Film: Nénette Release date: 4th February 2011 Certificate: PG Running time: 70 mins Director: Nicolas Philibert Starring: N/a Genre: Documentary Studio: Artificial Eye Format: Cinema Country: France
In the words of director Nicolas Philibert, “Nénette is a mirror… we attribute all kinds of feelings, intentions and even thoughts to her. In talking about her, we talk about ourselves.” These words act as a great introduction to this film, but they still manage to go only some of the way in explaining the unusual appeal of this film-documentary which centres on Nénette the orangutan, a key attraction of the Jardin des Plantes Zoo, Paris. Transferred to captivity from her natural habitat in Borneo 37 years ago, Nénette, is now over 40 years old, and has far surpassed the usual life-expectancy of her species. She is still, though, as one of the zoo’s visitors points out, the “victim of her own rarity,” and - as the camera focuses on her from the other side of her glass cage - we learn of her life, of the three mates she has outlived, and of the four children she has born (three of which have been transported to other locations in the interest of conservation)…
In reviewing a documentary, you expect to be able to offer little to nothing on aspects such as characters and scripting. However, if there is one thing that Philibert can be congratulated for in Nénette, it is his well-executed inclusion of these elements within this genre. For example, the subtle establishment of Nénette’s character and history is incredibly successful, with the viewer more than likely to be drawn into her story. Be warned, though, this is achieved largely through the use of extended close-ups, and the passing comments and interviews of unseen visitors and staff at Jardin des Plantes. As a result, it does require some concentration to get the very best out of the story. Philibert’s ‘script’ technique is interesting, too, owing to the unusual combination of impromptu reactions and comments from visitors with a handful of staff interviews, which were probably useful in allowing some scope for the management of structure and theme-development in the film.
It might not be quite right to say that this documentary has a plotline so much as that some carefully considered framing and audio-visual editing have managed to highlight a series of themes which are interesting enough to occupy and entertain most people for seventy minutes. Similarly, we won’t be crediting Nénette and her orangutan companions with award-winning ‘performances’. However, Philibert can be worthily commended for capturing the very charm of these animals that first inspired him to create this short film. The human-like behaviours that Nénette exhibits are the most captivating of all, and the choice to include images from her ‘tea time’ was brilliant - there is something quite enthralling about watching an orangutan masterfully open and enjoy a flask of tea and a yoghurt as though she were a sun-worshipping picnicker in the park.
The running theme of this film seems to be that of the similarities between human and orangutan behaviours. The ‘mirror’ effect between the two sides of the glass emphasises the possibility of Nénette being capable of sharing human thoughts and feelings, and this is established by stark facial close-ups and a fly-on-the-wall filming style. All of this encourages the viewer to question how much Nénette is able to take in and understand, and, more importantly, how she might feel about all of it. With this, Nénette inevitably raises some of the moral and ethical questions that exist around keeping wild animals in captivity. However, crucially, this is left up to the viewer to make up their own mind, and thankfully, while there is plenty of room for sympathising with Nénette’s seeming depression, with the little orangutans playing happily nearby, too, there is little chance of this film being misinterpreted as any kind of animal rights propaganda.
This film certainly evokes curiosity about this little-known and little-understood species, and it does invite the viewer to ask many questions that unfortunately Nénette is, quite literally, unable to offer any answers to. This is, though, a truly fascinating picture, and part of its magnetism lies in this inherent inability of Nénette to give you any of your answers. Individual interpretation of her moods, thoughts and feelings mean that this film might potentially mean quite different things to different people. LJ
This is an English-language release.
Gritty Australian crime drama set in mid-1980s Melbourne.
17-year-old Josh, or 'J' (James Frecheville), goes to live with his estranged grandmother Cody (Jacki Weaver) and uncles Pope (Ben Mendelsohn), Craig (Sullivan Stapleton) and Darren (Luke Ford) after his mother dies from a heroin overdose. It turns out that Cody is a fearsome crime matriarch presiding over a family of armed robbers, drug dealers, murderers, gangsters and sociopaths.
Josh must now navigate his way through this explosive 'animal kingdom' of violent crime, helped and hindered in equal measures by police detective Leckie (Guy Pearce).
