By: Henry J. Fromage –
Day 3 had a distinct European arthouse vibe, for good and ill, plus some other similar subjects and execution from further corners of the world.
818. Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
With a title like that, who could resist? This Indonesian genre flick extraordinaire from the mononymed Edwin does deliver on that promise, but not necessarily in the way you expect. Badass gang enforcer Ajo (Marthino Lio) is afraid of nothing but his own problems with sexual impotence, at least until he falls head over heels for the formidable bodyguard of his latest target, Iteung (a permed and pumped Ladya Cheryl). Come for the fish ninja prostitute assassin, stay for the surprisingly lovely romance and more phallic references than you a stick at. Two Beers.
819. Silent Land
This chilly European drama from debuting Polish director Aga Woszczyńska invokes the name of Michael Haneke in its press material, and it’s easy to see why when watching- this is severe, knotty, and even darkly funny stuff. A Polish couple vacationing in Italy are shaken by an incident in which a young laborer fixing the pool they demanded the homeowner make operational suffers a terrible accident. A bit like Force Majeure, the way they respond in those critical seconds is more telling than what they do for the entirety of the rest of the film, and the way they question and justify their own actions even more so. This won’t be the last you hear of Woszczyńska, that’s for sure. Two Beers.
820. Earwig
Auteur provocateur Lucile Hadžihalilović returns with this story of a sheltered little girl with ice cubes for teeth who is being raised by a stern, austere man who does not appear to be her father for purposes unknown. It’s the type of movie that opens with a mesmerizing 30 minute nigh dialogue-free stretch that you only notice when it breaks, and keeps the characters and their motivations a mystery for as long as possible. That will be longer than most would prefer, myself included (and I’ll leave it at that), but there’s no denying she’s created a strange, sinister world here unlike any you’re likely to have seen. Three Beers.
821. Lingui, The Sacred Bonds
The latest from Chadian director Mahamat-Saleh Haroun (whose Gris Gris I just watched and quite liked), this is his first film with female protagonists- and it’s a film in which the male POV is almost nonexistent, except as an oppressive force arrayed against our characters. Abortions are legal in Chad, but nigh impossible to actually procure (sound familiar?), and when Amina finds her 15 year old daughter Maria is pregnant, she at first opposes, then agrees to help her in her request to procure one, finding the help she needs when she must have it from other women in the community. Achouackh Abakar Souleymane in particular is great, and Haroun lovingly shoots the colors and textures of this land that is unfamiliar to many, while never losing sight of organic character development. Two Beers.
822. Encounter
This psychological/sci-fi drama from Michael Pearce stars Riz Ahmed as a veteran who may or may not be fighting the invasion of extraterrestrial parasites, who picks up his two boys from their mother and step-dad and informs them at first they are on vacation, and then later that they are on the run from some bad men. This doesn’t really go differently than you’d expect, but it’s the journey, not the destination, and Ahmed and young Lucian-River Chauhan and Aditya Geddada play excellently off each other (and Octavia Spencer is of course always a welcome presence). Also, Pearce keeps the pacing tight and the tension ratcheting up quite well. Two Beers.
823. Inexorable
Fabrice du Welz put his name on my director’s “just watch it” list with Alleluia, and here he returns with another chilly Belgian thriller. This one stars Benoit Poolevord (also from du Welz’s Adoration, and somewhat ironically considering certain plot points of this film, Man Bites Dog) as a revered author who moves with his rich wife and editor and their daughter to her ancestral castle. A mysterious young woman (Alba Gaïa Bellugi, appropriately terrifying) begins to weasel herself into their good graces and soon is serving as a nanny/only friend to the daughter and her big fluffy white dog. She has a clear obsession with the author, though, and there’s clearly something more to their relationship. This goes admirably bloody &/nuts in the end, with a birthday dance sequence for the ages and some well-earned comeuppances to boot. Two Beers.
824. Murina
Martin Scorcese executive produced (aka, put his name on to help sell) this Croatian film from feature length rookie Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović is about a young woman named Julija (Gracija Filipović) who is grating against her domineering (tour) boat captain father and meeker mother as she tries to establish her womanhood. When an old, millionaire friend of her father and mother’s shows up (a dangerously charming Cliff Curtis), their already strained balance is thrown of yet further. This is family drama like a thriller, building unbearably to an inevitable boiling point. It’s easy to see why Scorcese took an interest- this is bravura filmmaking. Two Beers.
