Showing posts with label London Film Festival 2015. Show all posts
Showing posts with label London Film Festival 2015. Show all posts

Wednesday, 23 November 2016

Tales from LFF#59: Waiting for Absolute Shot - Index

Tales from LFF#59: Waiting for Absolute Shot, V

ترامبو
گزارش پنجاه و نهمين جشنواره فيلم لندن، 2015، بخش پنجم
در انتظار نماي مطلق
احسان خوش‌بخت


10 هنر و مستند
مستندهايي راجع به هنرهاي ديگر عكاسي، موسيقي و البته خود سينما - نه فقط در لندن، بلكه در هر فستيوال ديگري جايي ثابت دارند. در اين دسته، موج در مقابل ساحل (مارتين اشتربا) مستندي است دربارۀ موج نوي عكاسي در چكسلواكي سابق كه عمدتاً از مصاحبه با بازماندگان جنبش ساخته شده، اما ايراد فيلم اين است كه سعي مي‌كند مثل سوژه‌هايش انقلابي باشد، اما برخلاف آن‌ها بازيگوشي فيلم غيرطبيعي و زوركي است و منهاي دادن فرصت به بيننده براي ديدن عكس‌هاي درخشان اين گروه ارزش خاص ديگري ندارد.
شعر انساني برهنه است، فيلم هرگز به نمايش عمومي درنيامده لس بلنك دربارۀ خواننده راك و كانتري، لئون راسل، كه بعد از 41 سال رنگ پرده را مي‌بيند به جاي ستاره موسيقي به محيط جغرافيايي و فرهنگي محل تولدش، اوكلاهاما، مي‌پردازد. بعضي از اساتيد موسيقي كانتري (جرج جونز، ويلي نلسون، چارلي مك‌كوي) در فيلم ظاهر مي‌شوند، يكي دو آهنگ اجرا مي‌كنند و مي‌روند. فيلم برخلاف موج در مقابل ساحل، پر از ديوانگي‌هاي واقعيِ سينماي هيپي‌هاست، اما در عين حال ارز‌ش‌هاي مردم‌شناسانه نيز دارد.

Tuesday, 22 November 2016

Tales from LFF#59: Waiting for Absolute Shot, IV


گزارش پنجاه و نهمين جشنواره فيلم لندن، 2015، بخش چهارم
در انتظار نماي مطلق
احسان خوش‌بخت


8 يك پيكسِل مرده
ترس هنوز در لندن پنجاه و نه ادامه دارد. يكي از جذابيت‌هاي سينماي وحشت معاصر در تلاش‌هاي فرمي و ساختاري آن براي دور شدن از قالب‌هاي آشناي وحشت نهفته است. بزرگ نشو، كه مو به مو به فرمول‌ها وفادار مي‌ماند، يك شكست محض از كار درمي‌آيد، اما به اين چهار نمونه دقت كنيد كه آن‌ها را به ترتيب موفقيت‌شان در گسست از كليشه‌هاي ژانري فهرست كرده‌ام:
طبقه پاييني‌ها (ديويد فار): اين فيلم با اين كه بيش از حد وامدار بچه رزمري به نظر مي‌رسد، اما اثر معقولي دربارۀ ترس‌هاي عقيم ماندن و بي‌فرزندْ زيستن است. فيلم رابطه دو زوج در دو طبقه ساختماني قديمي در لندن را نشان مي‌دهد و طبق آن كليشۀ قديمي، يكي فكر مي‌كند آن ديگري قصد دزديدن بچه‌اش را دارد. كمي بعد پارانويا به واقعيت تبديل مي‌شود.

