Fresh off the stratospheric success of Brat, it was perhaps a surprise to some of her fans when they learned that Charli XCX quietly filmed her first acting role in Poland last year, especially for a film as small and low-key as Erupcja (the Polish word for, you guessed it, “eruption”). One wonders if Erupcja would exist at all without her involvement or have had the same kind of buzz at TIFF had it starred someone unknown.
But here it now exists, with Charli front and centre as a young Brit named Bethany who goes to Warsaw with her affectionate boyfriend Rob (Will Madden) in tow just as a volcano erupts nearby and prolongs their stay when volcanic ash makes flying conditions unsafe. Little does Will know however that Bethany has a local acquaintance—well, more than an acquaintance, it turns out. They have met several times before, have partied and fooled around and clung to the particles of time together before parting ways again and returning to ordinary life. Except Bethany has not kept in touch, and so her old flame—a florist named Nel (Lena Góra)—is not exactly pleased to see her again. At first.
The metaphor central to Erupcja is indeed that of volcanic eruption and how its heat, violence and brevity mirrors the emotional sparks and turmoil that Bethany and Nel experience when they come together and then drift apart. But it’s also revealed to be a narrative device, for, according to Bethany, every time she crosses paths with Nel, a volcano erupts and makes the news. Serendipitous coincidence or cosmic destiny? Whatever it is, Bethany does not feel the same explosive intensity with Rob, and when she begins ignoring his concerned voicemails as she spends more and more time with Nel and he’s unable to propose to her as he had planned, the consequences of playing fast and loose with the love game at the expense of others gives the film an unexpectedly plaintive tinge.
Erupcja’s main strengths do lie in its emotional counterbalances and the way it does not judge its characters but takes them on their own terms. They are believable creations in that they all want something different from life, and we recognize being in their situations ourselves, whether in Bethany’s free-spiritedness, Nel’s complacency or Rob’s need for stability. As the film is but a mere 70 minutes, we unfortunately do not get a fuller portrait of these people, and there is only so much quirk and colour Pete Ohs can add aesthetically and non-diegetically (such as an unidentified Polish man narrating with peak European deadpan) to liven things up a bit more to make up for some of the missing pieces.
At the very least, there is Charli, who acquits herself to this first acting gig like a natural, breathing a rebelliousness and vulnerability into Bethany as though she had been acting for years already. She holds the film in her palm until you “fall in love again and again” and can’t wait for the next script to show up at her door.
Erupcja had its world premiere at TIFF in the Centrepiece programme on September 4, 2025.
The Lonely Film Critic 