Seth and Kristian Go To VIFF 2021: Part II
This article is part 2 of my coverage of the 2021 Vancouver International Film Festival. If you haven't read Part I, you can read it here!
The end has sadly come. The Vancouver International Film Festival continued strong into its second weekend before coming to a close Monday night. Back in person after an online festival in 2020, the celebration of national and international filmmaking went for eleven days and played “over 110 features” and “75+ shorts.” I had the privilege of attending the festival this year with my partner Kristian. I saw seven features over the two weekends I was there, six of them with Kristian.
This article covers my and Kirstian's second weekend at the festival, October 8 - 11. Unlike last weekend, none of them are from North America. This is why the word international is in the VIFF acronym. The weekend began with the genre-bending Senegalese thriller Saloum, followed up with the award-winning French comedy Bye Bye Morons, before concluding with the incredible double bill of the Norwegian black comedy The Worst Person in the World and the New Zealand western The Power of the Dog. It was an incredible weekend of film-going to be sure.
Now, if you will, cast your mind back to the distant past of October 8, 2021 . . .
SALOUM
“Stories about heroes travel faster than bullets.”
Weekend #2 began back at the Rio Theatre for our third and final “Altered States” movie. Saloum, coming hot off of the heels of its premiere at TIFF’s midnight madness program, is a Senegalese thriller from filmmaker Jean Luc Herbulot. With no trailer and minimum media coverage, I had no idea what to expect from the film. There was this low-grade buzz that piqued my interest with the initial word of mouth promising a wildcard of a film. It’s a film of shifting tone and style, mixed with dark secrets, and plenty of interpersonal drama to keep the whole thing running at full force.
The film begins in Guinea-Bissau circa 2003 following the coup. A band of three mercenaries, the semi-mythical Bangui’s Hyenas, flee the government with Mexican drug trafficker Felix in tow. Their plane takes off on course for Dakar, Senegal where a mountain of cash is waiting for them. The film begins with a gorgeous, long-take action sequence followed by a tense chase as it revels in its Western-influenced, men-on-the-run premise as the incredible score by Reksider kicks in.
The cinematography of Gregory Corandi captures the desert of West Africa with love and care, highlights the true hidden beauties of the landscape not often highlighted in cinema and dwells in the fantastic contrast between the endless sand with the immensity of the ocean.
There’s a leak in the fuel tank and the plane is forced to make an emergency landing in the Sine-Saloum region of southern Senegal, a “land of myths and cursed kings.” They come to rest at Baobab Camp, a small, quiet, utopian hideaway in the desert that the Hyenas’ leader, Chaka (Yann Gael), has a connection to. They change their names, their stories, and lie in wait for the police attention to blow over. However, not all is as they hope it to when they are recognized by one of the camp’s other residents and secrets about Chaka’s past are revealed.
Saloum makes a hard switch into the realm of fantasy and horror as the story continues. It’s violent, exciting, and deeply emotional. The visual elements of the film are wonderful. The performances from all of the performers are far better than most action films. The costuming is subtle but distinct adding a layer of heightened reality to the very true-to-life experiences the film exists within. No release date has been confirmed yet for Saloum, but it is a must-see whenever it does arrive. Herbulot is an exciting filmmaker with wonderful potential and is destined to do great things as his career continues.
Score: 4
BYE BYE MORONS
Orignal title: Adieu les cons
“No jail for the disabled!”
On Sunday night, for the second film of the weekend, Kristian and I made our way to North Vancouver’s gorgeous Key Meek Arts Centre. Despite the unfortunate start to the evening when we discover the venue did not sell popcorn, the movie itself was wonderful. I felt distinctly underdressed when I walked into the sleek, modern theatre. It was a vastly different experience watching a film there than it had been at the Rio.
Bye Bye Morons, also known by its French title Adieu les cons, is an award-winning black comedy film from writer-director-star Albert Dupontel. The film premiered in France almost exactly a year ago to an ecstatic reception from French critics and audiences, but it’s just making its way across the Pacific to the festival circuit here. The film cleaned up at France’s César Awards, winning seven of twelve nominations including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. The attention the film has received is not undeserved. Bye Bye Morons is wild, ridiculous, and made for a deeply enjoyable experience.
Virginie Efira stars as Suze who, recently diagnosed with a terminal illness, starts looking for the child she gave up for adoption when she was a teenager. She meets suicidal IT technician Jean-Baptiste “JB” Cuchas (Albert Dupontel) and the overeager blind records-keeper Mr. Blin (Nicolas Marié). On the run from the authorities with a large wanted notice hanging over the head of “crazed gunman” JB, the film descends into a madcap search to reunite mother and son.
The film’s three leading performances are wonderful. Efira and Dupontel strike a brilliant balance between her tragic and comedic elements. Keeping up the facade of seriousness, their moments of comedy land all the better delivered with deathly seriousness. Marié’s monsieur Blint, on the other hand, finds himself at the opposite end of the spectrum exuding chaos with every moment he’s on-screen. Blint’s character is one of my favourite bits of physical comedy in recent years with a multitude of memorable moments that are better seen than described.
Bye Bye Morons is defined by its dark, absurd comedy with heavy influences of Monty Python. Dupontel wears his influences on his sleeve: the film is dedicated to late Python Terry Jones and features a cameo by Terry Gilliam as a trigger-happy hunter. The film minds comedy in the worst situations making light of death and mortality and the absurdity of human existence. The film pulls heavily from Gilliam’s Brazil (1985) with its themes of the impossible mess of bureaucracy. The film tries to make a point about French society and deals with topics of ageism, depression, and isolation in the digital world. This is easily Bye Bye Morons’ worst element. Criticized by many, these problems aren’t obvious enough to be stumbling blocks for me, but they are underdeveloped and lack the care and attention that other parts of the film get.