Film: Animal Kingdom Release date: 25th February 2011 Certificate: 15 Running time: 113 mins Director: David Michôd Starring: Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller Studio: Optimum Format: Cinema Country: Australia
Film: Two In The Wave Release date: 11th February 2011 Certificate: TBC Running time: 91 mins Director: Emmanuel Laurent Starring: Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard Genre: Documentary Studio: New Wave Format: Cinema Country: France
Two In The Wave documents the relationship between arguably the two most influential artists of the French New Wave movement, François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. The film principally focuses on the ideals celebrated by both, uniting them in friendship, and the point at which this friendship dissolves instigating the end of the Nouvelle Vague era. However, instead of a story of collaboration and teamwork, Emmanuel Laurent presents us with a film about two quite different forces running parallel for a while, until they inevitably go their separate ways. Cannes Film Festival, 1959, sees the success of a film called 400 Blows, the first of François Truffaut’s and France’s New Wave feature films. Despite a complete rejection of the old and respected cinematic ways, 400 Blows is received with enthusiastic salutations; the coming of a new, more real filming style is drawn in to the bosom of the French film world, changing cinema forever.
The documentary’s opening scenes show footage taken at the time of the festival, and from here, with our touring guide, Antoine de Baecque as narrator, we are taken on a general chronological journey of the beginnings of the New Wave period to the end of it.
Through interviews, film clips and newspaper snippets, we track the progression of Truffaut and Godard from boys enamoured with the big screen, sampling films in their hundreds, and starting film clubs and societies along the way. Their rapture in cinema leads them to jobs writing for film magazine Cahiers du Cinema, under Editor-in-Chief and mentor André Bazin, and from there, they formed alliances and gained respect, leading to everlasting careers in filmmaking.
Influenced and utilised by both artists, actor Jean-Pierre Leaud, star of 400 Blows (and Truffaut’s on-screen autobiographical representation), becomes torn between the two; and eventually, “his voyage with two fathers of the New Wave…ends on a sad note.”
The artists finally go their own separate ways after the May 1968 student and worker strikes in France, and depart on hostile terms. Via aggressive correspondence, Godard scolds Truffaut for his “lack of critique,” while he, on the other hand, becomes more and more politically motivated in the making of his films. The two never meet again...
By and large, the artists talk of the same ideals and principles behind New Wave cinema, however, although they may have come to the same conclusion, we are shown how their motivations were quite different, and how that caused a divide between them.
Godard came from a good, wealthy family, and we see him in photographs on the shores of Lake Leman in Switzerland where he grew up. Truffaut, however, had a lonely and unhappy youth, and having been through prison twice, was “saved by cinema” as a form of education. For Godard, it was more a “school of life,” of what could come from it and the reaction it could achieve. By comparing their backgrounds, Laurent affords the viewer to better understand what inevitably drove the two apart by what was rooted in their psyche; for one, cinema was above all a pure aesthetic medium – a way of life - and for the other, it was a platform for socio-political representation.
Laurent supplies us with old interview footage of Truffaut and Godard, of which we receive images of two very different people. Godard, a year older than Truffaut, spoke with a closed mouth, wore dark glasses, and had a grave countenance. Truffaut painted quite a different picture. A friendlier expression hosted a sense of enthusiasm and warmth. We see in selected clips he often fiddles with something in his hands whilst answering a question – a slight nervousness implying innocence. He has an altogether more welcoming character.
Consciously or not, these chosen clips suggest Laurent, certainly, has a more hospitable view of Truffaut, and this is also seen amongst other material included in the documentary. When Truffaut succeeds at Cannes with 400 Blows, Laurent includes a remark from Godard; “Truffaut’s a b**tard. No thought for me!” And it is Truffaut who has the last word of the two in the film. In Two in the Wave, a more sympathetic view of Truffaut is begot, and fans of Godard may find slight contention here.
