Small pearls and some disappointments
(from Cannes Luigi Noera and Marina Pavido – Photos are courtesy of the Cannes Film Festival)
The film marathon on the Croisette continues. Particularly noteworthy on this fourth day of the festival were some films in the running for the coveted Palme d'Or. Between pleasant surprises and some visions that made you turn up your nose, here are some of the novelties of Cannes 76.
COMPETITION
THE ZONE OF INTEREST di Jonathan GLAZER
Among the most noteworthy titles (at least until today) within the competition of this 76° Festival of Cannes there is undoubtedly The Zone of Interest, British director Jonathan Glazer's latest effort. I usually play skilfully with meticulous shots and disturbing music that immediately become an essential element of the film, also on this occasion Glazer has given us an extremely thin and refined product, that of a wise crescendo of tension makes its workhorse.
The story staged, therefore, it is that of the commandant of Auschwitz Rudolf Höss (played by Christian Friedel) and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller), who live in a luxurious villa right next to the concentration camp and there they dream of creating an ideal atmosphere to be able to offer their children a happy and peaceful life.
Already from a summary reading of the synopsis, therefore, we realize how in this case we are faced with a paradoxical situation to say the least. and yet, at first, the director offers us idyllic images to say the least: a villa surrounded by greenery; a cheerful little family who is about to leave for an excursion; a lake from which you can admire the sunsets; children playing on the lawn while adults relax in the garden. Already from these first scenes we realize that we are faced with something unreal and alienating. And indeed, slowly, the music changes.
Glazer's camera knows when to reveal what lies behind such wealth. And so, very soon, right next to the villa's garden, the roofs of the barracks peek out and seem to cast a shadow on everything around them. The shots change, to the photo (gradually more and more in shades of gray) also. The merry little family isn't all that cheerful and it often happens that someone has hysterical crises. A strong sense of anguish is the absolute protagonist. Just like short musical inserts they had suggested to us from the beginning.
Shots of often cramped environments and a composed and essential musical commentary play, in The Zone of Interest, a central role to say the least. Pictures are worth a thousand words, Jonathan Glazer's direction is nothing short of magnetic. What will become of that family reality where time seems to have stopped? History, in reality, it is the one we all know.
THE DAUGHTERS OF OLFA di Kaouther BEN HANIA
Fresh from the success of The man that sold the your Skin (2020), Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania has come to the Croisette to present in competition a Cannes 76 his The Girls d'Olfa, a product halfway between documentary and fiction film that closely observes the drama of a family to which, just, headed by the determined and courageous Olfa.
Olfa, therefore, she is the mother of four daughters. His tragedy began when his two eldest daughters suddenly left home to join jihadist fighters. Since that time, the life of the three women left at home is no longer the same. and yet, the three always seem to be able to find moments of tender sharing and happiness.
In The Girls d'Olfa, therefore, we see the three protagonists tell their story in front of the camera together with two actresses who play the role of the eldest daughters. At the same time, fictional scenes tell us about Olfa's life, from her marriage to the father of her daughters to her relationship with a drug addict. On that occasion, therefore, is an actress to play the role of the protagonist.
In this feature film by Kaouther Ben Hania, therefore, reality and fiction, past and present constantly go hand in hand. An undoubtedly interesting choice, that, however, it ends up making everything at times excessively dispersive and didactic in the finale. In the same way, albeit full of pathos and extremely close to its protagonists, in several moments the film tends to go around in circles, losing pace dangerously. Sin. Especially since the idea of this hybrid staging could have worked well. And alongside such lively and magnetic protagonists, there were so many ideas.
ABOUT DRY GRASSES di Nuri Bilge CEYLAN
Samet is a young teacher from a remote village in Anatolia. He has been waiting for several years to be transferred to Istanbul, but a series of events makes him lose all hope. Until the day she meets Nuray, a young teacher like him… Luigi Noera saw it for us (REVIEW).
IN SOME PERSPECTIVE
HOW TO HAVE SEX di Molly MANNING WALKER
The story of three friends who are under the pressure of having sex at all costs. The film refers to a widespread phenomenon: a quintessentially British rite of passage, in which the girls spend their holidays in Majorca to lose their virginity. Luigi Noera saw it for us (REVIEW).
