Rob Munday

There are certain filmmakers who leave an immediate impression the first time you encounter their work. For me, Nienke Deutz is one such director. With a striking aesthetic that combines hand-built miniature sets with 2D animation printed on transparent sheets, Deutz employs a distinctive visual language to tell equally distinctive – yet widely relatable – stories about everyday human experience, particularly the transformations that accompany ageing.

In her earlier film, Bloeistraat 11, Deutz explored the transition of puberty and the ways it tests the bond between two girls. In her follow-up, The Miracle, she shifts her focus to middle age, following a single woman, Irma, on a luxurious holiday where her surroundings serve as a constant reminder of what she perceives herself to be “missing.”

While this situation – being a childless, single, middle-aged woman on holiday – is quite specific, Deutz draws out a broader universality through themes of dislocation, confusion, and loneliness. These emotions emerge from the experience of inhabiting a space in which one feels fundamentally out of place. The resort Irma visits is clearly designed for families or couples, and although this occasionally wears her down, the film ultimately moves toward a message of self-acceptance and compassion.

From a personal perspective, I find this particularly resonant. Despite being in a markedly different position – having been in a long-term relationship for over two decades and being a father of two – the film’s central insight remains accessible. It encourages a kind of attentiveness to one’s own life, an acceptance of what is, rather than a preoccupation with what might have been. There is an almost meditative quality to The Miracle, one that invites reflection and gratitude rather than regret or melancholy. That, to me, is a rare and valuable quality in a film – especially one that is also as visually engaging and thoughtfully crafted as Deutz’s work.