Category: Art House

Fire of Love

Directed by: Sara DosaFire of Love

Written by: Shane Boris, Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput, Sara Dosa

Produced by: Shane Boris, Sara Dosa, Ina Fichman

Executive Producers: Carolyn Bernstein, Greg Baustead, ben Braun, Josh Braun, Jessica Harrop

Narrated by: Miranda July

Archive Footage: Katia Krafft, Maurice Krafft.

Maurice and Katia met in 1966.

The story goes, ‘The café closes.  It begins to rain.  They will never leave each other.’

Fire of Love is a documentary about two people who found each other, who shared the same passion: volcanoes.

Maurice a geologist and Katia a chemist, both are fascinated by the same phenomena in their own unique way.  The relationship of the couple and their relationship to the volcano is the driving force of the documentary, shown with care, attention to detail, turning the footage taken by the couple, Maurice recording video, Katia always with her camera, into a poetry.

Narrated by Miranda July, the story of the lives of Katia and Maurice is told with shots from above a coffee cup, the coffee disappearing to illustrate the time when they met, the conversation, the beginning of their shared obsession.

Paper lithography of mountains growing out of the earth change the texture of the documentary and are used to show the movement of the tectonic plates beneath, along with split screen of nature shots by Katia so there’s this constant flow of imagery as the audience gets to know the couple while they document and educate the world about the volcano.

This is a beautifully crafted documentary using video footage and images captured by the volconists as they travel the world, chasing the volcanoes as they erupt.  It’s mind-blowing to see humans standing in front of such a force of nature as the heat from the centre of the earth melts rock so it spews into the sky and runs like a river, destroying everything in its path.  And there they stand, in silver suits, awe struck.  Obsessed.  Nothing could be better than being right there as a volcano erupts.

The relationship of the pair is a running thread through the doco, but it’s also about the science, their exploration and documentation of what was still a mystery.

Their passion to chase erupting volcanoes from: Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Hawaii, Zaire in Africa, Colombia in South America, Japan, was at the same time as the tectonic plates of the earth were being mapped.

They were mesmerised by the ‘red’ volcanoes as they stood before exploding showers of red rock, revelling in how small humans are in the face of such heat and power.

There’s a philosophy at play here, to understand what makes two people put themselves in danger, in front of such force, knowing that at any moment they could fall or miscalculate.

Their curiosity was stronger than their fear.

They go on the interview circuit, captivating the world with their stories of standing in front of such danger.  Maurice explaining in one interview that he didn’t want volcanoes to be categorized, going as far as saying classification is abusive.  He wanted each volcano to be seen as unique.

But after witnessing the devastation of 25 thousand lives lost after an eruption in Colombia (despite scientists warning of the potential eruption), their focus shifts from the ‘red’ volcano to the ‘grey’, named after the ash from these killer volcanoes, to better understand the danger, to try to predict an eruption to warn people, to save lives.

Fire of Love is a fascinating documentary that’s both exciting and poetic, romantic and philosophical.

A truly unique experience that I enjoyed from the start to its poignant finish.

 

The Forgiven

Rated: MA15+The Forgiven

Directed and Written by: John Michael McDonagh

Based on the Book Written by: Lawrence Osborne

Produced by: John Michael McDonagh, Elizabeth Eves, Trevor Matthews, Nick Gordon

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Matt Smith, Chris Abbott, Caleb Laundry Jones.

‘Interesting in a good way?  Or interesting in a bad way?’

A speed boat takes husband and wife, David (Ralph Fiennes) and Jo Henninger (Jessica Chastain) towards the coastline of Tangier, Morocco.

It’s an unhappy interaction, Jo tapping her chin as they toss comments back and forth; well-oiled insults disguised as a battle of wits.

They’re on their way to Richard’s (Matt Smith) Moroccan indulgence – a walled castle in the middle of the Saharan desert for a weekend of partying, joined by old-school pals and others known from the, Club.

David’s been drinking all day.  He embraces the comment from Jo that he’s a highly-functioning alcoholic, commenting, the, ‘high functioning should negate the alcoholic.’

David, an English surgeon, is an abrasive, stubborn man, tolerated by his beautiful wife, a published writer of children’s books.

