MIFF Memories – Deep Dives

Well, it’s all done. My two weeks sitting in the dark, travelling the world. Saw 62 films. Only walked out of one but could have – should have walked out of a couple more. Enjoyed all the rest. Thought films on offer this year were generally and consistently of a higher quality than some other years. Maybe fewer adventurous picks but I think not. People ask what was your favourite. Simple answer is many more than one! I’ve tried to group my best ofs into different groupings. First up what I’m calling deep dives, after a tool for exploring innovation in public sector policy development and delivery. Where people try to get to the heart of issues by diving in deep to explore all aspects problems to come up with new responses. So these are movies with a message. In the order I saw them, my favourites were as follows.

The Patience Stone. A woman trapped in a war torn city where opposing sides wreak havoc on the lives of civilians, describes her life to her comatose husband. And what a life it is! Could have been harrowing but is saved by a great lead performance from the beautiful Iranian actress, Golshifteh Farahani. It also avoids a simplistic woman as victim narrative. Through both the resilience and resourcefulness of our heroine. And through the wonderful character of the Aunt from whom she seeks assistance and advice. And very wise advice that is. The lives of both women are described in all their awfulness in conversations between them, in our heroine’s increasingly open monologue directed at her husband and in flashbacks of key events. While the focus is primarily on women there is room to show how vulnerable men are also victims. All this against a backdrop of random violence against ordinary people in their own homes. A very satisfying conclusion rounds off a very satisfying movie.
Here is the trailer

Rhino Season. True story. A man imprisoned in Iran after the fall of the Shah. His crime, a book of poems. And to be married to someone coveted by a former driver, now henchman of the new regime. Thirty years in prison for him. A lesser sentence for her but she leaves with twins under her arms. She is told he is dead. eventually manages to leave Iran. He catches up with them in Istanbul where mother and adult children are struggling to finance a new life in Europe. A bit elliptical at times but many haunting images – including of rhinos. And strong performances by everyone. a film permeated by a sense of loss. Very beautiful and moving.
Here is the trailer.

The Broken Circle Breakdown also deals with grief. Hard to talk about it without spoilers. Two engaging, quirky and strong characters meet, marry, start a family, build a house. He’s in a band and soon she’s performing too. There’s a wonderful bluegrass soundtrack that makes the film worth seeing for that alone. Then there’s a crisis to confront. Which they do, each in their own way. All of this is told in a non-linear way and interesting way. We move back and forth, starting with their first night together, then some concert performances, the announcement of a pregnancy, different bits of the house being built, early signs of illness, doctors and hospitals, home again, birthday celebrations, back in time to a wedding (low key, conducted by an Elvis look alike), more concert performances, family time, more treatment. Conversations about science, spirituality, what we believe or don’t believe. Relatively late in the piece we go back to the first meeting. Then on to the final scenes that are truly heart-breaking. Great movie. It asks a simple but fundamental question for lovers – expressed in a haunting performance of the songIf I Needed You… would you come to me, to ease my pain ?
Here is the trailer.

Manuscripts Don’t Burn was another five star film for me. Another one based on a true story. About the suppression of intellectual freedom in Iran. Fine performances by a cast ( and crew) that didn’t want to be (and so were not) named on the credits for fear of reprisals. And there’s no trailer available. The story emerges slowly but eventually becomes clear. There’s been, some years earlier, an attempt to kill a number of authors in a staged bus crash. A glimmer of humour in a dark story – they were on their way to an Albanian writers festival. Subsequent attempts to write about the botched attempt are being ruthlessly suppressed. The film slowly reveals just how easy this is to do when it is done by the state. At the same time it’s a chilling demonstration of the banality of evil. The hired henchmen go about their work slowly and deliberately. Doing ordinary things in the meantime. Working out where and what to eat in between tasks. At the same time discussing the mechanics of what they have to do – the when, where and how. One is worried about his sick child. He needs money to ensure the best care. The other is sympathetic. It’s nauseating – but oh so ordinary. In the flat of one of the victims, the concerned father casually pockets a peg from a clothesline. You register the moment, wonder why this is being recorded so deliberately. The use to which it is put is revealed casually in a later scene. Finally, the film ends where it began which was a nice metaphorical touch. A memorable and unsettling film. What would I do in similar circumstances?

Stranger By The Lake and The Selfish Giant were my two other stand outs. I did not totally enjoy either but both were unexpectedly moving by film’s end.

Stranger By The Lake was really about the nature of love and connection – in this case between gay men, but a universal question. Sure it includes sex, but our hero wanted more – to share evenings, meals, life experiences with his new lover. His unlikely platonic friend beside the lake was also looking for something – companionship? An end to loneliness? Something to do on his holiday? A beautifully choreographed film. Effective use of repetition – the same cars being driven and parked in the same places, our hero repeating his daily walk expectantly down the same path, looking quickly in the same places, receiving the same acknowledgments. Strangely claustrophobic. Beautiful setting. Ended up a thriller – a whodunit. And concluding ambiguously with the unsettling question – what is one prepared to forgive in a lover? Memorable and thought provoking.
Here is the trailer.

The title of The Selfish Giant still puzzles me. For much of the film I could have throttled the main protagonist who bore an uncanny resemblance to the child of a friend. And for most of it I could barely make sense of what anyone was saying because of the dense Northern accents. However great performances by everyone, and especially the two boys led to an emotionally charged ending that was unexpectedly moving. Ultimately the film was about the redemptive power of forgiveness. Very powerful.
Here is the trailer.