Film Difficulty 3

To help you ease your way into our world, we have devised a the film difficulty ranking system to rate the difficulty of each film reviewed on our site. The easiest to watch films (the Rom-Coms and Superhero flicks that you watch anyway) will have a rating of 1. Foreign language films automatically add one point, as do black and white films, and films with strange and hard to follow plots. Welcome to Film Difficulty 3.

Film Difficulty Ranking 3: More of a challenge for those familiar with foreign films. Level 3 is like a mix between an intriguing European mime artist and your most interesting and demanding school teacher.

If you’ve mastered these films, move onto Film Difficulty Ranking 4.

71

Wan Pipel (Suriname) – Pride and Love in Post-Colonial Suriname

Wan Pipel Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

If you don’t know anything about Suriname, you should watch Wan Pipel! First and foremost it’s an ode to the beauty of Suriname, from the diversity of Paramaribo to the Amazon rain forest. Secondly, it’s also a commentary on prejudice, marriage rites, and post-colonialism. Check out the full film below (via YouTube)!

Why Watch Wan Pipel?
  • To see Suriname! You’ll visit the capital, Paramaribo, the Amazon jungle, and get a glimpse of Suriname’s diversity
  • It’s got a love triangle! But luckily this one is not clichéd
  • Witness some of the effects of Colonialism
  • To learn that you often need to leave home in order to appreciate it
The Breakdown

It’s the late 1970s. Suriname is now an independent republic after 300 years of Dutch colonialism. In Paramaribo (Suriname’s capital) a dying mother sends her eldest son Roy a telegram to come home from Amsterdam (where he is studying) to see her before she passes away.

Her son comes home to find his home country completely different to how he remembered it. In contrast to the stuffy Dutch society he is surrounded with in Amsterdam, returning to a vibrant Paramaribo reveals just how much he has missed his home country.

This is obvious in the tone of the film. In Amsterdam, he mingles with his white girlfriend’s family who crack bad jokes about Surinamese people as if he wasn’t Surinamese. However, in contrast, the mood changes right after his mother’s funeral when he is at home in Suriname. At this point, upbeat music starts playing and Roy gorges on all the street food Paramaribo has to offer. He even changes his shirt in the street, donning a  top with the Surinamese flag branded on the front. It’s obvious he is loving being back in his home country.

So there’s a love triangle that isn’t clichéd?

Yup. You’ve probably seen many cheesy love triangles in films such as Twilight, The Notebook, and Pearl Harbour, but luckily for you, Wan Pipel is different. The love triangle actually adds to the film.

  1. Firstly, on a superficial level, Roy’s relationship with Rubia, a Hindu Surinamese nurse, represents the diversity of the people of Suriname.
  2. Secondly, Roy’s relationship with Rubia highlights the prejudice in Suriname. Roy’s dad is incensed that Roy comes home and goes off every night with an Indian girl instead of staying true to his white Dutch girlfriend at home in Amsterdam. Roy’s dads loyalty to his son’s Dutch girlfriend is a sign that the colonial mentality has not disappeared with Surinamese independence.
  3. Thirdly, and perhaps most interestingly, the love triangle is an allegory for the unshackling of Suriname from Dutch colonialism. Roy’s relationship with the Dutch Karina represents Suriname’s attachment to it’s colonisers. It’s a relationship which he is forced to use to sponsor his ticket back to Suriname to see his dying mother. In contrast, his relationship with Rubia represents pride in Suriname’s diversity and it’s independence from Colonialism. She is Hindu, he is Black, and their success vs. Karina represents a triumph for Surinamese independence.
Conclusion and What to Watch Next

Wan Pipel is definitely worth a watch. You’ll feel Surinamese pride flowing in this film and all the effects of the country’s troubled history. Plus, it’s all available to watch for free right here.

If you are looking for more films featuring a rediscovery of how much someone loves their roots, check out Wallay. It features a mischievous boy who is taken and left in Burkina Faso with his Burkinabe family to work back the money he stole from his dad.

If you are looking for another post-colonial film, check out Cuba’s Lucia, which follows three characters called Lucia across different eras of Cuba’s history.

Or, if you’re looking for another good love film, here are a few great options we recommend:

 

 

 

72

Another Country (Australia) – Meet the Other Side of Australia

Another Country Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Most people forget that Australia, like the United States, was already inhabited when Europeans arrived. Just like in the U.S. the natives were almost wiped out by disease, politics, and genocide. Today, Indigenous Australians make up just 3% of the Australian population and Australian politics have pushed them to the side onto pseudo-reservations. Get to know some of them in Another Country – watch it here (Amazon).

Image result for another country molly reynolds

Why Watch Another Country?
  • Get to know the indigenous Australians of Ramininging, Northern Territory
  • Learn how politics have disrupted the old way of life
  • Witness the lack of opportunity and isolation of the community
  • See a strange reenactment of the crucifixion
The Breakdown

Firstly, we’re introduced to our narrator, the ‘living legend’ that is David Gulpilil. You may know him from films like Crocodile Dundee, Rabbit Proof Fence, and Charlie’s Country. He’s even met with the queen and relaxed with Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley. But, he assures us, “this film is as much about you than it is about me and my people”.  Another Country is about what happened to aboriginal culture when it was interrupted by western culture.

The film is set in Ramininging, 400km away from the nearest town (if the dirt tracks haven’t been washed away). No one wanted to live here, but the Australian government set up a town here anyway to host the indigenous people it didn’t know what to do with. It’s as if they picked a completely isolated spot to keep them hidden.

Why would the Australian government want to keep the indigenous population hidden? Because they don’t know anything about the indigenous population. The politicians never learned any indigenous languages and rarely interact with any of the indigenous people out of their own initiative, so keeping them out of sight is a way of hiding their ignorance. All the government does is provide them with just enough to keep them living and reliant on government support.

