Majka "Chatterbox" is a girl entering adolescence. She was born with a minor disability. While her mother keeps scolding her for the way she walks, her classmates mock her and call her a "duck". Along an innocent first love affair and a secret friendship, she receives little understanding from her parents and lots of malice from her schoolmates. Majka finds refuge with her grandmother and in her own fantasy world.
Acting
Anetka Lakatošová's defiant silence speaks louder than any dialogue.
Direction
Solan frames childhood isolation like a horror film, minus the monsters.

Director
Peter Solan
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Anetka Lakatošová was a non-professional discovered in a Bratislava school; this remains her only film role.
Released during Czechoslovakia's 'Normalization' period, the film's subtle critique of institutional cruelty slipped past censors who missed the political metaphor in schoolyard bullying.
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