Neptune’s Stars

Locarno Film Festival 2008 December 25, 2008

Posted by neptunestars in 2008, Farsi, Festival, French, German, Italian, Language, Locarno, Run To, Spanish, Switzerland.
add a comment

THE 2008 LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL

 

I didn’t see you there. Year after year, I’ve been encouraging you all to check out this wonderful world of film that is Locarno in August. And you weren’t there again!

Why is it so special, you may ask? Well, first of all, it’s a very accessible and audience-friendly festival. It feels like a big village of film-lovers from August 6 to 16. There are no burly bodyguards keeping the stars isolated, although the casts and creators are there daily, at the open Forum after each screening, answering the queries of the public. It’s also the 300 plus films from around the globe, in different categories (from retrospectives to the official competitions), that open up your mind to various views, dilemmas and possibilities. And then there’s the beauty of the surrounding velvety mountains, the crystal-blue lake and the charming town with its many hotels, restaurants and watering holes. The ease and precision of the Swiss organization, the nightly 7,000-plus seated Piazza Grande screenings under the stars and the mostly glorious weather make this a truly unique experience that nourishes both the brain cells and the body. Festivals are where one sees exceptional films that may never make it to distribution, and Locarno proudly takes risks on emerging talents worldwide.

A general pass that gives you full access for the whole 10 days costs CHF 300 (CHF 110 for students and trainees) and a day pass is from CHF 42 to CHF 47.

Not easy to summarize a minimum of some 30 films in seven days, but I’ll try to recall the highlights. Look out for them eventually in the theaters.

 

In the International Competition, one of the most memorable entries was The Market – A Tale of Trade, situated in Turkey with local actors, but written and directed by Britain’s Ben Hopkins. The realistic, bittersweet tale garnered its lead, Tayanç Ayaydin, Locarno’s Best Actor Leopard. It hauntingly recounts the quest of a young husband trying to make a decent living for himself and his family in a ruthless economic climate. This microcosm of the world brilliantly mixes humor, tension and pathos.

With a completely different locale and theme, Katia’s Sister from Holland shows us how sibling adoration can be both tender and a bad influence. Katia, the older sister, seems to be following in their mother’s “oldest-profession” career, leaving the younger one completely bewildered. Locarno regular Mijke de Jong, who won quite a few awards for her last film here, Tussenstand (Stages), got a mere Special Mention from the Youth Jury for this touching and tragic tale.

Hailing from Poland, a family chronicle from female director Malgoska Szumowska picked up the Special Jury Prize Leopard, plus a prize from the Youth Jury. Titled 33 Scenes from Life, it depicts in powerful fragments a family going through the throes of a mother dying of cancer, sibling jealousies, marital problems and infidelities. It is like a beautifully cracked mirror of life.

Yuri’s Day (Yuriev Den) from Russia was another strong entry, directed by Kirill Serebrennikov. About a lovely, wealthy mother and her son who return to her rural hometown before going abroad, it becomes a harrowing study of a woman who slips back to her roots as she searches for her son, who seems to have disappeared. The film is strange, difficult and powerful, in the vein of Dostoyevsky and Tarkovsky. It took prizes from the Youth, Ecumenical and CineClub Juries.

Kisses, by director Lance Daly of Ireland, is another cruel look at life from two youngsters’ points of view. A boy and a girl, who are neighbors in a drab town outside Dublin, run away from their abusive parents. This momentary freedom is both jubilatory and frightening, with the audience beside them every breath of the way. Once again, it’s tender and tragic, as life can be.

Pan Jianlin’s Feast of Villains from China is the heartbreaking tale of a good son who goes to extremes to help his sick father, but is beaten, cheated and completely betrayed in the end. Can one take this as a metaphor of modern Chinese society? It got a Special Mention from the Competition Jury.

From Italy and Romania, the delicate Mar Nero, directed by Federico Bondi, concerns two women – an ailing widow and her new helper – whose relationship evolves from antagonism to a deep trust. The young Romanian actress Ilaria Occhini won the Best Actress Leopard, while the film also picked up awards from the Youth and Ecumenical Juries.

Un Autre Homme, by Lionel Baier, was the Swiss entry in the Competition, a black and white film about the budding career of a small-time film critic, who goes from being a novice to an ambitious cynic. Austerely made, it seemed more amusing to the critics than the general public.

To top it all off, the coveted Golden Leopard went to Parque Via by Enrique Rivero, a Mexican film depicting the grim divide between the have and the have-nots, based on a real person.

 

In the Filmmakers of the Present category, The Land of Legends – Welate Efsane (Iran/Germany) was about a war-crippled man on crutches with a petition which he wants to take to Baghdad on behalf of the Kurdish people. On his tortuous journey he comes upon a woman and her child, whom he tries to help through harsh winter conditions. Beautifully made by Kurdish director Rahim Zabihi, the film is a cry for peace and justice.

