If someone important to you got up and left you at the doorstep and never came back, how would that affect you emotionally? The worst part about that is, you never knowing why that person left you. Do you want to see why that reason was?  Sometimes it is best to never know because the truth may be the most painful thing in the world.  But, finding closure to it all may be the only cure. A White Bird in a Blizzard expunges on the exact details of the truth behind the theme of abandonment. This film is a hidden gem. It has been on my Netflix list for over 18 months, and I am happy that I gave it a chance because it is phenomenal. This film is an art house dramatic thriller with compelling performances from Eva Green and Shailene Woodley. Moreover, the cinematic theme of abandonment proves to show that physically and emotionally abandoning yourself or your closest relationships can severely damage yourself and others around you; and the only way to overcome that abandonment is to find the truth no matter how hard it is.

The logline states:

“When 17-year-old Kat Conners’s mom, Ever, vanishes, the teen relishes her newfound freedom – until the reality of her loss sets in.”

In this film, Kat (Shailene Woodley) is a victim of her mother’s (Eva Green) sudden disappearance when she was just only 17 year’s old. This is a film about a young girl finding her mind, body, soul, sexuality, and youth while the mother deals with her own aging and yearning for her youthfulness. The mother, played by Eva Green, was once an attractive, wild, crazy girl, who marries an uneventful man and becomes a domesticated housewife, only to find that she is unfulfilled with everything in her life. Through a series of flashbacks, this film displays the character arch of the mother from a happy young lady to a disgruntled housewife with significant issues. When the film takes place in real time, we see how Kat deals with her mother’s disappearance for three years.

As Kat and Eve grow older together, they begin to reject who they are on the inside and then soon to become estranged from their mother-daughter relationship.

Abandonment represents the core of human fear. If that is something you would like to explore, then go and watch this film. This is because each day, people everywhere get to the point where life has left them on a doorstep or has thrown them away. The central core of this recurring theme in the film is about the loss of love itself and the severe loss of feeling connected with someone, which involves betrayal and loneliness.

Shailene Woodley’s performance is very engaging, and from the opening scene to the ending credits, I was on her side the whole time. She has this great voice that makes her narration of the story very welcoming, giving the film a calm but yet edgy tone. Eva Green stole the show with her performance, making her character relevant by bringing more and more curiosity to the viewer throughout the story in each scene that she appeared in.

This film has a lot of unique twists and turns and is very unpredictable. I guarantee you will be shocked by the ending. You will be taken through an “odyssey” of the human psychological development of dealing and overcoming abandonment.

When you watch this film, you will understand the psychological pain that abandonment brings to human beings.  This film is relatable to anyone because neglect is a universal wound. It makes heartbreak painful and shows why separation causes such anxiety because losing a friend, lover, job causes our self-esteem to go on a downfall. It also causes you to feel unworthy and not being able to belong in anyone’s life, leaving you powerless in your own life. The wounds cut deep, and that is why unresolved abandonment is the primary derivative of self-sabotage.

That is why you absolutely need to watch this film to find out how Kat overcomes her abandonment by finding the truth because the most painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said or explained.