Future screenings of these films are absolutely worth snapping up a ticket for, and guaranteed to be unlike anything else you watch this year.
Amidst this year’s grand line-up of London Film Festival galas, a treasure trove of titles awaited discovery: BFI restorations, archival interventions, unlikely big hitters and works of radical experimentation all made their mark. What’s certain is that London’s repertory cinemas will have no shortage of upcoming masterful, redefining work. A strong thread in this year’s programme was reinterpreting women on screen – from Lucile Hadžihalilović’s The Ice Tower to Kristen Stewart’s cutting directorial debut The Chronology of Water and, of course, Lynne Ramsay’s highly anticipated Die My Love – but as all seasoned cinemagoers know, the best part of any festival experience is sourcing the unexpected. Finding smaller, hidden joys makes the endless networking and queueing on three hours of sleep worth every minute. My personal best of the fest came from the most surprising voices contemplating what lies at the strangest reaches of human imagination, and daring to challenge our definition of what film can be.
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – Mary Bronstein
A stand-out return from indie New York director Mary Bronstein, whose first film in 17 years – a twisted comedy-horror helmed by force of nature Rose Byrne – delivers a slamming punch to the gut. Rife with charming sardonic humour, Bronstein delves in essayistic detail into the relegation of women’s domestic roles and the psychological terror of mothering in an enduring catalyst of psychological swings and ruptures. Not letting up for a second, If I Had Legs aims high, and hits harder than most this year – a film guaranteed to knock the breath out of you.
Dry Leaf – Alexandre Koberidze
This German-Georgian mystery may prove jarring for some – filmed entirely on a W595 Sony Ericsson, rendering cohesive images from this three hour-long epic requires a process of true endurance. However, once adjusted, the most pictorial landscape cinema appears, rewiring our expectation of film entirely, and our own capacity for comprehension. I’d struggle to think of anything like this, a lo-fi road trip starring the director’s father, complete with an invisible character, and an utterly captivating score by Giorgi Koberidze. Somehow, embodying Monet, Kiarostami, and the pure nostalgia of 140p resolution in the same moment.
Redoubt – John Skoog
I went into this on a recommendation from a friend, knowing literally nothing around the film itself except that it starred French master of physicality Denis Lavant, so no further convincing was needed. What unfolded was a deeply heartwarming and concise tribute to a real life obsession with the Swiss ‘Re-doubt’; a kind of speculative Cold War community fall-out shelter. It’s by no means the grandest film at this year’s festival, but it’s built with sturdy ambition and a heart of gold, and Lavant is in his absolute element as the agitated, toiling farmhand.
Memory of A Butterfly – Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski
Using lost film as personal memory, Sadowski traces her heritage to the roots of the rubber trade, deep into the landscape of the Amazonian Rainforest, with the fragmented analogue calling into question gaps in human recollection, disrupting collective consciousness. With this meditative yet challenging work that seeks to balance our personal bond with the earth against the unsettling realities of colonialist dislocation, what emerges is an evocative exploration into how we actually think about memory – in our mind’s eye, and in cinema.
Mare’s Nest – Ben Rivers
Shot in stylised vignettes including a complete Don Delilo play, Ben Rivers’ post-apocalyptic fable weaves mythos amidst junkyard architecture in a world somehow inhabited solely by children. An optimistic outlook set in the aftermath of great unknown disaster, time spent in Mare’s Nest feels just as elusive as in Ben Rivers’ previous escapes. Fragile moments of songs and recitals rethink the capabilities of child actors, framed by ancient coves and monuments. Shot beautifully on 16mm, it serves as the perfect cinematic antidote to technological burnout, albeit with a strangely sinister underbelly.
Hotel London – Ahmed Alauddin Jamal
The BFI archive unveils their latest 4k restoration: the striking 52 minute Hotel London, created during the prolific workshops movement in 1987 from Retake Film and Video Collective. Honing in on the South Asian migrant experience and boldly located on the bridges and shores of the Thames, Jamal’s quiet elegy to the migrant struggle holds a mirror to both the past and present UK housing crises. The bare-bones of British austerity is matched by genuine poiesis amidst each character’s enduring call for a better life answered 38 years later with little separation.
God Is Shy – Jocelyn Charles
Part of the annual LFF Horror Shorts line-up ‘Pulling The Rug Out’, God Is Shy arrives on our screens hot from Cannes, and is one of the most disturbing animated films you’ll surely see this year. A fluid and mesmerising visual style is paired with a creepypasta plot drawn straight from the depths of the dark web. This was perfect late-night viewing at The Prince Charles Cinema, luring its curious viewers further and further into a psychedelic whirlpool of fated premonition, ritual possession and religious fervour. I’m not sure I’ll ever look at ducks the same again… One to keep an eye on.
from Little White Lies - Main https://ift.tt/kG654sP
0 Comments