Rowan Sullivan, Author at FilmRoot

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Wallay (Burkina Faso) – Open Your Eyes to Life in Burkina

Wallay Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

How many times have you thought about what your life would be like if you were born in a different country or even in a different era? You may romanticize about life in the past, but in reality, even if you were a king you’re quality of life would be incomparable to what it is now. In Wallay young Ady is taken to stay with his family in Burkina Faso. It’s a completely different world to the one he is used to in France but he walks around like a spoiled brat until he realises that his holiday is permanent.

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Why Watch Wallay?

You want to see what life is like in Burkina Faso
If you love great coming-of-age stories (perfect for fans of Hunt for the Wilderpeople)
If you love seeing arrogant and annoying kids get disciplined
To support great African film (to ensure more of it gets made in the future)

Breakdown

Wallay starts with a 13 year old boy in France writing a letter to a girl. The image of a sweet 13 year old is quickly dispelled as the next scene shows him buying some new trainers off of the Parisian black market and getting told off by his dad when he returns home.

So, how does his dad properly discipline him? His dad takes him to spend some time with his family in small town Burkina Faso. What young Ady doesn’t realise is that this is not just a holiday. His father leaves him and he is forced to help his strict uncle work to repay him for the money he stole from his dad.

At the beginning, Ady walks around Burkina still surrounded in his materialist glass house symbolised by his Beats headphones and smartphone. He seems to wear a necklace of the African continent for fashion and not because of his roots. But as he is forced to pay back the money he stole he slowly opens up to life in Burkina Faso and discovers the treasure that is his cultural heritage.

Conclusion

Ady is spoiled. Not in the sense that he was well off, but because he lives in an economically developed country with luxuries that he (like a lot of us) all take for granted. In Burkina Faso, he learns he has been lucky to have grown up in France whilst also discovering the beauty of his Burkinabe roots.

362

Lebanon Factory – A Kaleidoscopic View of Lebanon

Lebanon Factory Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

How much do you know about Lebanon? Lebanon Factory will give you a taster of life across the country. From Beirut to the Lebanese countryside watching this film is your cheap ticket to seeing Lebanon.

Why Watch The Lebanon Factory?

To experience Lebanon from a collection of 4 different perspectives in 4 short films
See what kind of films are made by pairs of native and foreign directors (each of these 4 films were made by pairs of directors – one from Lebanon and another from elsewhere)
For an Octupus cruelty scene that matches that famous one in Oldboy

The Breakdown

Lebanon Factory is made up of 4 short films. First up was a dark comedy featuring a rookie cop on his first shift under a bridge late at night. It doesn’t look like an area you’d pick to hang out. There’s some shady deals going on between motorbike owners, there’s a few gang members, and one old man that keeps jumping off the bridge (unsuccessfully trying to commit suicide).

The next three films were about a conman, a group of guys trying to emigrate to the EU, and a crazy middle aged man living in rural Lebanon. It’s a good mix of films and will give you a bit of a feel for life in Lebanon.

Although each film was made by different directors, there are still a few things in common with the four movies. Firstly, you’ll notice the stubbornness and loudness of the main characters. Secondly you’ll also see that most of the characters hate Lebanon and their lives. This is reflected in the old man that keeps jumping off the bridge and cursing God and the country when he survives. In the other films there’s the guys trying to emigrate and also the hotel owner that curses the bigger hotel owner that is destroying his hotel.

Conclusion

Through the four short stories you get an idea of life in Lebanon. There’s a lot of passion, but not the romantic passion you’ll see in Hollywood movies. But even though the characters are not enjoying life in Lebanon there’s obviously a lot of life in the country.

363

Mimosas (Morocco) – Travel Through the Desert, Mountains, and Time

Mimosas Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

Mimosas is a film of epic journeys. There’s Ahmed and Said who are attempting to guide a Sheikh and his caravan across the Moroccan mountains. Secondly there’s the magical journey of Shakib who travels time to guide Ahmed to a more honourable life. Check out a spoiler free trailer below (I’ve deliberately cut the length).