The documentary itself is evidently made for those familiar with New Wave cinema; if you haven’t seen a film with ‘l’essence de Nouvelle Vague’, this film doesn’t provide a text book study. However, those familiar with the genre might appreciate Laurent’s subtle salutes of homage in the use of French actress Isild Le Besco. As she silently studies erstwhile newspapers and magazines, long, clean close ups of her face occupy the screen; and as she visits former New Wave points of interest, a hand-held camera accompanies her on the streets of Paris.
The chosen footage in the film leaves no gaps for concern. It helps that there are a lot of interviews with the two main men; first hand footage of the subjects allows for a better understanding of who they were, and the viewer doesn’t feel they are being dictated an essay. What may have been beneficial in making the documentary more complete would have been the inclusion of films pre-New Wave, or even some influential Italian Neorealist material, for example. There is also limited information on other New Wave artists and their work - it is obvious Laurent doesn’t want to detract too much from the relationship he sees as key in the dynamics of French New Wave cinema.
The story of Truffaut and Godard is respectfully told in this interesting and informative documentary, however, there is a pro-Truffaut feeling. Laurent allows us an insight in to the motivations that first sparked and then felled a friendship, giving energy to one of the most influential movements in film history. MI
The Glasgow Film Festival takes place between 17th and 27th February 2011.
Amongst the screenings of interest to readers of this website are:
Apnea (Greece)
Apnea is the breath control technique used by divers and swimmers to stay under water for minutes at a time. It can cause hallucinations. In the case of swimming champion Dimitris (Sotiris Pastras) it brings on guilt-ridden recollections of his relationship with Elsa (Youlika Skafida), a beautiful environmental activist. He had chosen to concentrate on his training rather than accompanying her on a Greenpeacestyle mission. Now she is missing and he waits anxiously for news, re-examining the past.
Nothing's All Bad (Denmark)
Acutely observed scenes of toe-curling embarrassment blend with the bleakest of black comedy as we meet the lonely Ingeborg who is retired and widowed on the same day, schoolteacher Anna who has had a mastectomy, impossibly handsome Jonas who sells sex to anyone willing to pay and his father Anders who seems ruled by unhealthy sexual urges. Their lives will cross in the most unexpected and poignant of ways.
Cell 211 (Spain)
Spanish regular Luis Tosar is on blistering form as Malamadre, the ruthless ringleader of a prison riot. Alberto Ammann matches his intensity with a sensitive performance as Juan, a young prison guard. Newcomer Juan is being shown around the high-security facility when the riot erupts. His only hope of survival is to trade on the fact that none of the inmates have previously seen him, and so he pretends to be one of the cons. What ensues is an intense, claustrophobic cat-and-mouse thriller.
When We Leave (Germany)
Sibel Kekilli gives an outstanding performance as Umay, a German-born Turkish woman who flees her abusive husband in Istanbul. She arrives at the family home in Berlin with her five-year-old son. Her family welcome her with love but it quickly becomes apparent that they cannot accept her rebellion or her refusal to submit to her fate. She has brought shame to the family, love turns to rejection and outright hostility as she is forced to defy them and make a new life as a free western woman.
Our Life (Italy/France)
Elio Germano is utterly compelling as a man whose strongest failing is his desire to do the best for the people he loves the most. Cocky building site foreman Claudio (Germano) is devoted to his wife Elena and their two young sons. When she dies in childbirth, the world comes crashing down around him. Determined to provide for his boys, he embarks on a career as a building contractor where the best of intentions soon lead to impossible dilemmas. An emotional tale worthy of comparison with the films of Ken Loach…
For more information on foreign screenings at the event, visit the festival’s official website by clicking here.
For the February Asian Movies Meetup, the group are heading to Barrio Central, Poland Street, London.
There will be a free screening of Sparrow, a romantic pick=pocketing caper by one of Hong Kong’s most respected director, Johnnie To.
Two rival pick-pocketing gangs face off on the streets of Hong Kong over a beautiful woman – romance and chivalry’s definitely still alive!
Beautiful Hong Kong scenery as only Johnnie To can capture, a jazzy uplifting soundtrack reminiscent of French New Wave films, and the impeccably cool Simon Yam are the perfect ingredients for our Valentines film.
The BFI, London will be screening two films from French director Georges Franju on 22nd February 2011.
