29 October 2010

Berry Movies, La Châtre 29/10 2010: And the winners are....

This year we participated in the so called selection committee for Berry Movies, deciding what films should be given the chance enter into the competition at Cinéma Lux, La Châtre.
From 64 films in different categories we chose 10.

Below: Two trailers for the event in itself (and not participating films) but below them you can watch the three films rewarded and some of the other participants.
Enjoy!




Below, we find the film that won: 'Get out', made by:
Charlotte Boisson, Julien Fourvel, Pascal Han-Kwab, Tristan Reinarz and Fanny Roche.
It's one of the films I positioned among the three best.
It combines an intelligent story about 'coming out' in a double or more senses
with a very good art work when it comes to the animated part.

One might believe that this is the story about being locked in
and experiencing the life in a 'cell' or the psychiatric ward.

The security within the four walls is to be prefered ahead of the exterior hostile society.

But is this really the psychiatric ward?


Now to the film that came in second place: 'Faut qu'on parle' ('We need to talk').
Director: Lewis Eizykman.

Another of my favourites displaying the problems with communication
and how we communicate or when we anticipate something
and when that, what we anticipate, is not the anticipated matter.

Preparing oneself to say something very personal and important
tend sometimes to develop into a catastrophy
if you don't express yourself clearly, as we can see!


Faut qu'on parle ! from Prométhée on Vimeo.
In third place came 'Le Syndrome du Timide' ('The Shy Syndrome')
by Pierre-Axel Vuillaume-Prézeau.
What is a shy person and how does he/she differs from others - if he/she differs from others?
An odyssey through the world of the shy, the criterias of a shy,
the tactics of the shy, ending with the question of who is and who is not?



Other films not rewarded but participating:

'La fuite' ('The Escape') by  
DMA Cinéma d'Animation à l'Institut Sainte Geneviève,
a film I appreciated very much, 
not least the idea that I found personal and unique:



'Timber' by Matthieu Limon and Miguel Randrianasolo:



...and finally 'Djamal' by Blackchats:


26 October 2010

Flickan (The Girl)


Flickan or The Girl is a film made by Fredrik Edfeldt, his first feature film.

This is a film about a girl (as her parents, without a name), left alone in their family house in the summer of 1981. This because the parents are leaving for an aid project to an African country.
First their ambition was to bring her - together with her elder brother - but the Swedish authorities said no.
In order not to leave her totally alone, they call an aunt who - not to enthusiastic about the task - arrives in order to stay with the girl until the parents arrive home again.
The aunt does however meet a man with whom she parts, although "only for a couple of days", as she expresses it. In reality she doesn't come back earlier than a day or two before the parents arrive.
Left alone in the house the girl pretends that her aunt still is with her, when asked about her situation by the neighbours.
She creates - as all children - her own imaginary world and arrange the house according to her liking.

One could imagine that a film like this would make us empathetic with the girl but unfortunately these feelings does not emerge, at least not in me.

Of course I find the parents being very selfish as they had envisioned the girl coming with them but when this wasn't possible, just leave the disppointed girl with a - more or less - stranger.
Of course I find the behaviour of the aunt despicable.
Of course I find some of her girlfriends being both mean and ridiculous.

The film displays how grown ups let their own personal passions antecede their parental responsibilities but this is not unusual. Show me parents who shoulder their full responsiblilities for their children - they are few.

The thing is that I find the little girl and her behaviour as dumb as the rest of the family and neighbours, or even dumber.
She doesn't cultivate the real friendship offered her by a little boy - one of her neighbours - but rather associate with the girlfriends she obviously finds 'cooler' than the boy.
In this we see the typical Swedish superficiality displayed.
She defends her parents and her aunt when asked by the neighbour whether or not everything is alright. Some might say that a child always defend the parents and the grown ups around her, but this is of course not always true, not least when a child is as 'old' as 10. Why not tell the truth?
In this we see the typical Swedish cowardness and fear of conflicts and trubble, again preserving the superficial aura of 'normality' conformity.

As a film displaying all these - as I call them - 'typical' Swedish traits, we could both (Aurore and I) appreciate it but if the ambition was to make us side with the girl against the aduld world, It didn't convince us.
Some of the aesthetics appealed to me though.

25 October 2010

Man tänker sitt


'Man tänker sitt' or in English: 'Burrowing', a film made by almost the same team that stood behind 'Farväl Falkenberg' ('Falkenberg Farewell') (Henrik Hellström, Fredrik Wenzel) but contrary to that film, Aurore and I found this film much more appealing with a philosophical undertone and an ambience that well correspond to the Swedish society.

We get to follow the life in a Swedish row house area through the eyes of the eleven year old Sebastian (Sebastian Eklund).
Philosophizing in his own way, observing the individuals he knows and commenting their lives, he come up with some conclusions concerning the human existence, in this area and perhaps in a more universal perspective as well.
Among the characters we meet in the film, is Jimmy (Jörgen Svensson) a grown up man with a child of his own, still living at home with his parents, not even trusted with the door keys.
Anders (Hannes Sandahl) is another young man who tries to build an autonomous life, on the same time having a strange and alienated relation to his father who obviously despise him.
Finally we also meet Misha (Marek Kostrzewski), a man who came to Sweden during the 1970's in order to work, earn his money and then return to his home country. He stayed on though - leading to both positive and negative consequences.

