me, Please? is a moving look at life after such a traumatic attack, the mentality, pain and new discoveries that lie ahead. It’s an intensely personal point of view, exploring Martina Izingová’s ongoing struggle as well as her many attempts to create a new life and seek out new love. It’s very gentle and compelling but it feels as though it had the space to delve deeper, especially into the generosity of how she’s using her experience to help others.
FilmCarnage.com 