Rowan Sullivan

446

Elegy to the Visitor from the Revolution

Elegy to the Visitor from the Revolution Film Difficulty Ranking: 5

This film is 6 hours shorter than Melancholia but still just as hard to watch. You may not be accustomed to long takes and films which lack dialogue, so beware. That being said, those who take the time to watch Lav Diaz will be rewarded. He brings you as close to the Filipino psyche as you can get, allowing you to feel as if you are on the streets with the characters. Think of Lav Diaz’ films like a poem, the more you try to see and interpret, the more secrets you will find.

Why Watch Elegy to the Visitor from the Revolution?
  • To watch something that defies conventional film rules
  • Explore the effect of colonialism and dictatorship on the psyche of the Filipino people
  • For a quicker introduction to Lav Diaz than the 7.5 hour Melancholia
  • See the director playing electric guitar!
The Breakdown

All we see in the first shot is a road at night. Lav Diaz focuses on a zebra crossing with a restless woman pacing up and down at the other side of the crossing out-of-focus. No cars are passing down this street, it is empty. The woman lights a cigarette in frustration. As she walks a bit closer to us, we can see that she is a prostitute trying to signal a customer. Each minute, a single car approaches and she flicks back her hair and thrusts out her breasts, but she has no luck.

Just like in Melancholia each shot lingers for longer than we are used to, forcing us to observe each and every detail. As put by Lav Diaz:

I am capturing real time. I am trying to experience what these people are experiencing. They walk. I must experience their walk and I must experience their boredom and sorrows. I want people to experience the afflictions of my people who have been agonising for so long – under the Spaniards for more than 300 years, under the Americans for almost 100 years till now, under the Japanese [during WW2] and then under Marcos [and his 14 year fascist dictatorship].

Lav Diax splits Elegy to a visitor from the Revolution into three parts. An elegy to the first visit, an elegy to the last visit, and an elegy to the 2nd visit, in that order. Each part pieces together three scenes; of a prostitute, some gangsters, and a guitarist. Also, each part is visited by a ghostly figure of a woman who is the visitor from the Philippine Revolution of the late 1800s. She is a juxtaposition of the old and the modern. Her presence (and the three parts out of order) implies that Filipino history is cyclical. A cycle of colonisation/dictatorship and independence that has shaped the Filipino psyche. (Something that the recent election of brutal leader Duterte may replicate).

Conclusion

Elegy to a Visitor from the Revolution is another exploration by Lav Diaz of the Filipino psyche. Just as in Melancholia the Filipino people have not managed to escape the brutal history of colonisation and dictatorship. His long takes allow us to get as close to experiencing the silent suffering of the Filipinos.

447

I Killed My Mother

I Killed My Mother Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

You haven’t heard of Xavier Dolan? He’s the young darling of the Cannes film festival, and he deserves all the praise he has got. He proves that you are never too young to start (he wrote this script when he was 16) just as Ridley Scott and Michael Haneke prove that you’re never too old to start (directing their first feature films at 40 and 47 respectively). So watch I Killed My Mother for a semi-autobiographical look at one of the brightest stars in the international film world.

Why Watch I Killed My Mother?
  • Watch the debut of one of the film industry’s brightest talents, Xavier Dolan. He’s only 27 year old!
  • For another dive into mother-son relationships (also watch his Cannes Jury Prize winner Mommy)
  • Just in case you didn’t think he was talented enough, Xavier also plays the protagonist in this semi-autobiographical drama
  • Get familiar with Francophone Canada!
The Breakdown

We love our mothers unknowingly and only realise how deep-rooted that love is at the ultimate separation.

First we see Hubert’s eyes, then his face, as he is being interviewed by the camera. He talks about his mother and says that he could be anybody’s son. A montage of fake butterflies and kitschy statues precede a slow motion shot of Hubert’s mum eating a cream cheese bagel. Hubert begrudgingly tells her to wipe some food off her face.