OUT OF COMPETITION
MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
OMAR LA FRAISE di Elias BELKEDDAR
Prime opera in Elias Belkeddar, presented out of competition a Cannes 76 within the section Midnight Screenings, Omar The Strawberry is an amusing French-Algerian comedy that sees two sacred monsters of transalpine cinema lined up in the front line: Reda Kateb and Benoît Magimel.
For the occasion, therefore the two actors play the role of two gangsters – Omar and Roger – that, arrived directly from France, they find themselves managing illegal activities in Algeria, dove, however, trying to rebuild their lives, better if decidedly more "quieter" than the one they conducted until recently.
Omar The Strawberry, therefore, it is above all the story of a long friendship, whose genesis is revealed to us little by little during the vision. Moments of boredom waiting for the swimming pool of a luxurious villa to finally be made usable alternate with ruthless showdowns and attempts to win the heart of a charming entrepreneur who runs a food company.
A series of gags and sharp dialogues make, who, as absolute protagonists, giving us hilarious moments within a comedy that, however, at times it seems excessively frayed and missing, Unfortunately, of personality. Already, because, in fact, this first work by Elias Belkeddar, while revealing an overall pleasant product, risk – alas! – to be forgotten just a short time after its release in theaters.
FORTNIGHT
IN FLAMES by Zarrar Kahn
Debut work by young Pakistani-Canadian director Zarrar Kahn, In Flames, premiered at Cannes 76 inside the fortnight of the Filmmakers, tries to plot a careful social investigation by searching, at the same time, new cinematic languages and new ways of telling reality. It will be successful, the film, in this arduous undertaking? Let's go step by step.
Mariam, a young student who lives together with her mother and little brother in Karachi, he recently lost his grandfather, always true patriarch of his family. While the delicate family balances are being reorganized, the girl will meet a classmate who will start courting her, while, at the same time, he will suffer attacks of all kinds and will begin to have strange visions of dead people.
What In Flames we are told, therefore, it is above all the difficult condition of women within a society in which patriarchy still plays too central a role. Mariam and her mom are constantly threatened. Certain mechanisms seem to never want to stop. Reality and dreams merge and mingle to the point that we ourselves no longer know where one ends and the other begins.
Zarrar Kahn, its part, he embraced and made his own the canons of genre cinema, inserting the same into a film in which, on the other hand, during the scenes of everyday life it is precisely a realistic approach to act as the absolute protagonist. An operation, the present, undoubtedly interesting and that manages to give the entire feature its own, marked personality. and yet, despite everything, this is not enough to “make a difference”, to make the present In Flames that leap in quality that makes it a memorable feature film. Fault, perhaps, lack of experience of the director behind the camera? To figure it out, is, obviously, still too early. We will have to see what the filmmaker has to offer us in the future.
CRITICS WEEK
Competition
IT'S RAINING IN THE HOUSE di Paloma Sermon-Dai
A tender story of a brother and sister who - with the necessary difficulties of the case - are entering the world of adults for the first time. A hot summer, probably the last of their childhood. Quarrels and squabbles together with moments of confidences. The need - and the urgency - to find the means to survive by searching, at the same time, own place in the world. All this is The raining In the Maison, directed by director Paloma Sermon-Daï and premiered at Cannes 76 inside the Week from the Critique.
The story staged, therefore, it is that of 17-year-old Purdey and her younger brother Makenzy, which, left alone at home, they will have to find work in order to support themselves. Purdey, so, will start working at a hotel, while his brother will devote himself to much more illegal activities, stealing money from tourists.
In staging this delicate family story, the director opted for a direct and no-nonsense approach, but also extremely close to its protagonists, strong with intense close-ups, but also moments of tender light-heartedness on a hot summer afternoon.
It doesn't tip, The raining In the Maison, to look for something totally “new” at all costs. and yet, at the same time, it succeeds perfectly in its intentions, giving us a sometimes painful story, but also extremely poetic and contemplative. Blurred image of an era that is about to end forever.
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marina fears