Rowan Sullivan, Author at FilmRoot

386

Persona (Sweden) – The Film World’s Mount Everest

Do you want to be a film connoisseur? Well you can’t be if you haven’t watched Persona. The film has been for film critics what climbing Everest is for mountaineers, it’s the peak of the film world.

Here’s a peek at the opening 5 minutes to weird you out before you read on.

Why Watch this Film?

If you want to see something mysterious. If Christopher Nolan’s Memento is level 1 mysterious film and David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive is level 2, Persona is level 3.
To move on from the early (and also brilliant) Bergman films such as Wild Strawberries – this time it’s less philosophy and more experimental
For some shocking and hilarious images – I’ll explain below!
To see the beautiful black and white cinematography – this film really stands the test of time (it could have been made yesterday)!

The Breakdown

Bergman disorientates us in the introduction to Persona. There’s a lot of noise as a small light slowly brightens. It’s a gas stove lighting in slow mo. As your concentrating on the slow-mo Bergman chucks in a still picture of a penis like a subliminal message – did you notice it in the clip above? From that point I knew this film would be unique.

I was not wrong. This film is an experience. The disorientating introduction continues with a bunch of shocking imagery such as a tarantula walking across the camera and a clip of someone hammering a nail into their hand.

Why does Bergman try and disorientate us? He disorientates us to disrupt our viewing pattern. He doesn’t want us to watch this relaxed, he wants us to be active viewers and to work hard trying to interpret the film. After the unsettling intro we are introduced to two women: a film star that doesn’t talk and a young nurse.

The nurse takes the film star to the country for treatment. Sounds normal, but it becomes quite the opposite. Alone in the countryside their characters start to merge. Are the two characters one? If so is the nurse fantasizing about being a nurse or is the film star examining her own psyche? Either way this film is a must watch!

Conclusion

What a film! If you love films that leave you dumbfounded or lost in thought Persona was made for you! It has been one of the most debated films in film history alongside Citizen Kane and has inspired the works of David Lynch among many others. If you want to consider yourself a film buff, you have to watch it!

387

Mustang (Turkey) – Sisterhood vs. the Turkish Patriarchy

Mustang Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

If you love coming-of-age films like I do then you will love this film. It has all the qualities of a classic family film but with a bit more grit. You’ll learn about the fierce patriarchy in Turkey and the freedom that girls lose when they become women. A nominee at Cannes and the Academy Awards go watch this – it’s on Amazon Prime.

As with most trailers, you’ll get spoilers after the first 30 secs.

Why Watch Mustang?

To experience what it is like growing up as a young girl in a patriarchy
It’s another great coming-of-age film (for more great coming of age films check out Colours of the Mountain, Kikujiro, or Girlhood)
If you have young kids or plan to have kids
Learn how important football is!

The Breakdown

“It’s like everything changed in the blink of an eye. One moment we were fine, then everything turned to shit”

In the blink of an eye, 5 sisters living in rural Turkey transformed from innocent kids into guardians of their families honour.

After school, instead of getting on the bus home, all of the sisters went to the beach with some of their fellow classmates. They all played together in the sea and had shoulder fights then stole some apples from a nearby orchard. A bunch of innocent fun. They are free.

But their freedom is curtailed by a gossiping neighbour who tells the girl’s grandma that they were rubbing their private parts on boys necks in the sea. And with that, their innocence is lost forever.

Conclusion

Mustang reminds me of the great kids films such as The Little Princess which keep you emotionally invested until the end of the film. However, this contains a bit more political weight. Director Deniz Gamze Erguven’s intention was to uncover to women issue in Turkey. A must watch!

388

Cries and Whispers (Sweden) – A Brutal Family Drama

Cries and Whispers Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

This is the ultimate malfunctioning family. One of the three sisters is dying, but the other two are preoccupied with their own lives. Watch this amazingly coloured film if you are looking for a brutal family drama. It’s not for the faint hearted!

Here’s three reasons to watch along with the film’s eerie soundtrack

Why Watch Cries and Whispers?

This is brutal family drama Shakespearean style
If you want to see a bit more from celebrated Swedish director Ingmar Bergman outside his big three (Seventh Seal, Persona, and Wild Strawberries)
For another exploration of life and death (this exploration is far more disturbing than Bergman’s Wild Strawberries)
To see some more beautiful colours (just as you just saw in Jude’s Scarred Hearts)

The Breakdown

The film starts with the colour red. The only other thing we can perceive is the chimes of a small bell. Next, we see shots of statues and trees in what looks like a misty churchyard. After a few cuts, the misty churchyard fades into redness.

The red themes continue into the films beautiful red and white pictures (see below).

Image result for ingmar bergman cries and whispers — Vivid red and white palette used in Cries and Whispers

The colour grades are beautifully vivid, but why does Bergman use red and white? Well as put by Bergman below, the red represents the soul. You will notice that the red fades as the film progresses – along with the souls of the characters.