Drunk and lost in the dark desert, their insolent tolerance of each other is interrupted when a young boy (Omar Ghazaoui) is suddenly in the headlights of their car before he goes down.

Guests already at the party wonder what has happened to the Henningers?  As they drink and dance and revel in the beginnings of their hedonist weekend.

It’s the building tension of, The Forgiven that kept me at the edge of my seat, the film starting with red font credits, hinting of what’s to come.

There’s tension between husband and wife, David and Jo, driving in darkness, lost.  A tension in the conflict of cultures as the Moroccan staff cater to the taboo gay couple, Richard and his ‘side-piece’ Dally Margolis (Caleb Landry Jones).  Morning tea is served in rooms of naked men.  Richard is a character that understands the nature of things.  He is shameless, none-the-less.

Eventually the hosts are told of the dilemma.  A local boy is dead.  They will call the Moroccan police.  It will be OK.  No-one wants a fuss.  It was an accident.

Richard explains, you just need to be overwhelmingly contrite.

‘If it’s absolutely necessary,’ replies David.

And then the boy’s father (Ismael Kanater) arrives at the gate.

Instead of the expected black mail, the father wants David to return home with him to bury his son.

Reluctantly, David goes.

More surprising, he goes without too much fuss, no-one really knowing if he’ll come back.

And with him gone, the weekend can continue.

Based on the novel written by Lawrence Osborne, the complicated idea of this abrasive Englishman willing to leave with the nomadic father of the boy he has just killed is the beginning of the unpacking of his complicated nature.

Each character is revealed as the weekend continues with witty dialogue and silence amongst the dust and heat in contrast to the fireworks and drinking and lounging about a mirage in the desert become real.

The bourgeoise nature of the characters are honest in their debauchery, a contrast to the local Moroccans as they live with nothing but their children and fossils they dig up to sell to tourists.

And now, a father taking David back to his home to bury his only child.

The narrative is gripping in its revelation, the scenery beautiful and stark, a rose in a box of soaps can almost be smelt, the heat of the desert vibrates as David is driven to his unknown fate.

The backstory of each character has been translated into the film using the clear-eyed dialogue of its characters:

‘A woman without discretion is like a pig with a gold ring through its nose.’

‘You should open a Twitter account,’ the Moroccan staff laugh.

Like McDonagh’s previous films, greatly enjoyed and included in my, ‘If you haven’t watched, you’re in for a treat’, list: ‘The Guard (2011)’ and ‘Calvary (2014)’, The Forgiven is a quality film that will stay with you.

 

Official Competition

Rated: MOfficial Competition

Directed by: Gastón Duprat & Mariano Cohn

Written by: Andrés Duprat, Gastón Duprat & Mariano Cohn

Starring: Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas & Oscar Martínez.

Viewed in Spanish with English subtitles.

‘What a wanker.’

It’s Humberto’s (José Luis Gómez) 80th birthday.  His life summed up in the presents laid out before him: a massage chair, a Virgin Mary under a glass dome, a rifle set in its casing.  A painting of a sad clown.

He’s a millionaire who feels like he has money but no prestige.

He wants to be remembered, differently.

He decides he wants to build a bridge.  Or a movie.  Yes, fund a movie.  A good one.  Only the best.

Enter award winning director, Lola Cuevas (Penélope Cruz).

Humberto buys the rights of a Nobel Prize winning novel to base this, only-the-best movie on, and having failed to read it, he asks Lola what it’s about.

She explains its about a rivalry between two brothers.  She has the two actors in mind to build on that rivalry for the film:

Iván Torres (Oscar Martínez): a teacher, an academic, an actor of integrity and respect.

And, Félix Rivero (Antonio Banderas): popular, multi-award winning and arriving at rehearsal in a Lamborghini pashing his latest.

Let the butting of egos begin.

Official Competition is a movie about making a movie, most of the set in an expansive, minimalist house as Lola pulls the actors into the minds of their characters.

Kinda sounds boring, but it’s brilliant watching the techniques used to get the ego’s of these two actors into a place so Lola gets the tone she needs for each scene.

‘I want the truth,’ she demands.

Have to say, Penélope Cruz as Lola looks amazing as the sensitive, brilliant and dedicated director, Lola.  She is the wild, red curly-haired, sensitive and very aware puppeteer.

