You Won’t Be Alone is a delightfully odd low-budget film about a witch who just wants to live a normal life. Nevena was turned into a witch as a baby. Her mother, fearing that the witch would take her, hides Nevena in a cave. Nevena will spend the first 16 years of her living in this cave in isolation. Eventually, the witch returns for Nevena and takes her out of the cave. Although Nevena appreciates her newfound freedom, she doesn’t want to be a witch. The witches in this movie have the power to take the form of a corpse. Nevena will make three transformations in this movie. We get to watch her learn about human nature from three different perspectives by living as a young woman, a young man, and a little girl. Will she be able to assimilate and have a normal life, or will the hatred toward witches be her demise?

This is a trigger warning! There is a bit of nudity and sex. The movie also deals with abuse, both emotional and physical. If any of these topics trigger you, do not watch this movie.

This movie does a fantastic job of creating an engaging narrative by piecing together different stories. I loved how each Nevena focuses on different aspects of human life based on the assumed perspective. For each version of Nevena, she finds different objects of importance that help her grow as a person. A lot of the narrative exists within her childlike observations. She grew up away from society, so she finds intrigue in everything. This innocent curiosity is a great driving force for the narrative. It is through Nevena’s innocence that we get a lot of important criticism about human nature. 

The only complaint I have is that this movie is with the pacing. This movie is a slow burn, and it is going to be an issue for most people. This movie is also a bit unrefined because of its budget. It is not unwatchable, but it is difficult to ignore. There is some awkward camera work and a few of Nevena’s reactions get tedious. If you can get past these flaws, it is a solid movie. If you can get past the issues, this movie proves that you don’t need a hefty budget of name-brand actors to tell an interesting story. 

This is an Armenian film with some awkwardly translated subtitles. Not unintelligible, but award at points. If you don’t mind the budget and pacing, this is a good way to spend two hours. This movie fills a certain niche, and it won’t be for everyone. This movie is also very quiet. Nevena never learned to speak, a lot of her communication is through gesticulation. The movie does a fantastic job at combining Nevena’s non-verbal communication with a contemplative internal monologue to create a powerful narrative. If you are interested, you can stream it on Peacock.