While not all of the film’s themes land perfectly well, the results are still wildly entertaining. Bye Bye Morons delivers with strong leading performances and a twisted sense of humour. The film is incredibly enjoyable if not slightly surface-level. However, if you’re searching for something short, dark, and funny, this is a great choice.
Score: 4
THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
Orignal title: Verdens verste menneske
“You are a very good person.”
It’s Thanksgiving Monday night, the final night of the festival. I have an excited double-feature in the docket at the Vancouver Playhouse. The room is crowded and there’s an exciting buzz in the room. What followed that night ended up being the crown jewel of my entire festival journey and ended the experience on a wonderfully high note. The lights went down and the film began. The Worst Person in the World was easily the movie I was the most excited about going into the festival and I am thrilled to say that it did not let me down and ended up being my favourite at VIFF.
Julie (Renate Reinsve) is a woman without a purpose. By her late-20s, she’s switched from med school to psychology and then, most recently, into photography. She floats idly from relationship to relationship until she finally settles down with successful comic-book artist Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie). But her stability is temporary as stresses in her relationship grow and she meets the elusive Eivind (Herbert Nordrum). Directed by Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier, The Worst Person in the World is a delight from start to finish. It’s a movie about becoming yourself and the difficulty that young adults face in discovering themselves in an ever-shifting world. It follows in the footsteps of romantic comedies undercut with the sensibilities of mature coming-of-age stories with a sprinkling of black comedy.
The film is led by several incredible performances, with lead Renate Reinsve stealing the show. Reinsve won the best actress award at Cannes earlier this year and not without good reason. Julie’s character is both frustrating and yet completely empathetic. She’s self-destructive and doesn’t have her own best interests in mind. Reinsve’s performance misses the easy-trap of complete annoyance with Julie to difficult empathy. We see the best in Julie because Reinsve puts her all into the performance, yet she won’t give it to herself.
Trier’s direction paired with the beautiful work of cinematographer Kasper Tuxen is a sight to behold. The camera moves gracefully through lightly coloured, imaginative frames. There are two strong moments of surrealism that are effortlessly weaved into the film, breaking what would normally be a very traditionally shot film, but Trier creates these effortless transitions into moments unexpected all while maintaining the tension the rest of the film rests upon. It’s the masterful work of a truly excellent filmmaker showing off the strength of a talented team.
At the start, a title card informs that what they are about to see is a “film in twelve chapters, a prologue, and an epilogue” which sets the tone for the storybook-like story that unfolds. The movie comfortably skips from moment to moment focusing on the parts of the story that change Julie. We don’t get to see all of it, just the moments that matter. Julie might be the titular worst person in the world, but we love her for it. She is all of us. She’s every insecurity, every bad decision, and every chance to grow. We can all find ourselves in Julie because, at times, we all feel like the worst person in the world. The only thing that matters is we try to become the people we can be.
Score: 5
THE POWER OF THE DOG
“Has anyone ever seen what you’ve seen, Phil?”
Right after getting out of my Worst Person in the World screening, I met up with Kristian in the line-up outside of the Playhouse. There was a light, crisp wind that ripped through downtown Vancouver that evening. Kristian was just coming from a long day at work with work beginning again the next morning. I felt bad knowing that we’d be out quite late that night. We got back into the theatre and sat in the Orchestra Right section of the house. The lights went down the seventh time and the film began.
Montana, 1925. The Burbank brothers have been ranching together for twenty-five years ever since the never-seen but ever-present Bronco Henry taught them the tricks of the trade. Their life is consistent and predictable taking care of their immense herds of cows. However, things change when George Burbank (Jesse Plemons) falls for restaurant proprietress Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst). When Mrs. Gordon and her son Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) come to live on the Burbank farm, a difficult relationship is formed with older brother Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) as tensions are pushed towards an impossible conclusion.
Shot in the Otago region of New Zealand, a whole world away from real-life Montana, the film is written and directed by the legendary Jane Campion, her first feature film in twelve years. The New Zealander was the first woman to ever win the Palme d’Or at Cannes in the ancient past of 1993 for her film The Piano, which went on to win three Oscars and gain nominations for five more, including best picture. The Power of the Dog, the return of one of the titans of contemporary international cinema, has made a significant splash with critics and the festival circuit, with Campion winning the Best Direction award at Venice.
Campion’s near-universal claim for her latest is most certainly deserved. Caption handles the material, based on the novel by Thomas Savage, with elegance and grace. The shots are beautifully framed, every performance is intentional and perfect, and the film strikes a perfect balance between ambiguity and specificity. The technical elements of the film are perfect compliments of Campion’s complex script and deep characters. The score by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood is maddening and controlled. The cinematography by Ari Wegner flawlessly captures the breathless wonder of the mountains and the serene intimacy of blades of grass.
Of course, the highlight of the entire film is the tour-de-force delivered by Benedict Cumberbatch in his career-best role as Phil Burbank. Phil is the film’s centrepiece and lynchpin. He handles the emotional depth and nuance of the film with ease and finds, again, that balance that the film exists in. He’s as scared of himself as others are as scared of him. There’s a rage deep within Phil that corrupts his every movement but never lashes out. Phil is both villain and hero, filled with hatred for himself and those around him.
The Power of the Dog has an uneasy internal equilibrium. It’s wild and constrained. It’s viciously slowly paced building towards a brilliant and fascinating ending. It requires time and effort on the part of the viewer to care to process it. It may even take multiple viewings for it all to settle in. The Power of the Dog is truly masterful From its delicate visuals to its powerhouse, showstopping performances, the film is memorable and exciting. The film will be available to stream on Netflix come December 1. Don’t miss it.
“But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.” -Psalm 22:19-20.
Score: 4.5
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