About Menarca
By Léo Soesanto
Menarca is a biting film on every level, a reinterpretation of the myth of the vagina dentata ("the toothed vagina") and a welcomed feminist call to arms. The poison of toxic masculinity threatens Nanã and Mel, who are saved by a fish and a woman: Lillah Halla’s perfect high-wire act between the magic realism of a fairytale and a realistic, stifling atmosphere (ageless, though it echoes present-day Brazil) infers the very essence and turns up the heat before the punk explosion finale.
