by Cris Mora-Villa, Contributing Writer
One of the many things I was able to take away from this year’s Chicago International Film Festival is how much the organization prides itself on staying true to its mission. The nonprofit works tirelessly into fostering a community of cinephiles and building a future generation of filmmakers with its youth programs. These efforts culminate in the festival itself, as the proceeds assist keeping the organization alive. Speaking for myself, while attending the festival certainly made for a very fun and memorable experience, its primary value above all else is to serve as a temporary alternative to our current age of theatrically released cinemas. Despite having a reputation for being a diverse city, Chicago doesn’t always offer the widest selection of movies to see in a cinema throughout the year. So if you want to see something completely new or under-the-radar, I would say there’s no better option than the CIFF. The amount of work put in by the selection committee to curate the roughly 160 out of the thousands of films that get submitted every year must be a daunting task. The end results, however, are a bevy of films from across the world that, for a brief time, get to be seen by an audience of moviegoers who can most appreciate them. So in this two-part section, I’ll be taking a look at an assortment of movies that really embody the international spirit that can be found not just in Chicago, but at just any festival.
Joram — High Side of Liked It
Joram follows Dasru (Manoj Bajpayee) as he travels with his infant daughter, Joram, to escape a dogged manhunt at the behest of a mysterious figure from his past, all the while evading the lead policeman tasked with chasing him down. In one of the biggest surprises of the festival, Joram comes from India and offers the most diverse setting of the entire festival. Beginning in the destitute coldness of Mumbai and concluding in the dwindling warmness of Dasru’s home state of Jharkhand, the film is able to make these locations two halves of the same character. Parallels as a concept can be found aplenty throughout the movie. Despite being the main protagonist, perspective does not solely lie with Dasru as he makes his journey. While the bulk of his development is done in flashbacks to his time in Jharkhand, just as much time is devoted to highlighting the point of views of the mysterious figure and the policeman. Phulo Karma (Smita Tambe) and Ratnakar (Mohd. Zeeshan Ayyub), as they are named respectively, play important roles alongside Dasru in a much grander story that deals with the meaning of home, anti-colonialism, and vengeance versus rebellion. There are additional themes the film comments on, but those are just a few of the standouts, given how much is actually addressed. The actual presentation for these ideas are just as well thought-out and nuanced so as to not tell the audience what to feel either. If anything, the camera is primarily observational, almost documentary-like. There is no attempt made to shield the viewer from the harsh realities that purvey the world these characters reside in. Whether it’s explicit onscreen violence, or even descriptive retellings of past events, the grim cloud that engulfs this story simply doesn’t let up. That’s at least the case for Dasru and Joram. Resolution for Karma and Ratnakar doesn’t come easy, but where their arcs end at least allows for two different alternatives for an escape. Director and writer, Devashish Makhija, utilizes every tool at his disposal to leave a heavy impact on the audience by film’s end, even if the actual ending may leave some viewers deterred given its ambiguity. It succeeded for me, though.
Kidnapped — Liked It
Excluding documentaries, there is only one film I watched from the festival that is based on a true story, and that’s Kidnapped. While some films come with an autobiographical pretext or have real life inspirations, this story actually has its own colloquially coined term from its country of origin, Italy. The term “Cause Célèbre” is in reference to a widespread matter most often associated with negative public outcry, or a tendentious debate of sorts. On a surface level, that description works perfectly in regards to the plot. If you look past that, however, I think what you’ll find is a much richer and contemplative film dealing with notions of indoctrination and righteousness. The film follows the controversy surrounding a supposed plot by the Catholic Church to forcibly remove a six-yea- old Jewish boy by the name of Edgardo Mortara from his home to be raised a catholic in the 1850s. While the movie doesn’t shy away from just how dour the situation is, it never overtakes the broader importance of what the story is trying to convey. In the battle between the Mortara family and the Catholic Church, the two sides are given relatively equal screen time to offer their differing perspectives. In the Church’s case, it’s through their strict religious practices that are practically taken as law which reinforce their decision to protect Edgardo’s soul at all cost. The then Pope at the time, Pius IX (Paolo Pierobon) features heavily as the primary force who drives the plot of the film. Time spent with him offers the audience ample insight into understanding that the reasoning behind this decision is not just limited to ensuring what’s best for Edgardo, but with it comes a contaminated desire to fortify its waning authority over its country. On the other side, a lot of the pathos comes from the Mortara family, given they’re categorized as the victim in this situation. There’s also a point made to recognize that the reason why this was allowed to happen was simply due to an adherence to the social norms of the time. The results of that decision bleed into the performances from Barbara Ronchi and Fausto Russo Alesi, who play Edgardo’s mother and father, respectively. It’s through them that the movie reaches its emotional peaks, and those peaks are high. The film’s ending takes all of these ideas and culminates everything into a final epilogue. And while the scene itself is quite simple on paper, it gets across a lasting idea that what was once out of Edgardo’s control as a child is no longer the case as an adult. What that bears fruit is up to Edgardo.
