Closing Night plus the best films I saw.
A strange trend I’ve noticed as the fest wound down has been films that mix anachronisms and era signifiers into an almost alternate present day. Part of me wonders if it’s a way to get around having to deal with cell phones but – at least in the case of one – it seems more like trying to recreate the past in a way. I wouldn’t say I’m particularly bothered by it but it is curious.
Goodbye Cruel World (Félix de Givry): B/B+
Rather surprised me out of the gate with its direction, harkening back as the intros said to the French New Wave and the Lost Youth films of the proceeding decades (ie The 400 Blows). That may be a slight crutch given that you could see this being a YA novel if it had slightly worse voiceover provided by someone other than Françoise Lebrun. Givry also ends up writing himself into a corner by having so much time progress after his protagonist’s failed suicide attempt; as much as I do love the final shot itself, he steps into thorny emotional territory that can’t really square with the uplifting message it’s trying to go with. Milo Machado-Graner builds off his Anatomy of A Fall role by suitably brooding while Jane Beever provides a great foil in her first onscreen role. All are definitely talented, they should go on to great things.
Elephants In The Fog (Abinash Bikram Shah): B+
Went into this expecting something more dreamy and freeflowing so the actual narrative centering around a House Mother (as I suppose Pirati is) searching for her lost daughter was a bit of a surprise. The Kinnar were unknown to me and I appreciate the view into a community that on the outside can feel a bit like a cult with its severe restrictions on sex and intoxication but Shah does his best to render it as a true belief system that has a perilous balance with the rest of the community, and he explains as much as necessary so that we understand the difference between this Third Gender and being an actual woman. Towards the back half the misery starts to pile up, and I got disappointed as it verged into yet another Plight Of The Marginialized film focused more making the harsh realities and oppression of the System explicit rather than allowing the characters to really explore their own interpersonal struggles and the deeper conflicts within. Fully won back by the cathartic ending scene that pulls the title into full focus and functions just as well as a metaphor as it does an actual action. Elephants support trans rights!
The Debut (Jessie Eisenberg): B+/A-
Julianne Moore’s big showstopping scene with Paul Giamatti is going to be the talk of the town. It’s one of the things I’d heard beforehand and it’s always nice when one of those really lives up to the hype, down to the theater applauding her after. If you’ll forgive a little Oscar talk: she’s probably going to win and it would fully be justified, reminding us that she’s one of our best “bad” actors and cinematic criers, calling back to both Magnolia and Safe at once. The film around her is pretty sturdy too, granting her so many comedic opportunities and filled with small-town theater details that definitely resonated even for someone who’s only experienced the high school variety (the songs, all written by Eisenberg, sound exactly like what I’d imagine a middling Broadway musical to be). Although the other cast members get their own signature bits – my favorite being the Bowler Hats and the stupid joke after it – this is undeniably a two-hander at most. None of them really ever rise above pleasant support and it does take a bit to settle into the broadness and – dareisay – cringe aspects of the tone, despite it never being bad. Even if it’s never quite deep enough on a more macro level, I enjoyed it way more than I was expecting; as silly as it can get sometimes, Moore provides a solid anchor for emotion and it’s hard not to be charmed by the enterprise.
With that, we conclude coverage of this year’s fest. My count was 1 less than last year at 39 because I’m not including You Can See Everything eating up at least two slots. There were also a lot of longer films in general here: it’s the reason I couldn’t get around to My Undesirable Friends since that would have involved at least 6 hours over 2 days. I didn’t come away with any big surprises or revelations this year; no Blue Film or It Ends, although it’s very possible I missed something I’ll really love in the side sections, especially since the After Hours was quite difficult. Guess it’s a sign of maturing abilities that the surprises ended up being the ones I really hated and in their own ways it’s helpful. Didn’t crash early either unless you count the week before and accidentally missing one because of a party. The heavy hitters did hit like they should, and I’m glad they programmed something like Josephine in Centerpieces rather than a side section, which suggests programming has finally shifted to a newer generation. I will probably write about one or more of these when they get released over here as well as when I have to actually do a top 10 but as it stands, these were my 10 favorites:
- La Gradiva
- Everytime
- All Of A Sudden
- Possible Love
- Josephine
- Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother
- Paper Tiger
- Tender Loving Care
- Minotaur
- NAZA
