International Short Films Competition 3 - Youthful Indiscretions
First up was a selection of short films on the theme of children, getting into all sorts of hi-jinks the world over. I wanted to see them all but had to leave before the last one started otherwise I'd miss the next film.
EXAM (IR)
A young schoolgirl acts as a drugs mule and due to her connection not turning up one day, has to risk bringing her cargo to her strict school, where the students are regularly checked and expelled for much less. There are much worse things to keep hidden in this life than a mobile phone. 7/10
Maradona's Legs (DE)
Two scrappy Israeli brothers go on a mini epic adventure in the theme of a hero's quest, to locate the elusive lower half of Maradona's picture in their Italia '90 football album, to the backdrop of their home team (and Brazil, who they actually support) playing on the radios of literally every character they meet along the way. A nostalgic trip for anyone trying to fill up their sticker books. 7.5/10
The Walking Fish (NL/JP)
A very unusual (because Japan) fable of a mysterious fish woman who, as a mutsugoro (mudskipper fish) was caught and taken in by a young boy, and magically transformed into a little girl. Told in flashback by the people who knew and loved her. 7.5/10
Cadoul de Craciun (The Christmas list) (DE)
In the latter days of the Ceausescu regime, a small Yugoslavian boy posts a letter to santa wishing old Nicolai was dead. Fearing for their lives if anyone reads it, mum and dad frantically scramble to cover their tracks. 8/10
Nefta Football Club (FR)
A couple of young Algerian happen upon an abandoned donkey carrying a cargo of drugs on their way home through the Tunisian hills. If only they can get it home and hide it, they could be rich. 8/10
Greener Grass (US) (wiki)
In an absurd vision of American suburbia where everyone rides golf carts and wears braces, two couples - 'friends' seemingly only because they crossed paths at their kids sporting events - try to navigate their hellish existence of polite one-upmanship and a desperate need to appear constantly and univerally happy among their equally painted smile peers. With the mysterious murder of their yoga teacher as a catalyst for a series of increasingly weird events to unfold, Jill goes on a journey through hell of her own making. These brightly coloured, wretched lives are paraded for our amusement but equally as a mirror into what we find uncomfortably familiar about our own lives.
It is a deeply odd film; strange and unsettling, and narratively loose, preferring to frame the film as a series of absurd events. It was enjoyable after a slow start, but it may be either too left-field, or too uncanny for some people's tastes. It's an expansion of the directors original short film if you want a taster of the full thing. 6/10
The Wolf's Call (FR) (wiki)
The claustrophobic insides of a submarine introduce us to 'Socks' - a low-ranking officer aboard the Titan - a french submarine off the coast of Russia. He is an 'Acoustic Warfare Analyst' - listening to the noises of the deep, trying to interpret their qualities and turn them into visualisations of their surroundings - and anything that might be out to sink them. When they are attacked by Russian forces out of nowhere, it sets into motion escalating retaliations, potentially leading the world into full-on nuclear war.
Socks is the 'talented outsider' who has to prove his worth to the captain and against the odds saves everyone, and The Wolf's Call won't win any originality prizes, but it is a very good, tense thriller with some minor (but not too unpredictable) twists and a classic underwater showdown. As good as any other submarine flick you have seen. It's a Netflix film so you'll be able to see it there soon. 8/10
Marriage Story (US) (review)
Also on Netflix, Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson play a New York couple with a young son who - for reasons initially baffling to the audience - have decided to terminate their marriage despite an ongoing love and commitment to each other. Initially trying to keep lawyers out of this and sorting things for themselves, the situation deteriorates as other actors in their relationship begin to influence their decision making and inevitably things become messy and complicated, and nasty.
Marriage Story is fraught with feelings of loss and sadness - why should it end up this way between two people who clearly still love each other so much and - fortunately for the audience - is played with a degree of humour to soften the depression brought on from the damage inflicted on the lives involved. I think it would have made the whole film pretty unwatchable if there wasn't this other aspect to the film as it makes things bearable.
The central performances are excellent as you would expect from these actors, and even at 2+ hours it doesn't drag. It's a precise and merticulous study on love and relationships, how sometimes that is not enough, and how even in the most committed and seemingly endless partnerships, sometimes something deep down causes lives to fall apart, at great cost. 8/10
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