Eyes Without A Face (Les Yeux sans visage)
Desperate to find a cure for his facially disfigured daughter, Dr Génessier carries out experimental skin grafts using the young girls who assistant Louise has lured to his clinic, with horrific results. This delicately handled, sinister masterpiece bears Cocteau’s influence but its weird, brutally poetic tone is Franju’s own.
Le Sang des bêtes From 1948. An unflinching portrayal of a Parisian slaughterhouse: the finest of Franju’s dark yet lyrical postwar documentaries.
Imbued throughout with Truffaut's infectious passion for the magic of cinema, this wise, witty blend of comedy and drama is arguably the most charming of all his films.
The title alludes to how our belief in movie storytelling is dependent on all manner of deceits, and it's that gulf between reality and illusion which Truffaut – here playing the director of a melodrama being shot at a studio in Nice – delights in exposing and exploring.
As the production proceeds, it's the job of the director to keep the chaos of real life off-camera – be it a diva repeatedly fluffing her lines, a feline extra's feeding habits, or the tempestuous romanticism of an immature leading man (Truffaut regular Jean-Pierre Léaud).
Though behind-the-scenes gags abound, they never distract from the emotional truths of a script that constantly acknowledges the roles played in our lives by fantasy, anxiety and desire.
A superb cast perfectly embodies the fleeting joys and pitfalls of teamwork, and Georges Delerue's soaring score echoes the exhilaration of fertile creativity.
Film: Day For Night Release date: 18th February 2011 Certificate: PG Running time: 115 mins Director: François Truffaut Starring: Jacqueline Bisset, Nathalie Baye, Jean-Pierre Léard, François Truffaut, Alexandra Stewart Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance Studio: BFI Format: Cinema Country: France/Italy
Following the critical acclaim of his previous features Kamikaze Girls and Memories Of Matsuko, genre-busting auteur Tetsuya Nakashima returns with Confessions, a notably darker but equally absorbing and typically idiosyncratic work, this time adapted from the award winning debut novel by Kanae Minato.
Reigning in his impulse to create surreal candy-coloured worlds full of chaos and confusion, with Confessions, Nakashima opts instead for an intense drama throbbing with dark emotions and powered by a savage central performance.
Takako Matsu (K-20: Legend Of The Mask) stars as Yuko Moriguchi, a middle-school teacher whose 4-year-old daughter is found dead. Shattered, she finally returns to her classroom only to become convinced that two of her students were responsible for her daughter's murder. No-one believes her, and she may very well be wrong, but she decides, nevertheless, that it's time to take her revenge.
What happens next is all-out psychological warfare waged against her students in an attempt to force them into confessing what she knows in her heart to be true: they are guilty and must be punished.
Brilliantly building the psychological tension from the film’s very start before pulling out all the stops for a devastating and explosive finale, Nakashima has produced what is arguably his most mature and impressive work to date. A superb script, excellent performances from a fine cast and a perfectly pitched soundtrack (that includes tracks by Radiohead, acclaimed Japanese experimental rock band Boris, and this year’s Mercury Prize winners,The XX) make Confessions one of the most original and impressive films of the year.
Film: Confessions Release date: 18th February 2011 Certificate: 15 Running time: 106 mins Director: Tetsuya Nakashima Starring: Takako Matsu, Masaki Okada, Yoshino Kimura Genre: Drama/Thriller Studio: Third Window Format: Cinema Country: Japan
This is an English-language release.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) reunite for the comedy adventure Paul as two sci-fi geeks whose pilgrimage takes them to America’s UFO heartland. While there, they accidentally meet an alien who brings them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever.
Chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman that they accidentally kidnap, Graeme and Clive hatch a fumbling escape plan to return Paul to his mother ship.
Film: Paul Release date: 18th February 2011 Certificate: 15 Running time: 104 mins Director: Greg Mottola Starring: Simon Pegg, Sigourney Weaver, Jane Lynch, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman Genre: Comedy/Sci-Fi Studio: Universal Format: Cinema Country: Spain/France/UK/USA
Two In The Wave is the story of a friendship and of a break-up. Jean-Luc Godard was born in 1930; Francois Truffaut two years later. Love of movies brings them together. They write in the same magazines, Cahiers du Cinema and Arts.