Monday, 21 November 2016

Tales from LFF#59: Waiting for Absolute Shot, III



 گزارش پنجاه و نهمين جشنواره فيلم لندن، 2015، بخش سوم
در انتظار نماي مطلق
احسان خوش‌بخت


5 فرض‌ها و فانتزي‌هايي دربارۀ مهاجران
بابايي (ويسار مورينا) كه اول‌بار سه ماه پيش در فستيوال كارلووي‌واري به نمايش درآمد، يكي از نمونه‌هاي حضور مضمون مهاجرت و پناهندگي در فيلم‌هايي امسال بود. در حالي كه سازمان ملل جمهوري چك را براي نقض حقوق پناهندگان مواخذه كرده و بريتانيا دروازه‌هاي كانال مانش را به روي در انتظارِ گودو نشستگانِ بندر كاله بسته، عجيب است كه فيلم‌هاي مهاجرت خيلي كم‌تر از انتظار با شرايط عيني امروز سر و كار دارند و بيش‌تر درگير فهميدن خود مسأله مهاجرت‌اند.
اگر بابايي داستان مهاجرت از كوزوو به آلمان است، صحرا [دسيرتو] (خوناس كوارون، پسر آلفونسوي جاذبه) دربارۀ مهاجرت از مكزيك به آمريكاست و با بي‌سليقگي مثل ترميناتوري ساخته شده كه نابودگر آن يك آمريكايي ويسكي و تفنگ به دست است كه مكزيكي‌ها را بي‌دليل و يا شايد فقط براي امتحان كردن بردِ تفنگ‌اش مي‌كشد. فيلم عبارت است از يك تعقيب طولاني و مرگ‌بار، اما منهاي نبوغ سينمايي و ظرايف تعقيبي مثل مكس ديوانه: راه خشم، كه آن‌هم به نوعي فيلمي دربارۀ مهاجرت به سرزميني تازه است.
اما ديپان ژاك اوديار، فيلمِ «مهاجرتي» كه هم برانگيزنده بود و هم مأيوس كننده، جزيياتي لمس شده و عيني از زندگي مهاجران سريلانكايي در فرانسه دارد، اما پايان اين فيلم نخل طلايي را فقط به عنوان يك رويا يا يك شوخي مي‌شود جدي گرفت، اما از قرار هيچ‌كدام از اين دو نيست. قهرمان فيلم، ديپان، كه از خشونت جنگ‌هاي چريكي سريلانكا گريخته، در حومه شهري فرانسوي درگير جنگي خونبارتر و بي‌معناتر با گنگسترهاي محلي مي‌شود و در طغيان‌اش بر عليه آن‌ها تفنگ به دست مي‌گيرد. بعد از اين نبرد خونبار كه دست‌راستي‌ها را براي اثبات فرضيه‌هاي ضدمهاجراني‌شان سر ذوق خواهد آورد (اين كه همه مهاجران نماينده داعش‌اند)، ديپان به عنوان يك راننده تاكسي سعادتمند در لندن ديده مي‌شود كه در حياط سبز و نوراني خانه‌اش همسايه سفيدپوست‌اش را به كباب دعوت كرده. واقعاً اوديار اين‌قدر غافل از واقعيت است يا اين فقط يك روياست؟

Sunday, 20 November 2016

Tales from LFF#59: Waiting for Absolute Shot, II


 گزارش پنجاه و نهمين جشنواره فيلم لندن، 2015، بخش دوم
در انتظار نماي مطلق
احسان خوش‌بخت

2 اين موناليزا است
آيا سينما مي‌تواند واقعي باشد، اما در عين حال غريب و شاعرانه؟ آيا رويا مي‌تواند به فيلم تبديل شود، بدون اين كه فيلم به قلمروي نمايشي نمادين هل داده شود؟ فرانكوفونيا، بهترين فيلم الكساندر سوكوروف از زمان كشتي روسي، نمونه‌اي از اين نوع سينماست.
فيلم ستايشي است از موزۀ لوور و نامه‌اي عاشقانه و توأم با نگراني به اروپا كه در آن، مثل آثار قبلي سوكوروف، نماهاي مستند آرشيوي، با دوربيني سيال و چرخانِ درون موزه با بازسازي‌ها كه در آن شخصيت‌هاي تاريخي زنده مي‌شوند تلفيق شده‌اند. در بخش داستاني و بازسازي شده، به جز ناپلئوني فربه و خودنما كه تاريخ جنگ‌هايش را تلاش براي آوردن هنرهاي ديگر به فرانسه مي‌داند، بخش تكان دهنده فيلم رابطه بين مدير موزه در زمان اشغال فرانسه توسط آلمان، ژاك ژوژار و يك افسر اشراف‌زادۀ آلماني منصوب شده براي نظارت و انتقال آثار هنري به آلمان به نام كنت ووف مترنيش است. مترنيش كه هيچ شباهتي به پل اسكافيلد فيلم ترن (1964) ندارد و با به تأخير انداختن‌هاي حساب شده‌اش نقش مهمي در عدم انتقال آثار لوور بازي مي‌كند، بعد از شكست آلمان به زندان مي‌افتد، اما بعد نه تنها آزاد مي‌شود، بلكه از فرانسوي‌ها نشان لژيون دنور مي‌گيرد.