The film is about how very different these two actors she’s chosen to play the parts as brothers, are; to then realise, they’re as vain as each other.

Iván at one point is seen to be accepting a pretend Academy Award in the mirror, after denying he’d ever lower himself to the popularist farce, and of course not speaking anything but Spanish, to announce in his pretend speech that he was only attending the ceremony to formally reject the award.

Meanwhile, Lola looks incredulously at an online video of Félix making a plea to save the pink dolphin.

I just kept bursting out laughing.

It’s hilarious, all set to Lola’s tricks, using big screens in the background of monologues, rocks suspended over their heads during rehearsal, the sound of kissing while surrounded by microphones, a meat grinder used to signify transition but also showing the edge of Lola’s destruction.

Even Iván’s wife, Violeta (Pilar Castro) an academic hipster who’s written a children’s book is shown as vain as Iván shares a new piece of discordant music where she comments on the brilliance of the tribal drumming.  But no, that’s just next door banging on the wall, again.

This is one of those quietly clever films that seems like it’s not about much but then gives you a tickle when the cleverness of a layer reveals itself.

The whole film’s about ego so in the end the film finishes with a forced clever ending with an ego all of its own.

Great acting, unique and clever story and a good laugh.

Best Sellers

Rated: MBest Sellers

Directed by: Lina Roessler

Written by: Anthony Grieco

Director of Photography: Claudine Sauvé

Editor: Arthur Tarnowski

Produced by: Jonathan Vanger, Pierre Even, Cassian Elwes, Arielle Elwes, Wayne Marc Godfrey

Executive Produced by: Petr Jakl, Martin J Barab

Starring: Sir Michael Caine, Aubrey Plaza, Scott Speedman and Rachel Spence.

Best Sellers is a film about a crotchety recluse writer (he has, ‘Piss off’ taped to his front door), and a failing publisher, Lucy Skinner (Aubrey Plaza).

Lucy’s boutique publishing house is about to go under if she doesn’t find a relevant writer fast.

Enter, Harris Shaw (Sir Michael Caine).

The introduction of Harris Shaw, follows his ginger cat as it makes its way into his study to find him coughing and typing.   The phone rings, ‘He’s dead.  Bugger off,’ he says.

Harris is the classic Johnny Walker, Black Label, cigar smoking recluse writer Sir Michael Caine was made for.

Swipe to classical music: the city, a clean office and publisher Lucy Skinner getting the latest review of her recent Young Adult publication being read by side kick and assistant, Rachel Spence (Elle Wong).  It’s bad.

She needs a writer that will save the publishing house.

She needs Harris Shaw.

He could be dead,’ says Rachel.

Owing the publishing house a manuscript, on the proviso there’s no editing as long as he agrees to go on a book tour, Harris and Lucy set off in Shaw’s green Jag where he starts trending after introducing his book by reading an excerpt from Penthouse.

His favourite way to describe the book tour: ‘It’s all bullshite.’

‘Bullshite’ becomes a hash tag.

And of course the publisher and writer don’t get along, but along the journey bond while Lucy vomits in the toilet.

I like crotchety characters and movies about writers, so I enjoyed the banter between, ‘Silver spoon’ Lucy and, ‘It’s all Bullshite,’ Harris Shaw.

There’s tension and obstacles to overcome, getting to the heart of this abrasive yet brilliant man that got me cheering and quietly chuckling as Shaw declares his hatred for critics – it really does suck to be a critic sometimes.

But I have to say (speaking of being a critic) the soundtrack with that 70s jangle of music to try to lift the film into old-man-cheek, cheapened the sentiment.  Shaw’s like a Hemingway character with his ginger cat and cigar smoking from his mouth while typing the next, Best Seller.  The character deserved something more deliberate.  More… blunt.  Not, dandy grandfather music.

So there’s discord between the thoughtful and funny script writing from Anthony Grieco and the underlying tone built by the soundtrack.

The script includes snippets of poignant sentences like, ‘Art is not propaganda.  It’s an expression of truth,’ giving the usual drama of, I’m-here-because-this-happened, a little more.

So when the character asks the question, ‘Who put a collar on you?’  Dandy guitars aren’t going to reflect the truth of the character.