Next, Hubert’s mum is driving him to school. All we see is a front-on view of the two characters through the front wind-shield sitting in the front two seats. The scene proceeds as follows:

  • Hubert berates his mum for putting on her make-up while driving
  • Mum complains that Hubert never talks
  • Mum then turns up radio when she hears something of interest
  • Hubert hates the ‘news propaganda’ and shouts at her to turn it off
  • Mum doesn’t so Hubert puts in headphones
  • Mum asks why he never wants to talk any more

The first 10 minutes are a portrait of the difficulty of motherhood and the difficulty of adolescence. It is always a battle of very few words.

It is the moments away from his mother that we truly get to know Hubert. With his mother there is no sign of himself; his creativity, his homosexuality, his sophistication, and honesty. Instead, at home, stuck within his mother’s suffocating furnishing and poor fashion style, there is no room for him to be himself. This is shown when he returns home from a party on speed and urgently tells his mother that he has so much to say to her but not enough time or words to say it. In this moment we see that he wants to be understood by her, he wants to tell her everything, but he cannot. He, like many adolescents can never get back the openness of communication they had with their parents that they used to have during their childhood.

Conclusion

Xavier Dolan’s stylish debut feature is a testament of his talent (which has been justified at Cannes). Use of special features, like slow motion, montages, and intimate black and white interviews contribute to his style. He is an auteur (meaning he is a director with a distinguishable style) in a world where they are harder to come by. Do yourself a favour and check out this film, and then some more of his films (such as Mommy).

448

Inside Job

Inside Job Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

The global recession of 2008 affected almost every one of us on this planet in some sort of way, but do you know much about it? Here is your opportunity to learn how it happened, what it caused, and if it might happen again. Hear about Wall Street Traders hiring prostitutes, Iceland, and the banks that caused the financial meltdown. Plus, all of this is explained at a digestible pace, meaning that you will end the film with a strong understanding of it all!

Why Watch Inside Job?
  • You want to know why the 2008 recession happened
  • To learn a bit more about the current financial system of the world
  • It’s narrated by Matt Damon
  • It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2010
The Breakdown

The global economics crisis of 2008 cost tens of millions of people their savings, their jobs, and their homes. This is how it happened.

Iceland. A country of just 320,000 people, a bunch of small towns, beautiful landscape, low unemployment and low government debt. There was lots of clean energy, well managed fisheries, clean air, and pride. But this all changed in 2000 with deregulation and bank privatization.

After Iceland, we zoom across the Atlantic, and back in time, to New York in the 90s. The finance sector is booming. We are shown a montage of New York City skyscrapers, businessmen, and snappy quotes from finance experts set to a poppy soundtrack. This montage offers a stark contrast to the peaceful beauty of the shots of Iceland from the opening scene. This is the place laden with greed. This is the place which has disrupted the peaceful beauty of Iceland and the whole world.

After the introduction to Iceland and the New York City montage we start hearing from those involved in the build up to the crisis. Luckily for me, the narrator firstly explains all the financial jargon extremely clearly and at a gentle pace (unlike the rushed explanations in The Big Short). With a clear understanding of how the recession happened, the documentary then starts questioning some of the culprits. At this point we can understand the questions being asked and know when the interviewees (the culprits) are avoiding giving proper answers. He gives us the basic understanding so we can make our own judgement.

Conclusion

For a good understanding of how the global recession happened, this film is the best I have seen. It also carries an impressive selection of interviewees (from Federal Reserve, IMF, and Academia). Some of the interviewees were in charge before and during the recession and defend their actions, and others fuel the fire. You’ll also learn what will happen next – will there be another recession?

 

 

449

The Life of Jesus (La Vie De Jesus)

The Life of Jesus Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

This is a film for those who are used to art-house films. Some parts are deliberately slow to emphasise the tedium of small town life in France and will put off some viewers. However, there is a lot to like about this film. It has some great acting, an ominous build up of tension, and some moments that would not be out of place in Napoleon Dyanmite. Above all, it is a gritty portrayal of the hopelessness of life in rural France, where there are no prospects or ambition. Think of it as the rural anti-thesis of La Haine.