Friday, 18 November 2016

Tales from LFF#59: Waiting for Absolute Shot, I

گزارش پنجاه و نهمين جشنواره فيلم لندن، 2015
در انتظار نماي مطلق
احسان خوش‌بخت

1 اين يك پيپ نيست
فيلم خوبي نيست. به نوعي آماتوري است. حتي شايد بيش از حد آماتوري است. اما چون عنوانش هست نافيلم، شايد بشود آن را بخشيد و به آن بخشي از فيلم پرداخت كه مي‌تواند درآمدي بر گزارشي 59 فيلمه از دورۀ پنجاه و نهم جشنواره‌ فيلم لندن باشد. اين مستند دو ساعت و ده دقيقه‌اي، با عنوان كامل و متظاهرانۀ نافيلم: يككينومقاله از راس ليپمن، صدالبته به كارگرداني راس ليپمن، دربارۀ فيلمي 24 دقيقه‌اي است كه به شكلي سرراست فيلم نام دارد. فيلم را بر اساس ايده و فيلم‌نامه‌اي از ساموئل بكت و با نظارت ميلي‌متري او آلن اشنايدر كارگرداني كرد و وقتي چاپلين از بازي در اين نقش سرباز زد، باستر كيتن تقريباً فراموش شده بود كه در نقش O (به معناي هيچ يا صفر يا چشم و يا هر سه) ظاهر شد.
نافيلم تقريباً نما به نما فيلم را تحليل مي‌كند و با تمام ضعف‌هايش در بخش سينمايي، از خلال نگاه بكت به سينما تماشاگر را پديدۀ دشواري ثبت يك نماي صاحب معنا و هويت روبرو مي‌كند. بيش‌تر نماها هيچ معنايي ندارند، اما چطور مي‌شود آن نمايي را پيدا كرد كه براي خودش معنايي دارد، درست مثل يك كلمه. نافيلم نشان مي‌دهد كه چطور فيلم ايدۀ مطلق بودن يا نامطلق بودن تصاوير را طرح مي‌كند. وقتي فيلمبردار فيلم، بوريس كافمن - برادر كوچك ژيگا ورتوف - از بكت مي‌پرسد چه طور خياباني در فيلمش مي‌خواهد او جواب مي‌دهد: «خياباني مطلق». اين توضيح نه تنها كمكي به كافمن نمي‌كند بلكه او را گيج‌تر هم مي‌كند. اما وقتي آن‌ها به لوكيشن اصلي در نيويورك مي‌روند بكت «خيابان مطلق» را پيدا مي‌كند: خياباني كه آن قدر به طور بديهي و مطلق خيابان است كه هيچ معناي ديگري نمي‌تواند داشته باشد. يك نما از خيابان مطلق، خيابان بودن خودش را مثل قطعيت بديهي سياه در كنار سفيد تثبيت مي‌كند.

Saturday, 24 October 2015

Capsule Review of Films from the 59th London Film Festival


Kiomars Vejdani's Capsule Reviews of Films from the 59th London Film Festival



THE LOBSTER
Director : Yorgos Lanthimos
UK-Ireland -Greece 2015

Films of Yorgos Lanthimos are always odd (the good example is Dogtooth) but here he pushes the boundaries of oddity up to the absurd. The film is set sometime in the future when celibacy is condemned. Anyone without a partner has 45 days to find one. Otherwise (with advanced surgical methods of future) he will be turned into the animal of his choice. The animal that film's protagonist has chosen is lobster (hence the title of the film). The setting can be seen as a hotel or a luxury prison and residents as guests or prisoners. The rules are as arbitrary and irrational as the those imposed by the father on his children in Dogtooth. The result is an environment which dehumanizes the people. Irrational rules and absurd behaviour are at the roots of film,s dry humour. But in the end film moves towards a more serious tone and sincerity of feelings when the protagonist chooses the woman he loves against all regulations and in the process makes the biggest sacrifice of his life.


