PIFF 35 Preview: THE SNOWS OF KILIMANJARO

A large group of men huddle outdoors as their union representative, Michel (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) calls out names drawn from a box.  He pulls his own name, thus joining the ranks of those laid off from working at the docks.  His brother-in-law Raoul (Gérard Meylan) asks if Michel is "crazy" for including himself in the drawing, while Michel's wife, Marie-Claire (Ariane Ascaride) comments that it's hard sometimes to live with a "hero."  These differing reactions describe the central tension of Robert Guédiguian's The Snows of Kilimanjaro, a meditation on how our values hold up when tested.

Essentially, it is Michel and Marie-Claire's faith in their own social status that is at stake in the film.  Shortly after entering into early retirement, the couple is robbed at gunpoint by Christophe (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet), one of the workers whose name Michel had pulled during the layoffs.  When Christophe is apprehended by the police, Michel confronts the younger man about what he has done.  Instead of showing remorse, Christophe shocks Michel by challenging the comforts he will enjoy as a middle class pensioner, contrasting the safety net afforded Michel with the complete lack of security the other laid off men have available to them.

Though the scene between Christophe and Michel is brief, the debate rages on throughout the film as Michel and Marie-Claire are treated to a variety of opinions on the matter from friends, family and the police.  For their part, they seem more interested in direct action, coming to the aid of Christophe's young brothers, pausing only once to discuss the strain between the socialist views they've held and the class position they occupy.

It's a film anchored by the performances, especially the work of Darroussin, whose quiet expressiveness modulates masterfully between growing humiliation and graceful acceptance.  Even when the plot veers towards becoming an apologist piece, his solid presence offers the viewer something to embrace.

The Snows of Kilimanjaro will screen for the public at Cinemagic on Feb. 11th at 6pm and at the Lloyd Mall 6 on Feb. 13th at 8:45pm  A final screening will occur on Feb. 16th at the Lake Twin Cinema at 8:30pm.

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PIFF 35 Preview: ALMANYA: WELCOME TO GERMANY

Based on audience reaction during Wednesday's press screening for Almanya: Welcome to Germany, it's going to be really popular with this year's festival goers.  The film details the lives of a large Turkish family living in Germany.  Hüseyin (Vedat Erincin plays him in the present, Fahri Ögün Yardim is the younger version) and Fatma (Lilay Huser presently, Demet Gül in the past) left Turkey to participate in the "economic miracle" of the 1960s, when workers of the world flocked to find employment in the city centers of Germany.

40+ years later, Hüseyin and Fatma are officially becoming German citizens.  This doesn't rest too well with Hüseyin, who secretly purchases a home back in Turkey, springing the news on his family as they gather for a celebratory dinner.  He insists, to much protest from his family, that they join him in a journey to fix up the house during the upcoming holidays.

Almanya is a film that unfolds across two time periods.  The story of Hüseyin and Fatma's past is explained to Cenk (Rafael Koussouris), the youngest member of the clan, by his cousin Canan (Aylin Tezel).  Director Yasemin Samdereli allows the tale to flit between reality and light surreality, often without warning.  This works extremely well in the first half of the film, like in the very funny scene where Hüseyin and Fatma finalize their German citizenship and immediately have a pork-rich dinner thrust upon them.  The recurring sequences involving their son Muhamed's (Ercan Karacayli in the present, Kaan Aydogdu as the younger version) Coca-Cola obsession lean the hardest on the use of the surreal, yielding some of my favorite moments in the film.

The light mood does not prevail for the entire film, though, as the third act transition feels more manipulative than authentic.  While the move to a more serious set of circumstances is entirely appropriate, the manner in which it is orchestrated plays out much more by the numbers than anything that preceded it.  As I hinted at the beginning of this post, this didn't seem to faze those in the audience on Wednesday, and while it might not bother everybody, it did bug me.

Overall, Almanya is a good film with an incredibly charismatic cast of characters that will likely please a lot of PIFF attendees (expect laughter and clapping).  I just wish it could have taken a more honest route to its conclusion, without relying on emotional gerrymandering.

Almanya: Welcome to Germany will screen for the public at the Whitsell Auditorium on Feb. 10th at 6pm, the Lloyd Mall 6 on Feb. 11th at 3:15pm and 8:30pm  A final screening will occur on Feb. 12th at the Lake Twin Cinema at 8pm.