Best Sellers is a good movie.  Could be been a great movie.

Little Joe

Rated: MLittle Joe

Directed and Screenplay by: Jessica Hausner

Produced by: Bruno Wagner, Bertrand Faivre, Philippe Bober Martin Gschlacht, Jessica Hausner, Gerardine O’Flynn

Cinematography: Martin Gschlacht

Starring: Emily Beecham, Ben Wishaw, Kerry Fox, Kit Connor, David Wilmot, Phénix Brossard, Sebastian Hülk and Lindsay Duncan.

Plant breeder, Alice (Emily Beecham) has genetically engineered a plant that releases a scent to make its owner happy.

She names the mood lifting plant after her son: Little Joe.

Alice has a good relationship with Joe (Kit Connor); a typical teenager, ‘Yep, whatever.’

Until he breathes in the scent of the happy plant.  Because once you breath in the scent of Little Joe, you become infected.  You become, a different person.

That’s what Bella (Kerry Fox) says.  A plant breeder for over twenty years.

But she’s crazy.  She has to be crazy to think a plant can change someone.

The premise of the film, superficially, seems a stretch.  But the way the story unfolds leads with the spacious feeling of a secret.  I wasn’t sure where I was being led but there were a lot of red flags.  Literally: the red font in the opening credits, the red diffuse light, the red hair, red car, red cherry, all leading back to the red flower of the plant named, Little Joe.

That feeling of a secret, of a quiet other world is enhanced by the soundtrack, the music written by Japanese composer, Teiji Ito.  There’s this high-pitched whistle, like the plants are communicating amongst the sound of a flute floating, building with drums that flourish, marking steps in the story that are guided by science.

The strangeness of the idea works because the characters are scientists talking about science – the genetically engineered plants created using virus vectors that release oxytocin.

Bella makes the point that because the plant is sterile – has to be made sterile, because it’s genetically engineered and there’s a risk of the plant running wild in nature, and of course the commercial aspect – it’s natural for the plant to want to reproduce.  So, imagine a plant where a virus vector mutates to not only cause happiness, but to work towards reproducing itself.

Oxytocin, is otherwise known as the mother hormone because it’s released into the blood stream in response to love and childbirth, to create a bond.

You look after the plant, you feed it, keep it warm, talk to it, and Little Joe rewards you with happiness.

‘Knock on wood.’

Says Alice during a therapy session.

‘What worries you?’ asks her psychotherapist (Lindsay Duncan).

Knock on wood.

Which of your children will you choose?

The film follows Alice as she navigates her desire to work versus the love she has for Joe, her feelings towards fellow scientist, Chris (Ben Wishaw) and her fear that the plant she’s created is in fact changing people.

Is it fear that distorts how she sees the world?  Or is she finally able to see what she’s really afraid of?

What is it that she secretly wishes for?

The film scratches at those secret desires using those feelings as a vehicle to hide the agenda of the story.  Like the agenda of a new entity that wants to reproduce but can’t, so uses the happy hormone to replicate, to be cared for.

It’s clever.  But the tone of film isn’t about being clever; it’s just different.  And interesting, with a subtle flavour of the disconcerting.

 

The Audition (Das Vorspiel)

Directed by: Ina WeisseThe Audition (Das Vorspiel)

Written by: Daphne Charizani (screenplay), Ina Weisse (screenwriter)

Produced by: Pierre-Olivier Bardet, Felix von Boehm

Starring: Nina Hoss, Simo Abkarian, Serafin Mishiev, Ilja Monti.

Viewed in German with English subtitles (released as part of the German Film Festival).

“I’m sorry it’s all so complicated right now.”

The Audition follows Anna (Nina Hoss): a violinist, a teacher, a wife and a mother.

She watches young Alexander (Ilja Monit) audition for tutorage at the school where she teaches.  She sees talent. She wants him to be her student.

We watch Anna with her husband, a French violin maker, Philippe (Simon Abkarian).  He loves her.  He understands her, her discomfort, anxiety.  He doesn’t mind swapping tables, swapping plates.

He knows something is wrong just by listening to her play violin.

At first, The Audition feels like it’s about the music, about the protégée, Alexander.  A protégée, but also a replacement for Anna’s lack of success on stage.

