Cocoon Movie Review

『Confusion and Growth — The Warm Discovery of First Love』

🎥 Film Overview

🎬 Title: Cocoon (Kokon, 2020)
🌍 Country: 🇩🇪 Germany
🎞️ Genre: Drama / Coming-of-Age / Queer
📢 Director: Leonie Krippendorff

👩‍💼 Cast: Lena Urzendowsky – Nora
Jella Haase – Romy

🧩 In-Depth Story Exploration (Spoilers)

🌿 The Liberation of “Cocoon” Nora

Cocoon is an intimate yet universal story of the protagonist Nora and her physical, emotional, and sexual transformation. At 14, Nora doesn’t yet know who she truly is — a quiet observer hovering at the margins of the world.

• The metaphor of the title: Nora raises caterpillars in her room, watching their metamorphosis closely. These creatures symbolize Nora herself — quietly preparing for change, hidden from the world’s gaze. The film delicately captures her process of shedding her own “cocoon” and taking flight as a confident butterfly.
• The significance of the setting: The film is set in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district, around Kottbusser Tor (Kotti) — a space filled with multicultural energy and the rough texture of urban realism. This vibrant yet chaotic neighborhood visually mirrors Nora’s confusing but vital teenage experience.

🌹 The Savior in a Moment of Crisis

Nora’s encounter with Romy is deeply symbolic.

• Shame and kindness: When Nora unexpectedly experiences her first period during gym class and falls into shame, Romy calmly approaches her and offers a sanitary pad. In a moment when others respond with mockery or indifference, Romy’s quiet, practical compassion marks her as a savior in crisis for Nora.
• Solidarity among outsiders: While Nora lingers on the edges of her sister’s friend group as a quiet observer, Romy — a recent transfer student — stands out as a free-spirited outsider who resists social pressure. Their meeting allows both girls to build a safe, intimate world of their own, free from judgment.

🌾 Sensory Awakening

The connection with Romy ignites Nora’s inner world, breaking the static walls that had surrounded her life.

• Breaking boundaries: With Romy, Nora experiences sensations and adventures she’s never known before. She tries marijuana for the first time, explores unfamiliar corners of the city, and feels liberated from the heteronormative pressure her sister’s group imposes on her.
• Realization of sexual identity: Nora’s feelings for Romy grow beyond friendship into deep attraction and desire. Through close-up shots of skin, touches in the pool, and secret glances, the film captures Nora’s first waves of sexual awakening through a delicate female gaze. For the first time, Nora understands that she is drawn to girls.
• A safe space for confession: When Nora shows Romy her caterpillars, it symbolizes her revealing her most private and vulnerable self. Romy accepts this quietly “odd” hobby without judgment, assuring Nora that it’s safe to be authentic and that her uniqueness is not something to hide.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Fragility of the Relationship and Collision with Reality

Their bond burns bright like summer itself, yet its fragility is exposed by Romy’s complicated background and the pressures of teenage society.

• Romy’s ambiguity: Though Romy opens new horizons for Nora, she is not yet fully grounded in her own identity. Romy’s interactions with boys evoke jealousy and confusion in Nora. This duality teaches Nora that first love is rarely perfect or exclusive — it’s messy, human, and often painful.
• Separation as growth: Through her relationship with Romy, Nora establishes her sexual identity (lesbian/queer), but the relationship itself cannot last forever. Their separation, though painful, becomes a formative loss — a necessary step for Nora to continue her personal transformation and take flight on her own wings.

🦋 Nora’s Independent Flight as a Butterfly

The relationship with Romy serves as the catalyst for Nora’s emergence from her “cocoon.”

Romy is the first person to tell Nora, “You are enough,” and “It’s okay to see the world in your own way.” Even after their relationship ends, Nora is no longer the anxious, withdrawn girl she once was. Through Romy, she learns who she is and what she wants — gaining a solid sense of self that no longer wavers under outside scrutiny.

In the film’s final image, the butterfly breaking free from its cocoon and taking flight symbolizes that the true legacy of Romy’s presence is Nora’s liberation and independence. For Nora, Romy was not an eternal lover, but rather the key that unlocked her authentic self.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥♥♥
⭐ Overall Rating: ★★★★