Why is Another Country narrated?

Yes, Another Country is a documentary, and documentaries are often narrated without the narrator appearing in the film. But Another Country is different. This is David Gulpilil’s home town, and he introduces us to his childhood friends through his narration, so it would only be natural for him to appear and initiate dialogue with his friends and family. But, instead, he is kept separate from what we are seeing on film.

This creates a distance between what we are being told and what we are seeing. As a result, his narration feels similar to the news reporters we see on TV, that narrate over news footage to create a story.

Australians, and the world, are probably used to hearing news reporters and politicians create the story of indigenous Australians without having any understanding of them. And, most of us probably blindly accept what they say as the truth as they are figures of authority.

Therefore, having David Gulpilil as the narrator, and keeping him as just a narrator, keeps him in a position of narrative authority that news reporters and politicians often inhabit. He gets to create the story as he sees it, and we, the audience, get to finally listen to an indigenous voice narrating the indigenous people in Australia.

Conclusion and What to Watch Next

Another Country is the documentary to watch if you want to get to know some of the marginalised Indigenous Australians. You get a first hand introduction to the isolated community of Ramininging through it’s most famous former resident, David Gulpilil.

If you’re interested in learning a bit more about the history of the indigenous Australians, check out Rabbit Proof Fence. It’s a story about a couple of girls from the Stolen Generations who were removed from their families by the Australian government in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Or if you want to see more films exploring the damage done by generations of European colonists around the world, check out:

 

73

Jose – An Understated Look At Marginalized Youth in Guatemala

Jose Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Jose flew under the radar when it was released in a select few cinemas in the U.S. in early 2020. Perhaps not surprising given that this is a humble independent film about marginalized youth in Guatemala. It’s also characteristically understated. Close up shots and dialogue are equally rare as Li Cheng shoots the film more like an observational documentary than romantic drama, watching Jose move around Guatemala City from a distance.

Jose’s life is similarly humble; he lives with his doting mother in a dingy room and scraps together a meager living directing cars towards a fast food restaurant. Jose’s relationships with mother and lover provide the main drama in the film. His brief flings offer him brief moments of freedom to be himself, in a society where his sexuality isn’t welcome. 

From: Guatemala, North America
Watch: Trailer, IMDb
Next: Dakan, Tremores, Call Me By Your Name
74

When the Tenth Month Comes (Vietnam) – Prepare to be Moved

When the Tenth Month Comes Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

When the Tenth Month Comes will move you. Other films may have better story-lines and better cinematography, but this one has the most vital ingredient: pure emotion. Watch it for free here on YouTube – let me know if you find it anywhere else!

Image result for when the tenth month comes

Why Watch When the Tenth Month Comes?
  • If you want to watch a great film from Vietnam
  • Witness the emotional impact of war – it’s emotional!
  • There’s ghost towns!
  • It’s currently available to watch for free here on YouTube – let me know if the video is taken down or you find it available elsewhere!
The Breakdown

When the Tenth Month Comes starts with a young woman named Duyen returning home. We first see her walking along a dirt road before she hops into a canoe to cross the river. Throughout the opening scene, her blank expression, partially obscured by her conical hat, makes it look like she’s preoccupied or not totally present. Whilst she’s on the canoe, she loses balance and falls in, losing a letter from her satchel. Combined with the dramatic opening music, it’s clear that she’s bravely holding back her emotions.

The story patiently reveals what has happened. First, we find out she has a husband who has not sent a letter to his family. When she is asked why he has not sent anything home, she never gives a clear answer. She says his duty as a Vietnamese soldier is keeping him busy. Whilst the answer convinces his family, the close-ups of her face do not convince us. It’s obvious she’s hiding her husband’s death from his loving family for fear of upsetting them.

Only one person finds out about the death of her husband, a local teacher and poet named Zhang. He agrees to held out Duyen by writing letters to her family signed by her dead husband to keep her family happy and excited for his return.

Pure Tragic Emotion

There’s one scene in this film that will stick with you. In the scene, teacher Zhang stops at a public theatrical performance with his girlfriend which the majority of the town appear to be watching. They watch for a minute before his girlfriend gets restless. But just when they start to walk on, Duyen appears on the stage and starts singing her part in the performance. Zhang, his girlfriend, and the whole audience are captivated as she sings emotionally for her lost love. Only us (the viewer) and Zhang know the pain she must be feeling, but she keeps singing the tragic lines of the song. In every line it feels like she is about to break down but she keeps singing for a few minutes until she finally breaks down and disappears behind the stage curtain. Pure cinematic emotion.

Conclusion and what to watch next

Some films are harder to pinpoint than others. The story line of When the Tenth Month Comes is a bit cliched and the music is often a bit overly dramatic, but this film succeeds where many of the greats don’t: it manages to translate raw emotion to film. As a result, it’s this transcendent portrayal of raw emotion is what makes this film one of the greats.

For more raw emotion I recommend checking out Umberto D. , one of the most emotional Italian neo-realist films. It follows the tragic plight of an old man trying to get by without a pension.

If it’s something more arty you’re looking for, check out Lav Diaz’s From What is Before. It’s a 5 hour 30 minute epic that charts life in a small village in rural Philippines under the Marcos dictatorship.

 

 

 

75

Epicentro – An Outsider’s Perspective of Cuba

Epicentro Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Why Watch Epicentro?

  • It’s an interesting outsider’s perspective of a forgotten country
  • To meet anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist locals
  • Watch a filmmaker unwittingly become part of the cycle of exploitation
From: Cuba, North America
Watch: Trailer, IMDb, Website
Next: The Project of the Century, I Am Cuba, Let it Burn
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