Turns out the critics were right.
Just to get this out of the way: I have no idea if I will See Everything in one of these dispatches. It’s rough enough trying to fit in 3 hours, more so when it’s not part of a festival. Hopefully I can avoid spoilers before then. All my social obligations should be taken care of now (with apologies to Half if I don’t get around to it) so I’m also hoping to get in at least one 5 film day before this ends. Sorry for slacking, and thank you to my lovely friends Steven, Jared and Max for their respective parties. La Bola Negra thoughts will be on Letterboxd as soon as Netflix puts it in Philly.
Iron Boy (Louis Clichy): B/B+
Exceedingly lovely. Gorgeous watercolor animation will be the star of the show; I really loved the way character’s facial expressions are drawn and especially the quick-motion gags and tilts (heh) into fantasy. Was surprised to learn that Clichy has mainly been an animator on 3D CGI films before – most notably WALL-E – not so much so to learn he did actually wear a back brace when he was 10 like main character Christophe; it really feels autobiographical but strangely not very specific. It’s not really about disability so much (though it does make you appreciate the ADA a whole lot) and follows a relatively typical coming-of-age path to the story, though I do appreciate only a few period markers that probably stand out more to the French. The voice cast is uniformly excellent though, and the animation really is so beautiful that it’s worth a watch. Easy to see why this won Jury Prize at Un Certain Regard.
Fatherland (Paweł Pawlikowski): B-/B
Dunno if I’ve underrated this one. Handsomely crafted for sure, with a great Sandra Hüller performance as Erika Mann (daughter of famous writer Thomas Mann), and like Cold War, Pawlikowski manages to get in and get out without overstaying his welcome. I found it faintly boring at times, especially in the back half once the Manns go to Eastern Germany, perhaps because I was expecting more tension between father and daughter on the outset (potential title meaning?) There’s some interesting political themes towards the beginning when you realize just how recently the Holocaust has ended; when Erika slaps her ex-husband Gustaf Gründgens, he was literally close friends with Hermann Göring and probably actively contributed to the Nazis. Other talk about the split between communism and capitalism as Germany looks towards a future as well as Thomas Mann’s own centrist position is fertile ground, which somewhat gets disturbed by the suicide of his son Klaus, a thing I somehow forgot was a plot point. I don’t necessarily think it’s a problem of unfamiliarity either with the characters or real life, but the drama and angst never materializes quite enough for me to generate much heat or ardor. Can’t say yet if this is the best Hüller of the year until I see Rose.
All Of A Sudden (Ryusuke Hamaguchi): A
Talk about a relevant title: it even shows up immediately this time! Honestly I was a bit surprised by how much I loved the dynamic between Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto; credit to Hamaguchi as well who somehow managed to make a scene consisting of what amounts to a 15-minute lecture on a whiteboard feel riveting, not to mention the walk-and-talks that don’t call attention to themselves, or the scenes that start out in near total darkness before slowly becoming brighter as the sun rises (which never failed to wow me). I think what makes it work for me is that it feels like genuine conversations about Marxism and inequality, working through what it means to try and work towards a utopian ideal when there’s so much systemic and material pressure pushing down against you from almost all angles. And of course, it winds up incredibly moving when the inevitable terminal cancer finally emerges. Part of you wishes for the impossible to happen and it’s a credit to all that that doesn’t feel like a stupid want so much as a lament. Easily among the best films I’ve seen at fest so far, and sure to be among the year’s finest.
