By: Henry J. Fromage –
Films that debuted at Cannes and properties with Hollywood talent make up a good proportion of the last couple of days’ worth of viewing.
859. The Survivor
This may be the most Hollywood film available to U.S. reviewers on TIFF’s streaming platform, directed by Barry Levinson and starring recognizable faces like Ben Foster, Vicky Krieps, Peter Sarsgaard, John Leguizamo, Danny DeVito, and the born to be cast as an affable, diabolic Nazi Billy Magnusson. It at first appears to be mashing somewhat standard versions of a Boxing Drama and a Holocaust film in the story of Auschwitz survivor and professional boxer Harry Haft, but it has more interesting things on its mind than that – the morality of doing anything for survival and the attendant and unavoidable (and perhaps in some cases earned and necessary) survivor’s guilt, the walls one builds against that, and much more. Foster is simply superb in this role, which demands so much transformation and communication of repressed emotion- here’s hoping he finally earns recognition proportionate to his skill with this. Two Beers.
860. Unclenching the Fists
It’s not terribly surprising to see the name of Kantemir Balagov invoked in TIFF’s official description of this film, which won the Un Certain Regard Prize at Cannes (he co-wrote this film’s director’s (Kira Kovalenko) debut film Sofichka). Like Balagov’s Beanpole, Kovalenko’s second film here is another miserablist Russian drama full of difficult to parse or empathize with human behavior from its desperate, depressed characters. A girl with only later-specified health problems and an extremely controlling father seeks to get out of her blighted town in the Russian Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, be it through marriage or the help of her two brothers, one of whom has only recently returned from somewhere clearly healthier to live, or even the relinquishment of her father, who has health issues of his own. There’s no denying the power of the performances or Kovalenko’s eye for the small details of human connection, but there’s also no denying how goddamn bleak it all is, either. Four Beers.
861. Ali & Ava
Pretty much anything Clio Barnard gets up to these days is worth your time, and here she returns to the realist kitchen sink dramas that she started out doing – particularly The Selfish Giant– in this also Cannes-debuting story of an unlikely couple- Ava (Claire Rushbrook), a single working class mother and grandmother, and Ali (Adeel Akhtar), her landlord who is concealing the failure of his marriage from his family while his soon to be ex finishes her studies so she can move out and move on. Barnard and her actors keep things realistic in detail and emotion, letting their natural rapport and each characters’ (and actors’) innate likeability win us over and make us root for them despite their differences. Three Beers.
862. Three Minutes – A Lengthening
Bianca Stigter and Glenn Kurtz perform a minor miracle in resurrecting three minutes of footage of the Jewish community of the Polish town of Nasielsk, shot by his grandfather David on a trip there in 1938, just a year before the Holocaust cast its dark shadow across it. It’s remarkable that they could first identify the town, and then find still living people from the town and even the film itself to help fill in the stories of the people captured in it. Stigter’s film school by way of Herzog diversions (narrated by Helena Bonham Carter) didn’t work for me too well when she gets off subject, or tries to tie in tenuous thoughts with it, but those never take long and she and Glenn keep hold of the main thread- the way film keeps us in conversation with a past long gone, through time or shocking violence, or the combination of the two. Three Beers.
863. Together
This short film from Albert Shin announces its intentions very early on, but I won’t spoil them here. Two strangers meet at a seaside hotel in South Korea with a particular goal in mind, and we commune with them throughout the night as they get to know each other despite the unique and somewhat sad circumstances. Shin and his actors show great control and feeling, even if some of the logistics make you wonder. Two Beers.
864. True Things
Ruth Wilson gets to exercise some of those The Affair acting chops once more playing a government worker in a bit of a rut who hooks up with, then falls in love with an ex-con played by a bleach-blonde Tom Burke (who’s starting to corner the market on caddish English boyfriends representing the poor decision-making a female protagonist must overcome). Harry Wootliff keeps up a state of suspense with every poor decision the spiraling Wilson makes while he and she never make them any less than sadly believable. It’s not a new story, but Woodliff and Wilson sell you on this version of it quite well. Three Beers.