When the younger of the two becomes a filmmaker with Les 400 coups (The 400 Blows), which triumphs in Cannes in 1959, he helps his older friend shift to directing, offering him a screenplay which already has a title, A bout de souffle (Breathless). Through the 1960s, the two loyally support each other.
History and politics separate them in 1968, and afterwards - when Godard plunges into radical politics but Truffaut continues his career as before. Between the two of them, the actor Jean-Pierre Léaud is torn like a child caught between two separated and warring parents. Their friendship and their break-up embody the story of French cinema.
Exploring the letters, personal archives and films of the two New Wave directors, Two In The Wave takes us back to a prodigious decade that transformed the world of cinema.
Film: Two In The Wave Release date: 11th February 2011 Certificate: TBC Running time: 91 mins Director: Emmanuel Laurent Starring: Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard Genre: Documentary Studio: New Wave Format: Cinema Country: France
A haunting, unforgettable journey across the breathtaking Middle Eastern landscape, Son Of Babylon is the second feature from Mohamed Al-Daradji following his impressive debut Ahlaam in 2007.
Northern Iraq 2003. Saddam Hussein has fallen. A journey through Iraq, a troubled land where no one knows what lies ahead.
On hearing the news that prisoners of war have been found alive in the South, curious young boy Ahmed (Yassir Talib) and his obstinate grandmother set out to uncover the fate of the boy's missing father, one of the many soldiers who never came home.
From the mountains of Kurdistan to the sands of Babylon, the pair hitch rides with strangers and cross paths with fellow pilgrims on an all too similar quest. As the grandmother struggles to accept an awful truth, Ahmed retraces the footsteps of a father he never knew. This is a journey that will not only connect them to the past, but will determine their lives forever.
A powerful and urgent new voice in Iraqi filmmaking, Al-Daradji was recently names as Filmmaker of the year by Variety.
Film: Son Of Babylon Release date: 11th February 2011 Certificate: TBC Running time: 90 mins Director: Mohamed Al-Daradji Starring: Shazada Hussein, Yasser Talib Genre: Drama Studio: Dogwoof Format: Cinema Country: Iraq/UK/France/Netherlands/United Arab Emirates/Egypt/Palestine
Barbican Film, London are screening Takeshi Koike’s thrilling white-knuckle ride Redline on 22nd February 2011.
This ultra-stylish anime sees daredevil JP entering Roboworld’s Redline, the ultimate racing tournament – despite the military government banning racing on pain of death, and organised crime attempts to fix the result.
Deadly chaos ensues as JP and his customized ‘Transam 20000’ enter the race.
Barbican Film, London have a one-off screening for 2009’s Girls On The Air on 9th February 2011.
Focusing on the young Afghani idealists trying to make a difference in a country where the very basic principles of democracy were destroyed, Girls On The Air explores the value of freedom of expression and reveals that Afghanistan is a very different country from the Western media stereotype.
23-year-old Afghan journalist Humaira Habib is founder of Radio Sahar, the first independent radio station born after the fall of the Taliban regime and entirely run by women. In a unique example of a new democracy-building process in Afghanistan, Humaira fights every day for the rights of Afghan women.
Ahead of its DVD release on 14th March 2011, Gen Takahashi's controversial epic on corruption in the Japanese police force, Confessions Of A Dog will have a one-off screening at the ICA Cinema in London on 16th February.
Violence, illegal pay-offs, drugs, intimidation – all things that you would relate to the yakuza, the Japanese mafia, but Gen Takahashi’s epic three-hour exposé introduces us to the most dangerous gang on the streets – Japanese law enforcement.
Takeda (Shun Sugata) is an honest police officer, father and husband, but after he’s promoted to detective, he quickly becomes embroiled in dirty backroom dealings, blackmail, and corruption that goes right to the top of the force. Meanwhile, renegade investigator Kusama (Junichi Kawamoto) must decide whether he should shake the foundations of Japanese law enforcement with the information that has come into his possession about the police. What will happen if both these men listen to their consciences?