Why Watch The Life of Jesus?
  • You want an insight into life in a small provincial French town including, but not limited to:
    • Racism: “Are we going to beat up that Arab soon?”
    • Brass Bands, including an overly enthusiastic conductor
    • Sex and rape: “it was just a bit of fun”
The Breakdown

The first scene shows Freddy riding his motorbike through the French countryside. The road is empty, there are no cars. The background is full of rolling dull green hills set under a bleak grey sky. The colours revolve around a palette of greys to make it seem less appealing. Freddy rides into town and crashes off his bike as he tries to stop it outside a restaurant. He walks in and greets his mum who is watching TV. Life in this town is dull!

Freddy is ashamed to be epileptic. At first, we are sympathetic, however as the film progresses, our sympathy disappears. After one appointment, he throws off the brain scanner and runs out of the hospital. He then speeds back home on his bike without a shirt on, and for the second time crashes as he tries to stop. Straight after the crash, he runs to find his girlfriend for sexual intercourse. It is like he is trying to compensate for his epilepsy by affirming his manliness/machismo.

Freddy is also unemployed and supposedly looking for a job. However, he spends all of his time hanging out with his mates who are also unemployed. To combat their lack of ambition and prospects, they all ride around town together looking for trouble. They need some way of asserting their machismo to compensate for their lack of respect in the town. Unfortunately one of their outlets is racism, and the unlucky guy is an Arab who takes a stalker-like liking to Freddy’s girlfriend.

Conclusion

The Life of Jesus is a no-frills look at life in a remote French village for young men. The lack of dialogue and dulled colours matches the lack of things to do in the area. Although it lacks commercial appeal, the film is a great depiction of stifled adolescent lives. People who push their troubles onto others.

 

 

450

Life is Beautiful

Life is Beautiful Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Maybe you’re put off from watching foreign films because they are generally too pretentious. A lot of them have long scenes where nothing much happens. Well this is why I’m recommending you watch Life is Beautiful. It’s got all the makings of a great and familiar Hollywood movie; great story, a lot of emotion, and simple film-making, but you’ll earn kudos for watching a foreign film. So gather your family round the TV and watch this one tonight!

Why Watch Life is Beautiful?
  • For an alternative take on the Holocaust
  • Because this film won the Best Foreign Language Oscar and Best Actor Oscar in 1999
  • To learn how to talk your way into trouble and then your way out of it
  • Stay positive!
The Breakdown

It is obvious from the very first shot, of a misty, poorly lit street that the film is going to go through bad times. (The scene is later matched with the misty, poorly lit concentration camps). However, the immediate switch to a car whizzing through sunny Italy makes us forget the bleary omen.

The omens are hard to come by for the first half an hour or so. If you look closely, you might notice a line of Mussolini posters on a wall in the background. You may also notice that Guido does not repeat asking one man what his political views are when he finds out his kids are called Benito and Adolf. Otherwise, the signs of fascist Italy are hidden until Guido assumes the role of a school inspector, required to school the children about the superior race. As the film progresses, the signs of fascism become more and more apparent, bringing us closer to the prophecy of the opening shot.

What does Guido do to survive within this ever more obvious fascist state? He just talks and talks. He talks to a German doctor, his friend, and of course Dora. Guido even talks himself into trouble and then out of it again. His speech is almost magical, and I believe it creates a world in which the reality of growing fascism does not exist. He talks so much to avoid hearing about the growing anti-Semitism and to shut himself off from his increasingly fascist country. Just like a politician’s speech may hide the truth from people, Guido’s speech allows him to hide the truth from himself.

Conclusion

Life is Beautiful is one of those classic films that everyone should watch. It reminds me of a great Hollywood movie. It is easy to follow and that the shot structure follows pretty intuitively. On top of that it is very emotional, it will have you crying with laughter and sadness (a feature of many Oscar winning films). So go watch this one now!