By Andrew Moore
Nothing is as far away as one minute ago, said one man. If that’s the case then it must feel like an eternity since last I here writing about the 9th Belfast Film Festival. Last year’s festival brought some of the best films I had the utmost pleasure of watching in 2009, and one can only hope this year’s is no different. To kick off the event (for myself as I am aware the festival was on to its third day by this stage) was a trip to Belfast’s wonderful Queen’s Film Theatre for two films arguably quite similar yet poles apart in their underlying themes. First up the latest film from Brazilian director Heitor Dhalia, simply titled, Adrift (A Deriva)
Making its world debut at Cannes last year, Adrift is set against the beautiful backdrop of a seaside coast in Brazil, fourteen year-old Filipa is spending her vacation at Búzios with her father, Mathias (Vincent Cassel), her alcoholic mother, Clarice (Debora Bloch), and her two younger siblings in their beach house. When Filipa feels that the relationship of her parents is deteriorating, she snoops in her father’s office, revealing secrets you dare not wish any child to ever have to find out.
The film is not like any of the Hollywood gaffe I have had to endure of late, giving a moving, provocative dissection on family life. Watching the film’s events unfold mainly from the viewpoint of eldest child, Filipa, was a brilliant decision from the director as it presented the circumstances of the story in such a clear cut, black and white manner. Yet as anyone over the age of 18 would know, life is never quite as simple as a man cheating on his wife and therefore the wife simply packing her bags and leaving him forever. The beauty of Adrift was how it slowly unravelled the events and circumstances as to why Mathias and Clarice’s marriage crumbles apart.
The acting certainly lent to the elegance of the feature, with Vincent Cassel in possibly his most intimate and personal role since L’Appartement, portraying the woes and joys of a married man beautifully. From the in-house domestics with his wife to the undying love and devotion he displays for his children he was simply brilliant. Debora Bloch was equally brilliant in the role of his wife Clarice, initially displayed to the audience as a broken, alcoholic, housewife her story becomes clearer as the film progresses.
Arguably the stand-out performance must go to young Laura Neiva in the role as Filipa, for essentially being the audience’s eyes and ears to the entire events, and it was fascinating seeing how the actions involving her parents rubbed off on her in a social context with her friends and would-be boyfriend who pops up from time to time. Her coming-of-age journey, shedding of her innocence was another real vocal point of the narrative which was as enriching to experience as the story between her two parents.
Perhaps one of the more unusual features of the film was the director’s attempt to tease the audience with the possibility a family tragedy bigger than the destruction of a marriage was set to unfold, whether this was needed or took away from the beautiful drama unfolding before my eyes is another matter for when I watch the film on DVD down the line.
I have obviously already mentioned how sincerely beautiful the film looked, as well as the amazing cinematography but I think these striking, uplifting images were enhanced by the moving piano score from Antonio Pinto. Now if I could just find it on CD somewhere then I’d be really in business…
Final Thoughts
A simple yet elegant drama displaying the complexities of family life. Though it – perhaps unjustly – teases that something more profoundly tragic may unfold, maybe there is nothing more tragic in a child’s eyes than watching his/her parents simply grow apart and lose their love for one another. A refreshing experience in the light of all the mainstream tosh I’ve suffered through lately.
[rating:4/5]
After a quick break, and once again indulging my love for wine gums, the dark clouds start to gather as I sit myself down to watch Dogtooth.
As briefly mentioned in the introduction, Dogtooth is slightly similar to the previous movie in that its a story about family. However that’s essentially where the comparisons end, as this feature was a different beast altogether. The second film from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos and winner of the Prix Un Certain Regard at Cannes last year.
Dogtooth tells the story of a married couple and their three kids living at the outskirts of a city. There is a tall fence surrounding the house. The kids have never been outside that fence. They are being educated, entertained, bored and exercised in the manner that their parents deem appropriate, without any influence from the outside world. They believe that the airplanes flying over are toys and that zombies are small yellow flowers. Sounds a bit mental surely, but could easily be considered quite quirky. As expected though all is not quite as it seems.
From the opening scene, Dogtooth is quite a harsh film, the house the family occupy is quite barren inside, completely void of any real emotion, which is certainly amplified by the rather odd sex scene between the son – none of the children are ever named – and the family’s only outside visitor, a security guard named Christina.
Its a strange film in many ways, because it features some truly sinister moments, including brutal violence (ever fancied seeing someone be bludgeoned to death with a VCR? No? This is the movie for you) and unspeakable acts of incest, seriously grim. However that isn’t to say the film doesn’t have these peculiar scenes of dark comedy, because it does, but due to the absolutely horrid nature of the darker scenes you almost feel bad to laugh or even crack a smile. Such scenes as one of the daughters reacting to viewing a video of the film Rocky for the first time – never doubt the power of cinema my friends – or the same daughter wanting to name herself Bruce, as she never had a name to begin with.
The performances of the three children (well I say children, they’re all easily in their mid/late 20s) were truly absorbing, and shows how easily a parent’s influence can mould a child’s mind if you cut them off from the outside world. It was a fascinating insight, what may seem completely obscene to any right minded individual seems perfectly normal to these people, because they have no other influence like television, litrature or a free press to say otherwise.
That however doesn’t quite justify the actions of the father in the family whose characteristics bared an uncanny similarity to Josef Fritzl (and will no doubt suffice til the inevitable bio-pic). He was quite an interesting person to analyse, you could argue (I don’t for the record) he wasn’t intentionally evil, just a man who was so terrified at the thought of his children having minds of their own, he would tear them away from the outside world and create this completely warped reality. He thrived on having that control and went to great lengths to attain it.
