****Alias María (in the Un certain regard selection). Dir. Jose Luis Rugeles Gracia, Colombia/Argentina/France, 2015. See trailer here and Screen Daily review here.
Set in a guerrilla commando group in the Colombian jungle, 13-year-old María is a child guerrillera who has recently discovered she is pregnant. Women who get pregnant ‘in the field’ are normally expected to abort (the camp doctor performs terminations). The comandante’s partner, however has just given birth to a child which María is charged with carrying to safety (and to remove the danger of the baby’s cries betraying their location or posing a kidnap/ransom risk). The journey (with a small armed escort) is fraught with danger and mishap, including running into army forces and a village massacred and occupied by the military. The experience leads María to reflect on her own pregnancy. Thematically the film raises questions about the brutality and dehumanisation of the war context, power relations and abuse of power.
Peace to us in our dreams (in Quinzaine des Réalisateurs selection). Dir. Sharunas Bartas, Lithuania/France/Russia, 2015.
Quite a few people walked out of this. Pretty disappointing!
Also - just few words on some of the other films seen on Saturday 16 May which I haven’t mentioned in earlier blogs:
*****A Perfect Day (in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs selection) Dir. Fernando León de Aranoa, Spain 2015. (Benicio del Toro, Tim Robbins, Olga Kurylenko, Melanie Thierry, Fedya Stukan) (seen Fri 16/05) See Hollywood reporter review from Cannes here and Guardian review here. Trailer here.
International aid workers with ‘Aid across Borders’ in the Balkans 1995 arrive to remove a dead body deliberately thrown into a village well to contaminate the villagers’ water. The operation hinges on locating a suitably strong length of rope which the group set off the source, bringing them into contact with absurdities and horrors of war which war-worn aid veterans Mambrú (del Toro) and (Robbins) deal with a crude but distancing humour as they ‘indict’ newby Sophie (Thierry). Engaging film – Aranoa’s first English language movie.
*Happy 140 / Felices 140 Dir. Gracia Querejeta, Spain 2015. Drama comedy in which Elia (Maribel Verdú – who seems to be popping up all over the place) gathers he friends together for the joint celebratin of her 4th birthday and her 140 million euro jackpot win. Once the news of the win is shared with her friends, it unleashes a string of plotting, jealousies and score-settling.
See Hollywood Reporter review here.
and on Monday (not previously commented on):
***Tierra y sombre / Land and Shadow (in the Semaine de la Critique selection) Dir. César Augusto Acevedo, Colombia/France, 2015.
Contemplative drama of Alfonso's return to the family he abandoned 17 years previously inthe midst of a sugar cane plantation. He now comes to help care for his seriously ill son, Gonzalo, who is living with his wife and Alfonso's estranged wife. The film is dominated by Gonzalo's increasingly rasping and laboured breathing and the sounds of the slashing of cane and the roar and crackle of flames as the remains of the plants are burnt, creating a perpetual cloud of ash which contaminates the air they breathe. The slow pace and restrained dialogue reflect the charged claustrophobia of the house
- its permanently closed windows creating an oppressive penumbra throughout in a futile attempt to protect Gonzalo from the ash-laden air.He refuses to move away in search of a better life (despite the exhortations of his wife and father) because his mother refuses to leave the house and he will not leave her. His health steadily weakens - he has no right to medical care as he is no longer regarded as an employee since his illness (a result of the working conditions themselves) stopped him being able to work. His wife and mother are sacked because their productivity levels do not reach the tough targets set and workers' attempts to resist the unreasonable conditions and demands are powerless to undermine the the brutal exploitation. See Hollywood Reporter review from Cannes here. Trailer here.
*****Las elegidas / The Chosen Ones (in the Un certain regard selection) Dir. David Pablos, Mexico 2015. Excellent drama about 14-year-old Sofia who is lured by the adolescent Ulises into a prostitution ring run by his father and involving the whole family. His seduction of Sofia is part of Ulises’s initiation into the family ‘business’ but, when his attachment to her leads him to regret getting her involved, he tries to secure her release. His father agrees on condition that Ulises brings a replacement and in the meantime Sofia is put to work in the brothel. The film presents a sickening picture of how these operations operate on an economy of violence, fear and coercion. The horror of the experience of providing child sexual fodder for a string of men is excruciatingly conveyed through a series of powerful images of Sofia’s numbed gaze shot in medium close-up against the stark wall of brothel, interspersed with a string of shots of older men, accompanied by a disturbing soundtrack of pumping flesh and bodily fluids punctuated by the groans of the men’s orgasms. The detached and formulaic process of ‘seducing’ and luring girls into a false sense of trust is chillingly presented as Ulises is coerced and ‘inducted’ into his role as an abductor by his father and older brother.
More to come...
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