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PIFF 35 Preview: BREATHING (ATMEN)

Roman Kolger (Thomas Schubert) has a problem.  He's been in prison since the age of 14 and now, at age 19, needs to find work in order to gain parole.  He's not terribly animated, motivated or skilled, so it seems awfully befitting when he falls into a job as an undertaker.  Breathing (Atmen) is a slow-moving, Austrian character piece that hovers warily over its protagonist, rarely offering hope but, patiently, revealing small details and slight grace notes that allow for insight into Roman's plight.

At first, there is only one thing we know about Roman; he's alone in this world.  The only advocate he has is a social worker who drives him around town, prepping him for an upcoming parole hearing.  The film is predominantly built upon extended moments of observation that yield small reveals, most of which occur in the spare moments when Roman risks interaction with others.  There is a fleeting encounter with a girl on the train back to his holding cell.  A failed attempt to reach out to a co-worker.  And another involving an older woman...but I don't want offer up too much, especially since this is a film that hinges so delicately on little details.

Austrian actor-turned-director Karl Markovics understands that explanations aren't of primary concern to his story.  Instead, he sticks with small events and repeated passages, like the indignities that Roman must endure each night as he returns to prison, to draw in the viewer.  It's a particularly strong directorial debut for Markovics, who has spent much of his prior career on television and in the theater.  Likewise, Schubert's turn as Roman, his first film role, has an appropriately affectless feel to it.  He plays Roman as someone who has been abandoned by society; a truth that only deepens as the evidence of his life unfolds.

Breathing (Atmen) will screen for the public at the Lloyd Mall 6 on Feb. 10th at 6:15pm and, again, at Cinemagic on Feb. 12th at 8pm.  A final screening will occur on Feb. 14th at the Lake Twin Cinema at 6pm.

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PIFF 35 Preview: DECLARATION OF WAR

Early on in writer-actor-director Valérie Donzelli's Declaration of War, written in semi-autobiographical collaboration with her co-star Jérémie Elkaïm, a young man and woman (Romeo and Juliette) have a chance meeting at a noisy nightclub.  After exchanging names, the woman states with some amusement, "so we're doomed to a terrible fate."  Her tossed off prediction, it turns out, is both true and false.

The scene is a flashback directly following an establishing moment with Juliette standing over their son, Adam, as he's undergoing an MRI scan.  His ailment, a brain tumor, is the prolonged concern of the film, which somehow is able to sustain an optimistic energy throughout, even with the plot centering on a parent's worst nightmare.

All credit for this result rests with the writing and performances; the entire film is grounded by the beautifully observed adult relationship that lies at the center of the film.  Romeo and Juliette's strengths, weaknesses and overall growth in the face of the circumstances they face as parents are all made available to the viewer.  Their love feels authentic and, even when the filmmakers take risks that don't entirely pay off; the awkward musical duet that plays out shortly after they find out about Adam's illness, for instance, watching the couple interact onscreen is a captivating and joyful experience.  Strange as it sounds, I'd argue that the film is essentially a romance, albeit one that folds childhood cancer into the mix.  Highly recommended.

Declaration of War will screen for the public at the Whitsell Auditorium on Feb. 10th at 8:30p.m.


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PIFF 35 Preview: THE SALT OF LIFE

The Salt of Life is writer-director Gianni Di Gregorio's second film, after the charming surprise that was Mid-August Lunch, to follow the modest exploits of an aging Italian man named Gianni (played by Di Gregorio, naturally).  The first film had Gianni entertaining his elderly mother and her friends, cooking them elaborate meals while watching over them.  This time around, Gianni's on his own and looking for a little romance, despite the fact that he's a family man.

Di Gregorio places Gianni into a context that makes the moral aspect of Gianni's quest harmless, allowing the audience to be amused by his missteps, rather than concentrate on the infidelity.  We know early on that he's in a sexless marriage, broke, unemployed and endlessly called upon by his mother and others for errands and help.  In these relationships, he exudes a selflessness bordering on the masochistic, never really taking anything for himself, always accepting what comes to him, no matter how thankless.  So, when a friend keeps suggesting that Gianni seek a little pleasure for himself in the form of an affair, the logic of the world presented makes it seem a reasonable route, even if it takes a while for Gianni to come around to the idea.

The Salt of Life is the rare sequel that works, fully recapturing the magic that made Mid-August Lunch such a treat.  It's completely unnecessary to have seen the former film in order to appreciate it, although a quick look at Mid-August Lunch (it's a breezy 80-min. in length) will only deepen your joy when watching the new movie.