THE ASSASSIN
Director : Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Taiwan-China – Hong Kong 2015

Winner of Best Director Award in this year's Cannes Film Festival Assassin is another example of skilfully made martial art film by Hou Hsiao- Hsien. Set during the ancient dynasty of Tang in
9th century China, it revolves around the character of woman trained in martial arts and equipped with highest level of skills to act as assassin and carry out missions as commanded by her master until she is given a mission which is against her moral beliefs and personal feelings. The story of her moral awakening is told in slow measured pace against the background of classical splendour of ancient China. A visually rich and stylish film,beautifully photographed scenery and skilfully choreographed scenes of fast pace martial arts action.


CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR
Director :Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Thailand-UK-France

In the hazy heat of tropical area, a group of sick soldiers in a hospital which used to be a school, a mother visiting her son who is in coma, a volunteer visiting girl who has the power of heeling and the ability to see the past. With these elements the director creates his familiar world. In a dreamlike state boundaries between sleep and wakefulness,reality and fantasy, past and present, life and death are all blurred. People change their identity without changing their appearance. Ghosts look like living people while real environment turns into a dreamlike one with neon lights which change colour non-stop. Film ends in a cemetery which has vanished long time ago and now only exists in our memory As his usual Apichatpong Weerasethakul leaves us somewhere between dream and wakefulness


TANGERINE
Director :Sean Baker
USA 2015

A hilarious film about two transsexual hookers on New Year,s Eve are trying to find a girl who has an affair with boyfriend of one of them. In their search for the girl they go through a series of funny situations with odd characters. A fast moving film,bursting with energy, having jokes at every moment. But in the end slowing down to stress the value of true friendship.


VERY BIG SHOT
Director : Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya
Lebanon-Qatar 2015

The film begins with something like Goodfellas in Lebanon with plenty of violence. But soon it changes its tone to become a comedy about film making with the protagonist acting as the producer. But at the last few moments of the film, as the protagonist decides to enter politics,yet another another aspect of the film is introduced. So the film that started as a gangster thriller ends up as a social climbing satire.


DESIERTO
Director : Jonas Cuaron
Mexico – France 2015

Film is about a group of Mexicans being killed by a sadistic mentally deranged sharp shooter while illegally crossing the border into America. Director Jonas Cuaron uses their massacre as a basis for a thriller, increasing the film,s tension as the acts of killing progresses without much attention to dramatic depth. Despite the superficial current of excitement the plot is too incredible to be convincing and the protagonists too stereotyped to arouse our sympathy.


OFFICE 
Director : Johnnie To
China – Hong Kong  2015

The film with the help of elaborate sets,cast of hundreds, bright colour photography, and added
3D technology shows us how not to make musicals. Its only use is as a proof that making of musicals is best left to Hollywood.


THE CLUB 
Director : Pablo Larrain
Chile 2015

The film begins with a quotation from Bible stating that God after creating the light liked it so much that He decided to keep it separate from darkness. The new film of Pablo Larrain concentrates on this area of darkness. In a house by the seaside in the remote part of the country live a group of priests ( and a nun ) who because of some sinful act in their past are barred from active duties.
Pablo Larrain uses such a setting and characters to create an infernal atmosphere. Film,s dramatic tension is created out of contrast between attitude of characters and strict rules of church ( represented by a visiting supervisor, an upright priest with strong religious faith ). Larrain's priests are a mixture of evil beings committing acts of extreme cruelty,and normal human people who enjoy pleasures of life and are honest and frank about their sexuality ( the film,s dialogue is sexually very explicit ) Through their characters and the resulting moral ambiguity Larrain gives us a controversial picture of church and its rules.