But this is a nuanced film that explores the slow twist of relationships to what really matters to Anna: the desperation to succeed.  Her son’s need of a mother’s love.  A mother’s need for her son’s attention.

This is a film about the effect of a son pulling away from his mother.  How it turns her life to seek fulfillment from an affair with another man.  To see her ambition projected onto her young student so she pushes and pushes, eventually setting her own son up in competition against her protégée, Alexander.

This is about how she seeks comfort from the warmth of a hairdryer blown under her jumper.

But more than from her son or lover or husband, Anna needs fulfillment because something’s missing.

The more I write the more I understand the slow reveal of this character, Anna: her mother dying when she was young.  Her father tough with his life lessons.

It’s a carefully constructed narrative, a character study set to the sound of the violin.

This is a bittersweet piece of a person’s life: her successes, her failures and ultimately her need above all else.

It’s a slow burn with layers of music and the language about music, but it’s the undercurrent that’s shown in a look or gesture, the unspoken that speaks the loudest – that’s what the film is really about.

The Audition is a difficult movie to review because it’s a subtle one, a cerebral thought-provoker and a film I’ve enjoyed pulling apart and thinking about after the credits have rolled, almost more than the actual viewing.

Land

Rated: MLand

Directed by: Robin Wright

Written by: Jesse Chatham and Erin Digman

Produced by: Allyn Stewart, Lora Kennedy, Leah Holzer and Peter Saraf

Starring: Robin Wright, Demián Bichir and Kim Dickens.

“What are you feeling?”

Land is a quiet film, with only the call of coyotes, the crickets, the birds, water flowing.  Then there’s the strings in the soundtrack, the only music, that rise and fall.

The film follows Edee (Robin Wright) as she leaves the city following a road that turns from asphalt to gravel to turn into a dirt road that leads further into the mountains.

She doesn’t want to be around people anymore.

The flashbacks to the past show Edee asking her sister (Kim Dickens), Why am I still here?

There are flashes of a little boy and a man, her son and husband.  And you know they’re gone.

Edee organises herself, she cleans up her cabin. There’s a river. She fishes.  She remembers.

But in the quiet she slowly falls apart as the land freezes into winter – as she realises she doesn’t know how to survive.  Doesn’t know if she wants to survive, until she’s found and slowly brought back to life by a local hunter, Miguel Borras (Demián Bichir).

This isn’t a love story.

Land is a story about friendship.

This is a story about grief.

And there’s a genuine honesty in the telling.

Robin Wright plays the main character and directs – she brings a softness and strength to the story that invites the audience to feel it all along with Edee.

And Miguel as the one with the big heart that helps her just because she’s in his path is honest in his kindness.

It feels so rare, the selflessness, the reaching out, the understanding.

There’s nothing forced, just the space and quiet to recover.

I was looking forward to seeing nature on the big screen, yet the land of burnt skies, icicles dripping and the wind flowing through a tree standing on a rocky outcrop were a backdrop to the depth of Edee’s loss, subtle and powerful, as she focuses on surviving, to see the little things – to really take notice.

I basically had tears running from the beginning of this film.  So calm and kind in the telling.

A deeply moving film.

Deerskin

Rated: MA15+Deerskin

Directed and Written by: Quentin Dupieux

Photography, Editing: Quentin Dupieux

Art and Set Direction: Joan Le Boru

Sound: Guillaume Le Braz, Alexis Place, Gadou Naudin, Cyril Holtz

Starring: Jean Dujardin, Adele Haenel

French with English subtitles

‘I swear never to wear a jacket as long as I live.’

Deerskin first introduces Georges (Jean Dujardin) wearing a green jacket with three plastic buttons.  He parks on the wrong side of the petrol bowser.  And looking at his reflection in the car window he frowns at what he sees.  Then he flushes the jacket in the public toilet.

Yep, Georges is losing it.

The music flares.

And I think to myself, I already like this movie.

The film is character driven and continues to follow Georges.  But there’s another character in this movie.  A jacket.  We meet the beast.  The new jacket: 100% Deerskin.