Final Thoughts
Dogtooth is one of these films similar to Gasper Noe’s and Lar Von Trier’s best work that challenges film audiences with scenes that are designed to shock and disgust, and the director performs his duties beautifully. The characters, the home, the outside environments are almost as ambiguous as the infuriating ending, which will no doubt leave audiences speculating for long after. I would urge everyone who yearns boundary breaking, extreme cinema to see this as soon as possible! Absolutely masterful.
[rating:4.5/5]
The beautiful people at Sugahfix.com are inviting everyone to come along and watch the John Hughes classic, Pretty In Pink.Click here to buy online www.belfastfilmfestival.org
Sugahfix.com Northern Ireland’s No. 1 online guide to fashion, beauty, entertainment and style celebrates its 2nd birthday with a special screening of 80s cult classic ‘Pretty in Pink’ as part of the Belfast Film Festival in Belfast coolest new venue SLIDE 10a Ann Street.
Dress up in your finest ‘New Wave’ 80s gear or your favourite 80s prom dress – backcombing and beehives are optional!
Frock Around The Clock vintage fair will create a mini time portal – going back to the 80s with display of 80s fashion, accessories and memorabilia, Kelly McLean from Ashby hair and make-up artist Claire McEvoy will be on hand to create essential 80s looks.
Prize ballot in aid of NI Breast Cancer charity Pretty ‘N’ Pink.
DJ’s and Dancing to a classic 80s soundtrack follows the screening.
Click here to buy online www.belfastfilmfestival.org
As the home grown stars and press descend upon Belfast’s Black Box to witness the launch of the city’s 10th Film Festival, running from 15th – 30th April, as a genuine lover of all things cinema, you can’t help but be elated how the event has transformed over the past decade.
Starting originally as a small element within the west of the city the has now become a main cultural fixture in the Northern Ireland calendar. Belfast might be an ever changing city, but what has not changed is its everlasting love affair with the cinema.
Lord Mayor of Belfast, Naomi Long, commented: “The Belfast Film Festival has grown to become a flagship annual event in the city’s calendar. It promotes our city and its people on both an international and national stage, and its reputation for innovation and creativity is widely regarded. The city of Belfast is extremely proud of these achievements and we look forward to the 20th, 30th and 40th birthday celebrations and beyond.”
The BFF once again continues to showcase the filmmaking talent coming out of Northern Ireland, with world premieres of locally made productions such as Empire – a film set in Belfast, shot over three years on a zero budget and loosely based on the Greek myth of Orpheus.
Other premieres include Five Day Shelter, starring BAFTA nominated John Lynch, a highly visual drama interweaving the lives of several characters in a contemporary urban setting over five days.
While indie cinema fans, of the weird and wonderful, are bound to be excited by Colin McIvor’s directorial debut, Cupcake, which tells the tale of a man who inherits his parent’s bakery which promises to be a visual feast for all the senses.
Serving as a reminder to the past is the imaginative Mickey B, a feature film adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, made with serving prisoners as cast, in Northern Ireland’s infamous maximum security prison HMP Maghaberry.
An eccentric range of innovative filmic events once again dominate the programme, including a screening of Stephen Sommers’ modern B-Movie hit, Deep Rising, while the audience sail down the River Lagan. The John Hughes 80s masterpiece, Pretty in Pink, shown in Belfast nightclub Slide. A workshop presented by BBC presenter, William Crawley, dissecting the ‘anatomy’ of the legendary 1957 courtroom epic, 12 Angry Men directed by Sidney Lumet, as well as, screening an episode from the cult 60s TV show, The Prisoner, inside the First Church of Christ which will be followed by a discussion on the importance of architectural heritage in Belfast.
Opening the BFF will be the UK/Irish premiere of Triage, starring Colin Farrell as war photographer Mark Walsh while closing this year’s festivities is the UK premiere of Tetro, the latest film from the institutional Francis Ford Coppola – also his first original screenplay since The Conversation.
In partnership with the Shruti Foundation and Lady Rana, the BFF will also have in attendance, Shyam Benegal – one of India’s most highly regarded filmmakers – who will give a public lecture at the Great Hall in Queen’s University on 22nd April. Two of his films Zubeidaa and The Making of the Mahatma are set to be screened.
Greenberg starring Ben Stiller will also be shown at the festival...
One of the most appealing prospects of the festival, for most of the public, is the vast range of high profile productions set to screen over the 16 day programme including Noah Baumbach’s – screenwriter of The Life Aquatic, Fantastic Mr Fox and The Squid and the Whale - Greenberg, starring Ben Stiller, the Russian made Tsar – a film about the 16th Century Ivan the Terrible – as well a showing of Paul Schrader’s – screenwriter of Taxi Driver – Adam Resurrected, the quirky black comedy Dogtooth, the powerful Vincere – based on the life of Bentio Mussolini’s first wife, Ida Dalsar – the visually spectacular Japanese feature Symbol amongst many others.
The BFF also hopes to break the boundaries of offering audiences some visual treats mixing the sights of modern and classic cinema with contemporary sounds of performers such as Denmark’s Efterklang and the USA’s Wooden Shjips.
As a way to support the increasing numbers of aspiring filmmakers, writers and producers in Northern Ireland and their thirst to know more about ‘the business’. Organisers have set up a two day seminar called Northern Exposure = Deal Closure. The event will bring in key London sales agents, distributors, producers and literary talent agents for a series of four industry-focused panel sessions and discussion groups. Confirmed panellists include BAFTA nominee Tony Grisoni (Red Riding Trilogy), Robin Gutch (producer Warp X), Hilary Davis (Banksdale Films), Stephen Murphy (Optimum Releasing) and Nick Marston (Curtis Brown Agency) plus more.
Full information on tickets and the programme in its entirety is now available on the official Belfast Film Festival website at http://www.belfastfilmfestival.org.