Through the Night — It Was Just Okay
Competing in the New Directors competition, Through the Night enters as Delphine Girard’s feature debut. Hailing from France, the movie is an expansion off of Girard’s Oscar-nominated short film titled, A Sister. Through the Night follows the perspectives of Anna (Veerle Baetens), Aly (Selma Alaoui), and Dary (Guillaume Duhesme) as the central figures involved in a 911 call, as well as the ensuing aftermath. While I can’t attest to the quality of A Sister, given I have not actually seen that short, its central premise, from what I’ve read, is essentially the opening scene of Through the Night.In an extended sequence kicking off the start of the feature, we follow Aly as she makes a call to 911 without alerting the suspicion of Dary. Fielding the call is Anna, a dispatcher who works to alert the authorities to their location before it’s too late. This is undoubtedly the highlight of the film in my eyes. In probably the best opening scene of the festival, Girard does a marvelous job of implementing a gripping sense of stakes for the audience. I can see why she would naturally decide to build out on top of that premise to have a complete feature debut. From there on, the picture does take a bit of a dip, as it never quite gets back to that feeling, but rest assured — that shouldn’t be considered a mistake. Instead, it’s actually an intentional choice to swap out its focus on tension as the film pivots towards exploring other elements it wishes to comment on. In regards to what that is exactly, Girard equally splits screen time between the three leads so as to speak to something unique for each person. For Aly, she has to come to terms with how to move on following a traumatic experience. With Dary, it’s about taking accountability for the consequences of his mistakes. And as for Anna, she must search for answers as means overcoming an obsession to protect Aly. The climax converges these ideas into a final scene which does well in servicing their well-built sense of characterization, but also recognizes their arcs aren’t finished when the film cuts to black. All told, while I wasn’t in love with the film, Girard makes a strong case to be on the lookout for wherever she does next.
Paradise is Burning — Liked It
Paradise is Burning is a coming-of-age film from Sweden. In this film, we follow three sisters (Laura (Bianca Delbravo), Mira (Dilvin Asaad), and Steffi (Safira Mossberg), who find themselves at risk of being sent into the foster care system after news of an impending visit from social services threatens to reveal that they live without parents. Director Mika Gustafson shows incredible potential here. There are several key standouts scattered across this film, but it feels right to focus on the central family. The three sisters at the core of this story make for a very engaging set of characters to follow. Their performances contribute greatly to this, as I think each actor is spot on in what’s being asked for regarding how their characters are written, and especially what their dynamic to one another is like. When together, there’s a rebellious and ferocious energy to a lot of their scenes. A good deal of that energy not only comes from the script’s dialogue in how the kids are written to talk like actual kids, but also in the environment the film is set in. The backdrop of the film is a rugged apartment complex in a lower class neighborhood, so the production design is subtly adept. Gustafson also makes an intentional choice to include a supporting ensemble of similarly aged girls for the leads to interact with. It’s not stated outright, but it’s at least implied that these girls do share a somewhat similar set of circumstances as our main trio. As far as what the movie does when the girls are separated, that juxtaposition mainly helps flesh out the themes of the film. The lack of a parental figure is starkly contrasted with the few adults who do appear in the film. Being the oldest of the three siblings, Laura acts as the primary caretaker for her sisters and bears the task of dealing with the impending conflict. Her solution introduces us to Hanna (Ida Engvoll), a carefree mother who indulges in debaucherous antics with Laura. Where this plot thread goes perfectly exemplifies what Gustafson wants the audience to take away by film’s end. There are additional relationships with Mira and Steffi throughout the picture that help build to this point, but the larger idea that’s being explored is about the barriers between adolescence and adulthood.
Solo — Liked It
It can be easy to forgo Canadian productions in general across film. I suspect that largely comes down to a lesser popularity when compared to other English-speaking countries, such as Australia or England. That’s a shame, because in doing so, people often miss out on gems like Solo. Set in Montreal, the story follows an aspiring drag performer named Simon (Théodore Pellerin) as he struggles to find peace in relationships with his absent mother, Claire (Anne-Marie Cadieux), as well as his partner and fellow drag performer, Olivier (Félix Maritaud). This film has grown on me massively since my initial screening. I by no means disliked it after my first viewing, rather a shift of sorts has occurred within my own internal thought process. From the off, the movie feels incredibly authentic in how this particular setting portrays drag culture. As someone who has no foot in that world, seeing a film that shows that representation immediately validates its own existence, and that’s something worth respecting. Additionally, Pellerin offers a striking performance to completely embody Simon as a character. That’s not to say the rest of the cast doesn’t do the same — I believe they do — but Pellerin finds a balance between vulnerability and ferocity that’s engrossing to watch. What didn’t quite stand out to me initially that I’ve since recognized as invaluable was Dupuis’s direction. While I sensed an undercurrent of her personal connection to the film’s subject matter, I was not aware she had come out as queer during the release of the film. While I haven’t seen Dupuis’s two prior features, this does feel like a defining point in her career where freely explores more personal thoughts that can foster certain parallels between Simon and the audience, and to some degree herself. It’s also worth mentioning the skill on display for how she guides the camera during the drag performance scenes. Color and music choices work in tandem with the flare of the performers to create some of the most memorable sequences you’ll see all year.