The way the film flashes to a live deer in the wilderness seals it somehow.  Just how cool the jacket is.  But It’s not. It’s made from the skin of this beautiful innocent animal (see previous flash to said deer in the wilderness).  And, it’s got… fringes.  But Georges LOVES it: ‘Style de tueur (Killer style),’ he says, looking in the mirror.

It just makes me grin.

After that Georges keeps driving.

‘You’re no-where Georges.  You no longer exist.’  That’s what his ex-wife tells him, over the phone.

Georges ends up in the bar of a small village, where he meets the barmaid, Denise (Adele Haenel).  She’s been burnt by love too.  But Georges is a brand-new man in his deerskin jacket.  He tells Denise he’s a film maker.

It makes sense to say he’s a film maker.  He’s been recording film all day, so it’s kinda the same.  ‘No it’s not,’ says the jacket.

Instead of getting to know an available woman, Georges gets to know the jacket as his relationship with this 100% deerskin jacket becomes the subject of Georges’ movie to be.

Killer style indeed.

Director and writer Quentin Dupieux says, ‘I wanted to film insanity.’

And Georges has lost it.  But wow, he’s really enthusiastic about it.

The way Georges insanity is shown is somehow shocking and hilarious.

It’s the same dark humour used in, The Lobster, but less confronting even though there’s more killing…  And this whole jacket business is just so ticklish.

Jean Dujardin (who plays Georges in the film) explains it’s Quentin’s use of space that creates the comedy, ‘It’s in those moments of hesitation that the comedy and drama blend. You’re right on the borderline. All those scenes, for example, in which Georges demands money, or can’t pay. Quentin takes the time to stretch out the sense of malaise, to allow for some lingering doubt. Is Georges going to turn violent? Weep? Laugh? You never know what will happen. Time stands still for a moment, and those little agonies make me want to die laughing.’

Then there’s Georges dream in life – for him, it’s all about wearing this deerskin jacket.  To be the only person wearing… a jacket.  It doesn’t make sense.  But from the perspective of Georges, as he makes a film about his dream, it kinda does.

The character Denise gets it.  She reckons the jacket is like a shell to protect the wearer from the outside world.

I think it’s because Georges hates who he used to be, wearing that green blazer with the three plastic buttons.

Or perhaps Deerskin is just a weirdo movie that’s put together in a way that somehow makes sense.

Whether you analyse the layers or not, I was thoroughly absorbed and entertained from start to finish.

Like Denise says, ‘I’m into it.’

Pain and Glory (Dolor Y Gloria)

Rated: MA15+Pain and Glory

Written and Directed by: Pedro Almodóvar

Produced by: Agustín Almodóvar

Executive Producer: Esther García

Original score: Alberto Iglesias

Director of photography: José Luis Alcaine

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Nora Navas, Julieta Serrano, César Vicente, Asier Flores, Penélope Cruz.

Spanish with English subtitles.

‘If you don’t write or film, what do you do?’

‘Live, I guess.’

Pain and Glory is a drama, a life story shown in monologue and intimate conversation.

Salvador Mallo’s (Antonio Banderas) life is filled with patterns and colours, water and tiles, suspension and scars.

The story of the film circles his life as he remembers teaching a young builder to read and write when he was growing up in the catacombs with his mother, as he remembers his career writing and making films and the past disagreements with friend and actor, Alberto (Asier Etxeandia) whom he hasn’t seen since the premiere of his most successful film thirty-two years ago.

He remembers as the pain of his ailments take pieces from him, his back pain, his migraines, his choking – he can’t create anymore, but he can remember.

This is a film that bleeds the present and the past so the trigger of smoking heroin with the man described, ‘You’re the opposite side of that text,’ Salvador falls, taking him back to the time when he experienced his first desire, his first love, the escape from the ‘bad ring’ of Madrid, to get away from the temptations of addiction to Havana and the Ivory Coast.

But sometimes, love isn’t enough.

He has no regrets.  To recover from his past, he writes the story.

So the past and present are intertwined like his writing translated into this film.

Director and writer, Pedro Almodóvar has taken pieces from his own life, translating them into the film like the character Salvador makes films about his past.

The hair, the setting of the apartment the same as the man himself, Pedro.

Antonio Banderas has just won the Cannes 2019 Best Actor Award (the film selected to compete for the Palme d’Or) for his performance here.  And I can see why.  He just seems to get better with age.  His humble sincerity a warmth felt through the screen.  He’s endearing.

