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Juliette Binoche

Saturday at AFI Fest 2019

November 17, 2019 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

The second day of AFI Fest Presented by Audi, was another day filled with interesting and powerful films. The odd thing about being at Hollywood and Highland this year is that since the Egyptian Theater down the street isn’t being used this year, I have no reason (or desire) to descend to street level and the mass of tourists and hawkers on Hollywood Boulevard. I’m up two floors higher where I can look down from my own little world (or perhaps it’s an ivory tower).

Hirokazu Kore-eda is one of my favorite directors. His hallmark is films about relationships—especially family relationships. The Truth is his first film made outside of Japan. That gave me some worries that he might have trouble portraying a different culture, but he’s done a wonderful job. Fabienne (Catherine Deneuve), an aging actress, has just published her memoir. Her daughter Lumir (Juliette Binoche) has returned with her family (including her husband Hank [Ethan Hawke]) after many years in America to celebrate her book—but also to criticize her mother for the falsehoods about their relationship, which was pretty non-existent. A recurring line is “Memory can’t be trusted.” When Fabienne’s major domo suddenly quits after years of being taken for granted, he convinces Lumir to stay around through the next film Fabienne is making—a story of a mother and daughter who rarely see each other. It is a story of memories—real and imagined. It is also a story that delves into the parent/child relationship in the unique way Kore-eda has of exposing love that may not be what we expect.

Kazik Radwanski’s Anne at 13,000 Ft is a very up-close look at a young woman struggling to understand who she is. Anne (Deragh Campbell) is a daycare teacher in Toronto who is hardly more mature or responsible than the children she oversees. After going skydiving (a tandem jump) on a bachelorette party, she wants more than anything to get to where she can do it solo. But as we watch her at work, or in various relationships, we see not only childishness, but also perhaps a bit of bi-polar style personality problems. As the film moves along, we see her less as someone we are comfortable with and more someone we know is at a breaking point. Will skydiving give her the freedom and control she desires or will it be too much for her to handle?

In Song Without a Name (Canción Sin Nombre) from director Melina León, Georgina (Pamela Mendoza),a young indigenous woman in 1988 Peru, is lured to a clinic with the offer of free maternity care. But after she delivers her daughter, the child disappears. Itinerant clinic would steal the babies of poor women to sell for adoption abroad. The police are unresponsive, in part because the poor women are seen as worthless. (When Georgina first goes to the clinic there are children jumping rope to the chant “Singled, married, widowed, divorced. Mother or not, you are worthless.”) In desperations she turns to a journalist to investigate in hopes of having her child returned. The start black and white cinematography emphasizes the dreariness of the story and of Georgina’s life. Her life is visualized on screen by hills and stairs—she is always struggling to get anywhere, but she must persist.

Filed Under: AFIFest, Film, Film Festivals, Reviews Tagged With: Canada, Catherine Deneuve, Ethan Hawke, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Juliette Binoche, Kazik Radwanski, Melina Leon, Peru

High Life: [Star] Trek of the Damned

April 19, 2019 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Told mostly in flashback, High Lifefocuses on the journey of prisoners who have been told that they would be sent into space for the betterment of mankind, only to discover that they were misled. Supervised by the vicious Dr. Dibs (Juliette Binoche), the convicts are left to their own depravity as they struggle to find meaning in their mission to the stars.

Directed by Claire Denis, High Lifereveals an existence that runs counter to the seemingly-positive tone of its title. As truly one of our great directors, Denis often does not shy away from the darkness in her films, exploring our modern pain and sorrows. With this in mind, High Lifeis no different as Denis focuses her attention on humanity in its worst possible context. As the maniacal Dibs, Binoche tackles what is arguably one of her darkest roles in years, creating a character reminiscent of Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Broken from her own criminal past, Dibs treats her subjects as sexual lab rats, attempting to create life at their expense. In fact, only through Pattison’s silent monk, Monte, is any particular hope allowed to enter the room. Pattison, who continues to mature as an actor, has very little to say in this role, yet his expressions demonstrate his desire to live a life of meaning in the midst of tragedy.

Denis’ intent in this film appears to be to explore the nature of what it means to truly live and, for her, sexuality is key to this conversation. By forcing the men to submit their semen for the purpose of inseminating the women, Dibs’ passion to ‘create perfection’ portrays sexuality as a cold (and, at times, terrifying) process. Here, intimacy is largely non-existent as sexuality become a clinical procedure. As a result, the prisoners, who have been essentially jettisoned from earth for the purpose of sexual experimentation, have been all but abandoned by society. Having been lied to about the purpose of their mission (they were informed that it was for the purpose of scientific research and, potentially, their own redemption), the crew has become disillusioned and broken. Though some (like Andre Benjamin’s faithful farmer, Tcherny) hold on to the belief that their journey still matters, most have unravelled living lives of depression, anger and angst. 

