Review: 'The Magic Life of V'

‘The Magic Life of V’

★★★1/2

Playing in the World Cinema Documentary competition of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Running time: 87 minutes; in English, and Finnish with subtitles. Next screening: Saturday, Jan. 26, 6 p.m., Salt Lake City Library Theatre, Salt Lake City; Sunday, Jan. 27, 3 p.m., Redstone Cinema 7, Park City; Thursday, Jan. 31, 9 a.m., Park Avenue Theatre, Park City; Friday, Feb. 1, noon, Holiday Village Cinemas 2, Park City.

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Demons come in all forms, and the subject of “The Magic Life of V,” Tonislav Hristov’s moving documentary, has some big ones to slay.

Hristov introduces Veera, a young Finnish woman, at a “Harry Potter”-themed role-playing event in Poland, where she dons her robes, colors her hair blue, and assumes her character, known simply as V. We soon learn that V is Veera’s all-purpose name for various live-action role-playing (or LARP) events.

LARP is not just a hobby for Veera, but an escape from her life back home in snowy Finland. She cares for her brother, Ville, who suffered brain damage as a toddler and is barely able to live independently. In conversations with Ville, and sessions with her therapist, Veera also reveals the biggest monster in her life: Her alcoholic father.

With tightly framed close-ups and an eye for minute detail, Hristov lets the audience study Veera’s face and movements as she reckons with the memories of a troubled childhood. He also shows how Veera, as V, uses LARP — ranging from military-style mutant hunting to foam-rubber swordplay — to build up the emotional armor she needs to conquer her adversity.