But it was La Forteresse, from Swiss director Fernand Melgar, which won the Golden Leopard in the Cinéastes du Présent category. The documentary follows the process of foreign asylum seekers in Switzerland and specifically in the Vallorbe center. This compassionate tale of hope, prayers and disappointments takes place at least in civilized conditions and comfortable surroundings.

From Israel/Germany came The Heart of Jenin (by Leon Geller and Marcus Vetter), the true story of a Palestinian father who allows the organs of his slain little boy to be donated to other children in need. As one of them is a Jewish Orthodox girl, there is the quest to encounter the family. Moving.

I found the twin documentaries Kinogamma East and Far East a bit over-long and audio-jarring, but a fascinating collage of images from Russia to Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia and India. By the French musician and director Siegfried, the films are a poetic and eye-opening study of raw humanity, their daily lives and their differences.

One of Switzerland’s greatest documentary filmmakers, Jacqueline Veuve, came up with Un Petit Coin de Paradis, about the project of recreating Ossona, a deserted village in the Valais. Once again she can take any subject and make it passionate.

I didn’t see Prince of Broadway from the U.S, but heard it was very good. It did get a Special Mention from the Cinéastes du Présent.

 

From the Piazza Grande, three films have remained with me. One was the grandiose, German-made Nordwand (North Face), about the tragic ascent of the Eiger by five men in 1936. With a tense political climate and the towering Eiger as backdrop, this was a riveting melodrama fit for the gigantic screen of the Piazza.

Also fitting was Lecture 21, a gloriously baroque take on some intertwining old and modern tales concerning Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Though Italian writer/director Alessandro Baricco gave it his all along with a superb British cast, not everyone could fathom this surrealistic appreciation of a great masterpiece. The film is an ode to the joy of music, storytelling and acting.

And there was Marcello, Marcello, a romantic fable by the Swiss/Italian Denis Rabaglia, filmed in the golden/pastel hues of the sun and the sea. This charmingly corny tale about a typical Italian island, its endearing characters and a many-faceted love story takes you away for a pleasant interlude. We thought Marcello would get the Public Award, but that went to the youth adventure, Son of Rambow. I missed the très British Brideshead Revisited which apparently was a success as the opener on the Piazza.

 

One of the strengths of Locarno is its documentaries. And some of the best ones were in the Semaine de la Critique category.

There was the brilliant Nobody’s Perfect from Germany, about the Thalidomide-stricken director Nico von Glasow on a search for 12 people like himself, to make a nude calendar. And why not? By the end of this amusing and astounding film, all the characters with stunted limbs who have agreed to be photographed seem as normal as any of us, except possibly more courageous. And therefore more beautiful.

From Iranian director Nahid Persson, via Sweden where she lives, came Four Wives – One Man, about exactly that – one man and his four wives in a village near Shiraz, Iran. In this frank, sad and surprising documentary, Persson manages to bring out the feelings of the various wives and the unabashed pride of the husband. It’s a fine sociological study of a small minority in that culture.

Apology of an Economic Hit Man by Greek director Stelios Kouloglu was a shocking revelation of the covert operations by the U.S. that employs economic methods to make much of the world indebted to them and therefore easily manipulated  Though the film’s message would be stronger without the reconstructed episodes, it’s nevertheless essential viewing.

And then there was Kites, which concerns a class led by a Polish director in Kabul, Afghanistan. The students were given video cameras and a chance to make movies. It won the prize of the Semaine de la Critique, although in my eyes it was weaker than Nobody’s Perfect which was exemplary, both artistically and emotionally. But who said life was fair?

 

This year there seemed to be a dearth of top international stars, unlike previous years when Susan Sarandon, John Malkovich or Michel Piccoli showed up. But popular Italian actor/director Nanni Moretti was there for a retrospective of his works and to receive an Honorary Leopard. And so was Israel’s great director, Amos Gitai. Both were at the Forum for discussions with their public. Then there was the ebullient Fabrice Luchini, present for La Fille de Monaco on the Piazza Grande, along with the young actress Louise Bourgoin and the talented director Anne Fontaine. The whole cast and crew of Nordwand came also, including one of Germany’s most striking actors, Benno Fürmann (last in Joyeux Noel). And of course most of the creators in the other categories came with their films and were available at the Forum. It’s these talents from around the globe who make Locarno’s festival so inspiring and invigorating. Simply the world in a nutshell.

If you need any info for your trip to Locarno next year, go to www.pardo.ch.

 

As there is no place for latest releases reviews, here are nano-recommendations! 

Run to :

ENTRE LES MURS
NOMAD’S LAND
LE PREMIER JOUR DU RESTE DE TA VIE
A THOUSAND YEARS OF GOOD PRAYERS
YOUNG AT HEART
FAUBOURG 36
MAMMA MIA
PARLEZ MOI DE LA PLUIE

© 2008 Neptune Ingwersen