In stern contrast to this, however, stands Monte, the self-proclaimed monk. Opting to remain celibate, Monte seeks redemption by living a life of service to others. He is dutiful, hard-working and determined not to fall into the chaos that surrounds him. Despite his criminal past, Monte is determined to be a better man, setting him up as a model of integrity against Dibs’ darkness. (“I’ll get you,” she warns him ominously.) For Monte, intimacy trumps sexuality, modelled through the way he cares for the other women, including a mysterious child. As a result, there is a beauty to Monte’s character that stems out of a desire to ‘do better’, not only for himself but for others as well.

Though the film is dark and disturbing, there is a light to be found within it. Though many of the characters have lost all sense of humanity, allowing themselves to be debased, there is still a sense that life matters. While Denis does not fear delving into the darkness (especially regarding the meaning of sexuality), there is a sense that there is something greater to live for, especially if we allow ourselves to stand up against those that seek to drag us down.

High Life treks into theatres on April 18th, 2019.   

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Andre Benjamin, Claire Denis, drama, high life, Juliette Binoche, Robert Pattinson, Space

Friday at AFIFest 2018

November 11, 2018 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Welcome to Hollywood and the AFIFest Presented by Audi. This is an amzing festival that brings together some of the world best filmmakers and new talent bringing fresh voices to the cinema. To be sure, there are more movies than anyone can get to, which makes me appreciate the programmers’ job of finding the best of the best.

I started the festival with what is actually the first episode of a limited TV series. The opening episode of I Am the Night introduced us to two main stories that will come together as the series moves forward. In one, Pat (India Eisley), a light-skinned African-American girl, discovers that she is actually the granddaughter of a rich white doctor in L.A. After a confrontation with the woman who raised her, she sets off to L.A. to find who she really is. Meanwhile in L.A., Jay Singletary (Chris Pine) is a washed-up photojournalist who will do anything to get a picture he can sell. I have no doubt that we’ll discover that what he’s really searching for is redemption. At the end of episode one, things just begin to turn dark and ominous. I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of this six-hour series based in a true story. One of the reasons is that it is executive produced and the first episodes are directed by Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman). It will play on TNT in January.

In the evening I took in a French film, Non-Fiction (Double Vies), a comedy of relationships from director Olivier Assayas. It is the story of a husband and wife (Guillaume Canet and Juliette Binoche). He runs a publishing house; she is a TV actress on a successful police procedural show. We learn that all the characters are cheating on their partners, all suspect their partners are cheating on them, but does it matter. This is a very talky film, mostly taking place at dinner parties. The main discussion is the shift from old media to new and how that affects our idea of truth. More importantly, it questions how, in a post-truth world, we might think our subjective desire of reality may be more important than reality itself. There is a great deal of cynicism as the film plays out. I can’t find a North American release date for this, but I’m sure we’ll get a chance to see it in theaters.

Filed Under: AFIFest, Film, Film Festivals Tagged With: Chris Pine, Guillaume Canet, I Am the Night, India Eisley, Juliette Binoche, Non-Fiction, Olivier Assayas, Patty Jenkins

Polina: Failed Dreams

September 1, 2017 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

For me, dance movies are very similar to sports movies. The protagonist works hard to reach the goal of recognition and success. They must overcome obstacles, but they grow through the process. Polina is not quite that kind of film. Sometimes people lose their vision of where they are going and they take detours that take them to new lives and new visions.

Polina (Anastasia Shevtsova) comes from a humble home but is accepted into a ballet academy at a young age. The work is demanding, with little praise coming from the teacher. After many years she is about to join the prestigious Bolshoi, but she decides to follow another dancer (Niels Schneider) to France to focus on modern dance instead of classical ballet. There she comes under the tutelage of Liria Elsaj (Juliette Binoche) a former dancer who has become a choreographer.

One of the dichotomies of many dance films (including this one) is the tension between technique and feeling. For years Polina has done all the steps and exercises to become a skilled ballerina. But her teachers demand something more. “Make me feel something.” Her dancing is much different when dancing for joy in the street than when she is in a studio.

This is a story of dreams, but not of dreams come true. Some people follow their dreams; some other people’s dreams. There are dreams that change along the way. Some dreams are broken by choices that are made. Sometimes someone else’s choices impact the dreams. While we may be used to the sports/dance paradigm of overcoming obstacles, sometimes things don’t work out that way. Then what?

How does one reorder their life when all they have dreamed of is gone? Is it possible to reshape dreams to start anew? These are the issues that Polina must deal with. It is not an easy road for her and we aren’t sure where that road will lead, but we do have hope that new dreams will come.

Photos courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Anastasia Stevtsova, Angelin Preljocaj, dance, Juliette Binoche, Valerie Muller

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