Through the film the total alienation between people in the Swedish society is a major theme.
We find the still and rather uneventful life in a small town on the countryside, being interrupted by small outbursts of aggressiveness, so common among the emotionally inhibited Swedes.
The only events that give life to this society is the train passing by, the cars on the highway but one get the feeling that Sebastian finds these moments of 'disturbing' sound and 'action' somewhat unbearable.
With all this superficial stillness, the incapacity to communicate feelings in one way or another, the underlying aggressions, the Swedish small town mentality - something you can find in the larger Swedish towns as well - and how a well organized and 'secure' society creates unsecure people afraid of both compassion, emphaty and conflicts, is extremely well portrayed.
The forrest becomes the refuge, the starting and ending point for humans, where they can hide from society for some time - or forever.

23 October 2010

Bröllopsfotografen (The Wedding Photographer) and the invisible 'extra' Gunnar Bjursell


This is a film made by Ulf Malmroos who also directed one of my mother-in-laws favourite films, 'Den bästa sommaren' ('A Summer Tale').

The film contains a number of clichées concerning differences between the 'upper class' and the 'working class' (if these social markers could be said being relevant today), people living in a big city (metropolis) and on the countryside etc. but on a whole it's a rather charming story.

Robin (Björn Starrin), a young man from the countryside, wants to become a succesful photographer and he's convinced that this could be done by taking care of everything around a wedding. The work as a wedding photographer becomes his dream.
When arrriving in Stockholm he finds himself working in an environment where people can't accept him. They look upon him as a kind of 'redneck individual'.
He on the other hand, finds the wealthy, 'upper class'-people being very superficial, hiding their problems under a surface of happiness and success.
In the small northern town where he had lived and worked, he had met an actor called Jonny Björk (Kjell Bergqvist), who he had hired to perform at a wedding between Robins brother and girlfriend. When they meet in Stockholm Jonny - reluctantly - becomes Robin's mentor, for good and for bad (or for better or for worse perhaps, in connection with a wedding).
Of course he falls in love with the sister to the bride - Astrid (Tuva Novotny) - both being the daughters of the succesful business leader Claes (Johannes Brost).
Astrid also works as a photographher and Robin tries to enroll her in his businessplans.
Robin adapts himself to the situation but this adaptation is not well received when coming back to his small town on the countryside, where they find him having become somewhat 'high-hat'.

The director uses three actors that also participated in 'A Summer Tale', namely Anastasios Soulis, Rebecca Scheja and Kjell Bergqvist.

As I (Gunnar) participated as an extra in this film, I tried to find myself at the wedding outside the church but unfortunately I couldn't see myself, though I had spotted my face (and body) in a trailer.
This did not mean that I judged the film differently though! :-D

17 October 2010

Pauline et François


Pauline et François is not quite a Romeo and Juliet-story but at least one family member doesn't approve of the Juliet coming into their life.

Pauline (Laura Smet) moves into a house on the countryside. She is working at a bank and the reason for her to be in the middle of nowhere, is that she has beome a widow and the past haunted her at her former work place and neighbourhood. She is beautiful and falls in love with her equally 'beau' neighbour François (Yannick Renier).
Both have gone through difficulties in life, making them confide in each other, sharing their life stories. In the case of François, he is tormented by the fact that he once accidentally killed his brother.
His sister Catherine (Léa Drucker) is however exercising some kind of emotional blackmail against François because of this tragic incident.
These equally hurt souls find trust and love in each others company but this is not seen positively by not least François's sister, who also is working at the same bank as Pauline.

There are some fine moments in this quietly told story and the underlying threat consisting of Catherine's jealousy (I guess it have to be regarded as such), set the viewer in a mood of suspense, not knowing where this might lead.
On the same time I (Gunnar) didn't think they - or rather the director Renaud Fely - succeeded in fully going throw with these intentions, making a both suspensful and romantic film, if this was the aim.
Beautiful sceneries but sometimes the action and acting felt somewhat exaggerated in parts of the film where I felt it shouldn't have been.
I found Léa Drucker's character being the most interesting one and of course she had a actable role in Catherine, that is clear.

16 October 2010

Demonlover


A film by Olivier Assayas made in 2002.

This film combines the idea about 'snuff movies', pure pornography, people being used as sex slaves, the cold and cynic world of pornographic films and business enterprising as a whole with the use of animations and manga to hide and package these themes in order to appeal to younger generations.
Two companies fight for the commercial rights to 'porno mangas', as they noticed that it has become a huge and profitable branch within this industry, and in order to beat the opponent they use 'spies' to infiltrate each others organizations.

Trying to shock us - I guess - Assayas does not succeed.
This film had some very interesting aesthetic points of views but I can't say it made me upset, if this was the intention?
The animated sex was much more 'lush' though than the 'real' and Assayas had created some appealing scenes of dystopic character, in my opinion.

Aurore appreciated this film more than I did. She had seen it before.

In some of the roles we saw Connie Nielsen, Chloë Sevigny and Gina Gershon.

09 October 2010

Berry Movies selection committee 2010

L'association a reçu 64 films contre 49 l'année passée. -
This is the 2010 selection committee of the short film festival in La Châtre called Berry Movies.
Two of the main responsible for this film festival is Florent Choffel and Etienne Sautereau and one representative of MJC in La Châtre.
Aurore and I are both sitting in the back row to the left.
64 films were sent to this years competition and 10 was chosen to compete the 29th of October. May the best film win.