In the screening that I saw, there were numerous moments that evoked roars of laughter from the audience.  This is easily the funniest film I've seen in 2012, wringing humor out of even the most cliched of situations.  It's a rare treat and I'll probably still be talking about it as the year comes to a close.

The Salt of Life will screen for the public at the Lake Twin Cinema on Feb. 10th at 6pm and, again, at Cinemagic on Feb. 12th at 5:45pm.

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PIFF 35 Preview: GOODBYE FIRST LOVE

And here we go again: the press screenings for the 35th annual Portland International Film Festival began yesterday morning.  First up, a film about young love or, really, recovery from first love.

Goodbye First Love is Mia Hansen-Løve's (Father of My Children) take on the puppy love, gone awry film.  Young Camille (Lola Créton) is hopelessly taken with her boyfriend Sullivan (Sebastian Urzendowsky).  Sullivan claims to love her but also doesn't want to grow "too dependent," spending nights away from Camille at parties while planning a move to South America.  Predictably, it's not long before Sullivan is out of the picture, fracturing her immature view of what constitutes life.

The film spends an incredible amount of time focusing on Camille's emotional recovery, only to send her into the arms of her much older architectural studies professor, Lorenz (Magne-Håvard Brekke), a move that, like the initial breakup with Sullivan, one can see coming from a mile away.  This relationship is also strained, although, this time, it's her inability to fully commit that threatens it.

Overall, Goodbye First Love is a perfectly fine distraction.  It's well shot and the performances are admirable.  If there is something to complain about, it's that Hansen-Løve focuses so intensely on Camille's post-breakup depression that there's little room for plot advancement during a very large chunk of the film.  Most of the time, when it's not bogged down by pacing issues, it's a fairly pleasant, though somewhat slight, film.

Goodbye First Love will screen for the public at the Lloyd Mall 5 on Feb. 12th at 2pm and, again, at Cinema 21 on Feb. 17th at 8:45pm.

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Best of 2011: The Top 5

#5 How to Die in Oregon (dir. Peter Richardson):

A brave, even-handed look at Oregon's Death with Dignity act.  Rather than dwell on the law itself, Richardson goes directly to those who are affected by its provisions.

Hit the link to read what I had to say about it back in February.

#4 The Tree of Life (dir. Terrence Malick):

Terrence Malick's newest vision split audiences wildly, some lapping it up while other viewers chose to turn their backs on it entirely. To be sure, this isn't your average, run of the mill entertainment, reduced to explainable phenomena and wrapped up with a tidy, little moralistic bow at its close; Malick is grappling with large philosophical issues, the answers to which are unreachable by any artistic medium.

Religion, science, special effects, personal mythology and the mysteries of connectivity are all employed but meaning is left to the viewer to discern. To some, this puzzle felt like homework. To others, a visually rich gift.

#3 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul):

A farmer dying of kidney failure is visited by long departed family members and a series of memories/visions reaching back to before he was born. Weerasethakul breathes new life into the cinema with this trance-inducing, experiential work that defies literal explanations.

One of the few films I've seen in recent years that bears an excessive amount of repeated viewings. Just thinking about it now makes me want to watch it again.

Hit the link to see what I had to say about it in February.

#2 Le Quattro Volte (dir. Michelangelo Frammartino):

My favorite narrative film of the year was also the biggest surprise at the 2011 edition of the Portland International Film Festival, arriving with little to no advanced hype from other festivals.

Hit the link to read my thoughts about it in February (when it was billed locally as The Four Times).

#1 Nostalgia for the Light (dir. Patricio Guzman):

A documentary that blends parallel facts, concepts and viewpoints into a personal and historically-based meditation on time, memory and loss. Despite the dire truths being dealt with here, Guzmán infuses the film with a tactile sense of hope, refusing to give up on his native soil. A remarkable film that pushes boundaries without flash or pomp.

Hit the link to read what I wrote about it back in March.

Thanks for reading.  If you missed the previous "best of 2011" posts, they can be quickly reached here:

Best of 2011: #6-10 
Best of 2011: #11-15 
Best of 2011: #16-20
Best of 2011: The Runners Up

And remember, the press screenings for the 35th annual Portland International Film Festival begin tomorrow.  I'll be at those screenings and actively posting about them on the blog.  So keep an eye out for updates this week and throughout the festival!

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