865. The Hole in the Fence
There’s an entire marketplace that runs at TIFF for distribution rights in Canada or even broader (the same thing happens at Cannes). These films aren’t necessarily for review, but for purchase, which means critics don’t usually get access to them, but Joaquin del Paso’s film, which already debuted to good reviews at prior film festivals like Venice, was made available- and it’s pretty great. The subject is a boys summer camp for the children of the elite of Mexico, children primarily of European descent, many of them little rich savages primed to carry on the centuries of oppression of their forefathers. A little bit Yorgos Lanthimos, a little bit Michel Franco, and a little bit Lord of the Flies, but with adults present and encouraging the social devolution, the satire rings both as a scathing indictment of Mexico’s racist & classist power structure (and so much of the world’s) and of the unique cruelty of preteen boys, which needs little encouragement. Two Beers.
866. Small Body
Laura Samani’s austere yet gorgeously rendered story of a young woman from northeastern Italy circa 1900 (which, except for some later-seen detail, could pass for circa 1500) who desires to travel to a remote church that has the power to resurrect her stillborn baby for just a moment so it can be baptized, named, and enter heaven instead of languishing forever in purgatory, was a hit at Cannes sidebar Critic’s Week festival. It’s easy to see why- this is an emotional story told with great skill and nuance by Samani and her actors- one whose impact lingers. Two Beers.
867. Srikandi
This short film is about a young girl who would like to follow in her late father’s footsteps as a shadow puppetmaster- she just needs to convince her mother. Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto does a nice job conveying the story in a straightforward yet beautifully shot manner. Three Beers.
868. The Future Isn’t What it Used to Be
There’s no denying that Adeyemi Michael has a strong eye for visuals and world-building. His vision of our world in 2080, ravaged by disease and climate change, is a sobering one. I just wish he had as meticulous an approach in his pacing and storytelling, as this short drags on to a finale that does provoke thought, if a little too late in my book. Four Beers.
869. Motorcyclist’s Happiness Won’t Fit Into His Suit
It’s really hard to characterize what Gabriel Herrera is trying to convey in this flashily shot, pretentiously subtitled film about a Latin American man and his motorcycle as it and he get progressively more pimped out. Perhaps he is a role-reversed conquistador atop his mighty steed, preparing to set out a-conquering. Whatever the case, he is goofy and glorious. Three Beers.
870. DUST BATH
This very short short from Canadian filmmaker Seth A Smith is an animated dialogue between a rooster and a hen (literally, subtitled clucks) about the great questions of existence, especially if you’re a chicken (for whom anxiety over life’s culmination being the centerpiece of a delicious meal weighs heavier than us culpable humans). Two Beers.
871. White Devil
Mariama Diallo and Benjamin Dickinson wrote, directed, and star in this short about a mixed-race couple (they’re married in real life, which adds some fascinating elements to this film) who start to chafe during the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests. Diallo’s general annoyance at Dickinson’s pretentious artsyness takes on a darker tone when he gets really into racial justice. But is he a clumsy white guy trying a bit uncomfortably hard, or is there something more sinister afoot (yes, there’s something more sinister afoot). This may not feel super-original, but there’s some genuinely creepy imagery here and it definitely keeps your attention. Two Beers.
872. Trumpets in the Sky
Rakan Mayasi demonstrates a beautiful and subtle touch in telling through carefully chosen sound and imagery and a minimum of dialogue the story of a momentous day in the life of a Syrian girl laboring in the farm fields of her current country of residence, Lebanon. The details all sing and the cumulative impact really sneaks up on you by the end, as simple as the story is. A Toast.
873. Nuisance Bear
This short was a good pairing with Trumpets in the Sky, even if the subjects and forms are quite different. Similarly Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden let their imagery and sound design speak for themselves in depicting the intermixing of polar bears in their annual migration with the human structures and population of Churchill, Manitoba. It’s both majestic and sobering to consider, and even a bit perverse. There’s a reason these images are so alien in their juxtaposition- these are two societies that should never meet. A Toast.