“Cries and Whispers is an exploration of the soul, and ever since childhood, I have imagined the soul to be a damp membrane in varying shades of red”

Another thing that fades as the film progresses is time. From the start you’ll hear the chimes of bells and clocks ticking. You’ll even see shots of clock faces that break up the film narrative. However, just like the fading of the vivid reds (that represent the soul), the images and sounds of time will fade. Agnes, and the other characters, are losing their time on earth.

Conclusion

Cries and Whispers is another dark Bergman film to satisfy your inner demons. It explores life and death and finds emptiness in one of the most vividly coloured sets I’ve seen. Watch this one after you’ve seen Wild Strawberries, Seventh Seal, and Persona to expand your film knowledge of the fantastic Ingmar Bergman.

389

Scarred Hearts (Romania) – How to Live Life Lying Down

Scarred Hearts Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

“Life is a serious game for which we’ve even invented nickel plating. To live we must believe in their importance. But let us remember that it is all just a game”

You can tell Scarred Hearts was adapted from a novel. Philosophical musings are scattered throughout the film just like the stream-of-consciousness narrative I presume carries Max Blecher’s novel (correct me if my assumption is wrong!). Amazingly, it works! If you’re a big reader and want to convert to the big screen for a few hours without missing out on some philosophy, this one is for you!

Why Watch Scarred Hearts?

To understand the importance of humour in life (and in sickness, much like Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
Feel the political zeitgeist in Romania just before the Second World War
For some great quotes (e.g. “each moment, each pain, each thought, each event I consider important is but an atom in the vast ocean of world events”)
So many beautiful colours (just like a Wes Anderson movie)

The Breakdown

Scarred Hearts starts with the sound of a church choir singing. All we see is a sketched portrait of a man and then a load of old pictures of people lying down. The old pictures are of patients with Pott’s disease, a sort of tuberculosis of the spine. All of them must lie down whilst they are being cured.

But let’s talk about the film. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful colour palettes. There’s the pale blue and cream coloured hallways that match the nurses dress.

There’s the warm pinks and pale reds of the x-ray room.

And, there’s the pale, washed out blues and whites that make up the main hospital ward.

All these colour grades are carefully worked just like you might have noticed if you’ve seen a Wes Anderson film. Beautiful!

I also loved the many quotes that are either written across the screen like in the old silent films or read out by the characters. They question eternal life, religion, and the meaning of life. But while doing so they are also aware of their own fate. Here’s a couple of the quotes which I noted down:

“Life is a serious game for which we’ve even invented nickel plating. To live we must believe in their importance. But let us remember that it is all just a game”
“Fortunate is he who keeps the hour of his death ever present and lives every day as if it was his last”

Conclusion

There isn’t really any driving narrative plot in Scarred Hearts. However, this adaptation (of a Max Blecher novel) works incredibly well. It carries the stream-of-consciousness musings of the author through the character’s and a number of title cards which outline the film. Well worth a watch for anyone who loves literature and philosophical ramblings.

390

Le Moulin (Taiwan) – An Inventive Documentary of Surrealism in Taiwan

Le Moulin Film Difficulty Ranking: 5

Watching Le Moulin is like walking round a great Taiwanese museum. All the interesting stuff is listed next to some intriguing artifacts from the period. You will come out of the film feeling like an expert on Taiwanese literature in the 20th century.

Why Watch Le Moulin?

If you want to see a proper art house film
To learn a contemporary history of Taiwanese literature, especially the influence of Surrealism (pretty specialist stuff)
See a documentary told through a range of artistic forms (paintings, poems, and of course film) reminiscent of Weerasethakul’s A Mysterious Object at Noon
Learn a bit about the history of Taiwan as well from the pre-war 1930s to the Kuomintang ruled 1950s

The Breakdown

Le Moulin starts with dice rolling on a board. Disorientating music plays as we watch four men with their heads and feet out of frame line up to be photographed. Next we see the picture crystalising on a piece of photo paper in it’s chemical bath.

The four men are part of a collective of Taiwanese poets that tried to establish a Taiwanese voice against the Japanese colonisers. You’ll follow their story from the early 1930s when Taiwan was occupied by Japan, through to the 1950s when Kuomintang declared martial law.

You will learn a lot about Taiwanese history and literature watching Le Moulin. However, the main attraction is it’s form. One minute you’re watching a re enactment of the collective and the next you are being shown incredible still pictures from the era and having poems read to you in full. You’ll even notice art work from Picasso, Cocteau, and Chaplin dotted around the film.

All in all it is a complete documentation of modern Taiwanese literature. It leaves no rock unturned.

Conclusion

The style and form sets Le Moulin apart. It weaves in photos, mementos, art, poetry, and reenactments to create what is effectively a museum exhibit on Taiwanese literature. A must for someone interested in how to use form in historic documentary films.

For a fictional film which also experiments with form, I’d recommend checking out Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Mysterious Object at Noon.