Why Watch Mimosas?

If you’re thinking of going to Morocco but aren’t sure if the scenery is beautiful enough (you’re wrong)
To go on an epic journey through the mountains reminiscent of Lawrence of Arabia or Lord of the Rings and an awesome scene with taxis riding across a desert like Mad Max
It won Critic’s Week at Cannes in 2016
Get lost in time as the past and present meet

The Breakdown

Mimosas starts with a few shots of graffiti on a wall of a castle and garden before switching to a few shots of the mountains. As you’ll see later in the film, the graffiti alludes to the modern world (the present) whilst the mountains provides the setting for the past.

After a screen wipe (a blank shot) we are introduced to Ahmed and Said, two guides helping a dying Sheikh to cross the mountains. They are all wearing traditional clothes and half of them are on horseback. These scenes of Ahmed and Said seem to be from at least hundred years ago, probably more.

In contrast, we enter another world in a Moroccan town bordering the mountains (probably the place where the graffiti from the opening scene was shot). It’s here we meet Shakib, preaching about creation fervently to a group of men. It’s present day, evident from the cars and clothing. He’s picked out by one of the head workmen to go with him for an important job: to go into the mountains, find Ahmed and keep him safe.

It’s in his journey into the mountains and meet up with Ahmed that he magically crosses from the present into the past.

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Conclusion

Who is Shakib? And how did he seem to travel time? Is he a prophet? Mimosas depicts the epic journey of Said and Ahmed which is suddenly surpassed by the epic journey of Shakib. You’ll be actively involved in this film as you try to piece together the gaps.

364

Three Lives and Only One Death (France) – Enter a Dream World+

Three Lives and Only One Death Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

Do you want to get lost in reality? Try watching Three Lives and Only One Death. It follows Marcello Mastroianni as a character that spans a few storylines in and around Paris. At times the story lines seem normal, but before long you’ll realise that they are just illusions. See if you can find your way around Raul Ruiz’s world – free to watch here on YouTube.

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Why Watch Three Lives and Only One Death?

If you like your films mysterious (think David Lynch or Ingmar Bergman)
For Marcello Mastroianni in one of his last roles (the great actor from La Dolce Vita, Divorce: Italian Style, and many more)
To question your own reality
You can watch it here on YouTube

The Breakdown

A narrator that looks like a late night news anchor starts the film. As he starts narrating about a man who wakes up because of a baby crying, we see the man he is talking about. The narrator tells us that the man has a headache and goes to the pharmacy, and then, as if controlled by the narrator, the man on screen does the same.

In the pharmacy queue, another man starts talking to our protagonist. It starts off like the normal expected small talk before becoming much more unnerving for our protagonist. This stranger reveals that he knows exactly where this man lives, who he is, and who his wife is. Our protagonist wants to get away from him but the man offers him a lot of money just to sit down and chat with him.

From then on, it gets even weirder. The man reveals that he was the previous husband of our protagonists wife. He tells him he didn’t disappear for 20 years but rather lost 20 years of his time watching these little fairies (yes that wasn’t a typo). He even takes our protagonist into another room to show him these fairies. At this point the camera goes completely red and zooms in and out to disorientate us. Where are we? And what is real? Only the director Raul Ruiz knows!

Conclusion

You’ll experience a lot more of the unnerving world that Raul Ruiz has created if you watch the full film. There’s plenty of things to throw you off. Just like in the great David Lynch and Ingmar Bergman films you’ll be questioning a lot by the end of this film, but it is a great ride!

365

Beauty and the Dogs (Tunisia) – One Victim Against the Police

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Beauty and the dogs Film Difficulty Ranking:3

Beauty and the Dogs is one traumatic roller coaster ride. There’s no respite from the very first cut and once you’ve strapped in you have to watch until the end of the ride.

From: Tunisia, Africa
Watch: Trailer, Amazon Buy
Next: Irreversible, The Insult, Dogville