Too controversial to receive a theatrical release in Japan, Confessions Of A Dog has instead been distributed out of Hong Kong, and has won critical praise from around the globe at festival screenings.
The director will be in attendance for a Q&A session chaired by Japanese film historian Jasper Sharp.
The BFI, London will have a special screening of Léon Morin, Prêtre on 28th February 2011.
In a French village during World War II, a communist, atheist widow challenges a charismatic radical priest. Instead of a battle of wills, their relationship develops into an ongoing discussion about the nature of divine grace.
Jean-Pierre Melville’s film, based on Beatrice Beck’s autobiographical novel, brings his characteristic toughness and leanness to this story of a relationship that is both intellectual and emotional, tentatively growing in the malign shadows of the occupation.
François Truffaut’s fourth feature (directly following Jules et Jim), was initially a disappointment to critics who had expected something more strikingly innovative from the enfant terrible of the French New Wave. Over the years, however, the reputation of Silken Skin (La Peau douce) has grown. Now acclaimed as one of Truffaut’s subtlest and most insightful films, it is released by the BFI to selected cinemas.
What Truffaut had set out to make was – in his own words –“a story of adultery - very realistic, which will give an antipoetic idea of love, the reverse in a way of Jules et Jim, like a polemical reply.”
Pierre Lachenay (Jean Desailly) is a somewhat unprepossessing middle-aged ‘man of letters’ and minor media celebrity who lives in a fashionable Paris apartment (Truffaut’s own) with his wife Franca (Nelly Benedetti) and young daughter Sabine. While on a trip to Lisbon to deliver a lecture on ‘Balzac and Money’, he embarks on an affair with Nicole, a beautiful air-stewardess half his age. The independent, self-possessed young woman is sensitively portrayed by Françoise Dorléac (Catherine Deneuve’s elder sister, who was to die tragically in a car crash in 1967).
Back in Paris, Pierre and Nicole continue to see each other but are constrained by the need to conceal their relationship from his forceful, passionate wife – who is intent on rekindling the flames of their marriage - and by Pierre’s timidity and clumsiness in dealing with the many obstacles that stand in their way. Obsessed with his lover and irritated by his wife – while somehow managing to misread both women - Pierre is a man increasingly out of his depth.
Although Truffaut was condemned for making the kind of bourgeois melodrama that had once seemed anathema to him, his treatment of adultery in Silken Skin was deliberately unconventional – a dark, unsentimental, startlingly true-to-life portrayal of the petty frustrations and practical problems of an illicit affair. The romantic lyricism of Jules et Jim is here replaced by a more rigorous, detached style, while the script – co-written with Jean-Louis Richard (who has a wickedly funny cameo as a creep who accosts Pierre’s wife in the street) – was inspired by a number of authentic newspaper reports which combined with autobiography and fiction to create a single story.
Featuring beautifully nuanced performances, the precise black-and-white cinematography of Raoul Coutard, and one of Georges Delerue’s most memorable scores, Silken Skin is psychologically astute, suspenseful, packed with telling detail and laced with black humour – showing just how much the brilliant young director had learned from his idols Renoir and Hitchcock.
Film: Silken Skin Release date: 4th February 2011 Certificate: PG Running time: 118 mins Director: François Truffaut Starring: Jean Desailly, Françoise Dorléac, Nelly Benedetti Genre: Drama/Romance Studio: BFI Format: Cinema Country: France/Portugal
French filmmaker Nicolas Philibert directs this documentary about Nenette, a 40-year-old orangutan kept at the Jardins des plantes zoo in Paris.
A star attraction at the zoo, Nenette nevertheless pays little attention to the hordes of visitors who flock to look at her.
A mother of four who has outlived three mates, Nenette has lived at the zoo for over thirty years. The film shows her going about her daily routines behind glass, revealing her visitors only by their voices and as shadowy reflections in the glass.
Film: Nénette Release date: 4th February 2011 Certificate: PG Running time: 70 mins Director: Nicolas Philibert Starring: N/a Genre: Documentary Studio: Artificial Eye Format: Cinema Country: France