YOUTH
Director : Paolo Sorrentino
Italy 2015

Paolo Sorrentino's new film, like The Great Beauty is about looking back at life after reaching the summit of one,s creative career, With the difference that here we have two protagonists. A retired composer (Michael Caine) and a film director (Harvey Keitel) Being close friends for many years they enjoy each other,s company while staying in a spa hotel in Switzerland. Like the previous film they encounter a range of colourful characters,each with their own idiosyncrasies. They go over their ups and downs of life, remember their happy and sad moments. In the end they reach to the conclusion that at the their old age there is not much more to do but to look back. One of them accepts the situation and compromises. The other does not. Another stylish film by Paolo Sorretino, as beautiful as the Great Beauty.


VIRGIN MOUNTAIN
Director : Dagur Kari
Iceland – Denmark 2015

The film takes us through stages of emotional development of a young man from a childlike existence to full maturity and total independence. Director Dagur Kari in portraying the character of his protagonist pays a great deal of attention to psychological details, taking his time to build his process of development into a mature man. A very humane and heart warming film.


LAND OF MINE
Director : Martin Zandvliet
Denmark - Germany 2015

With the liberation of Holland at the end of second world war the Allied faced the problem of a good number of mine fields in need of detonation and decided to give this task to German prisoners. Director Martin Zandvliet bases his powerful drama on victimization of German soldiers. The prisoners ( mostly teenage boys ) are treated insensitively and cruelly by Allied officers, using them as a target for aggression and to retaliate for crimes of German army while the were victorious. The film by such a reversal of roles raises the morally controversial issue of consequence of victory and its effect on victors. Our sympathy is with young German prisoners.

The film's tension escalates with each occasion that the group goes through fear of death or sorrow of losing yet another friend. The film,s change of moral tone is personified in the character of the camp,s warden and his change of attitude from hostile prejudice and angry cruelty to sympathy, affection and kindness. It is a film which by condemning the consequences of war, whether victory or defeat, puts maximum value on humanity  

Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Taxi (Jafar Panahi, 2015) - LFF Review


TAXI (in the UK: TAXI TEHRAN)
Director: Jafar Panahi; Iran, 2015
Reviewed by Kiomars Vejdani

Following This Is Not a Film and Closed Curtain, Jafar Panahi's Taxi Tehran seems to be first and foremost his reaction to imposed restriction. In his new film (winner of Golden Bear at this year's Berlin Film Festival) the restriction is a self imposed one by limiting himself to the confined space of a taxi. By playing the role of taxi driver Panahi beaks the boundary between cinematic illusion and reality of life. Although taxi runs though streets of Tehran there is nothing specific about places visited. The main purpose of using a taxi is for Panahi to express his feelings and views through encounters with a series of passengers, showing two extreme lines of thought in the society such as in the scene when a heated argument between a fanatic man and a liberal-minded female teacher is depicted. Other passengers include: a man selling copies of pirated DVDs; Two women carrying goldfish in a bowl, highlighting the grip that religious superstition can have on people; Pleasant encounter with a friend (human right lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh) voices social restrictions which Panahi himself has gone through.

But most interesting of all is Panahi's niece, a delightful little girl who is trying to make a film as a school project and is confused between restrictive instruction given by school and advice given by his uncle about how to search for reality. The film ends (or rather interrupted) by someone breaking into the taxi while Panahi is away for a short while. It is implied that it could be an act of surveillance rather than burglary. Panahi's final message seems to be he is prepared (and able) to work under any restrictive condition.

Monday, 12 October 2015

Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang (Walter Salles, 2015)


JIA ZHANGKE, A GUY FROM FENYANG
Director: Walter Salles; Brazil, 2015
Reviewed by Kiomars Vejdani

A film about a great director, made by another great. Walter Salles' documentary on Jia Zhangke is mainly made of conversation between the two filmmakers, while they visit various places from Zhangke's past life, including some of the locations used in his films. Tone of conversation is informal and friendly. Zhangke talks freely about his younger days and mischievous acts. He mentions his favourite films including some he remembers from his childhood (interestingly among them we see Raj Kapoor's Awara).  Further comments come from people in his life, including his wife and actress of his films Zhao Tao. The film gives an informative picture of Zhangke's world and the relationship between his life and his work. Walter Salles, treatment of his subject is intimate and friendly. But his affectionate respect for his follow filmmaker is felt throughout.