And there’s more to the film than a character study as the scenes cut from the bright sun shining through the exposed roof of the catacomb house, to the animation of red broken lines like the branches of a tree exploding in the drawn lines of a brain, a contrast to the quiet suffering of a man embarrassed of his pain, refusing to allow his housekeeper to tie his laces, wearing loafers, catching taxis, lying in the dark.

But there are no complaints as he loses himself in memory.

This isn’t a sad film, more a poignant tale of all the darkness and light in life – sad and happy and true.

The overriding feeling I got from this film was grateful: life can be cruel, but it can also be kind.

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché

Rated: GBe Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché

Written, Directed and Produced by: Pamela B. Green

Co-Written by: Joan Simon (Writer, Executive Producer)

Executive Produced by: John Ptak, Joan Simon, Geralyn Dreyfous

Narrated by:  Jodie Foster

Cast Including: Alice Guy-Blaché, Patty Jenkins, Diablo Cody, Ben Kingsley, Geena Davis, Ava DuVernay, Michel Hazanavicius, and Julie Delpy.

Be Natural is an investigative biography, taking writer and director Pamela Green eight years to piece together the life of one of the first director’s of film: Alice Guy-Blaché.

Most enthusiasts, film professionals and critics will sight the Lumiéne brothers. The responses will vary.  Rarely will the name Alice Guy-Blaché be mentioned.

The documentary is shown like a mystery, while asking the question – was she overlooked in the history books because she was the first female director?  Writing, producing or directing 1,000 films, then going on to build her own studio, Solax in the U.S, alongside the likes of Paramount Pictures and Universal, how has this titan of the industry been forgotten?

Greene sets about investigating, showing her search with animated maps tracing her travels; the conversations with sources from Alice’s relatives, to archives and museums, while travelling to France, Brussels and through-out the United States.

We’re taken on the journey as each detail is revealed and highlighted with the red outline of a magnifying glass as narrator, Jodie Foster, details the findings, to cut to interviews of actors, directors, relatives and found footage of an interview with Alice herself, giving insight into the difficulties she had, not as a film maker, but to get credit for her own work.

The documentary travels back in time, to Alice’s beginnings, to her first job as a secretary working for Léon Gaumont, where at 23, she was to make one of the first narrative films ever made, La Fée aux Choux (The Cabbage Fairy) (1869).

This was a time when film was first invented, the company Alice worked for in France, Gaumont Film Company, selling cameras to the scientists, the inventors, to the leaders of their industry; where anything new or different was recorded like a stock shot – the ocean rolling in and tourist attractions from around the world.

There was no thought of using film to tell a story.

The general consensus was that film would pass as a fad.

For a woman to have such control was unnoticed because no one thought filmmaking would last.  Alice was able to find a place in the industry.

So how is it that no one has heard of Alice Guy-Blaché?  How did she get forgotten?

Even though Alice wrote her own memoirs, and that she corrected the historians time and again, her body of work was mostly lost leaving silence around her phenomenal success.

I felt the injustice, not because Alice was a female film maker, but because one of the pioneers of film-making had been so completely overlooked.

Historical documentaries aren’t my usual go-to for movie watching; yet, Greene has gone to great lengths to keep the sheer volume of information clear and interesting.

Using montages and layered screens and unique ways of showing shots of photos held by relatives; magazines thrown, one on top of the other, and the slicing of Alice’s films to show her work, kept the investigation moving like a quick wit (rather than a dry news story).

I could see the huge amount of information Greene managed to amass, the amount of work and effort obvious in getting history right this time.  To give Alice, finally, her due.

Just one of her many moments of forward thinking, we learn that Alice had notes all over her studio, including a large sign, Be Natural.  ‘That’s all I asked of them,’ she says of her actors.

And in the end all Alice wanted was acknowledgement of her work.

For those interested in cinematic history, this documentary is a gift.  For those not looking for a history lesson, this is a doco that is more investigative, more about the revealing of a mystery shown in an interesting and clever way.

Alice Guy-Blaché (1873-1968)

Subscribe to GoMovieReviews
Enter your email address for notification of new reviews - it's free!

 

Subscribe!