by Cris Mora-Villa, Contributing Writer
With this year presenting the 59th annual Chicago International Film Festival, I had the opportunity to attend and check out 31 films from all across the world. In this series, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on most of the films I got to see, starting with those which were awarded top prizes by the festival juries. Let’s begin, shall we?
We Grown Now — Low Side of Liked It
Serving as the official selection for the opening night film of the festival, We Grown Now is an apt choice to take home the Chicago Award. Competing in the City and State competition, this category examines the festival submissions filmed within the state of Illinois. The movie’s premise of a coming-of-age story focusing on two boys living in 1990’s Cabrini-Green certainly meets the criteria of representing Chicago and its history. Director Minhal Baig certainly has a connection to the material, given she was born and raised in Chicago, something that can be felt when looking at how she navigates the camera to film exterior scenes of the city. They’re restrained enough to not appear too showy, while still having a clear eye for what feels true to the environment these characters reside in. Alongside the movie’s nostalgic scenery is a tremendous effort made by the production and sound departments to really make this feel like a lived-in city. A cascade of street-level noises that feel ultra specific to Chicago combined with a subtle attention to detail for the interior of the titular Cabrini-Green apartment complex do wonders to ease you into the framework of the picture. At the heart of this movie, however, is the friendship between the titular leads of Malik (Blake Cameron James) and Eric (Gian Knight Ramirez), as they come to terms with the lives they’ve been living and a potential future that’s been laid out for them. Interspersed within the protagonist’s dilemma is a key component of the film’s pathos with Jurnee Smollett and Lil Rel Howery in parental roles for each child, respectively. There are a handful of scenes that, despite leaning into a more show-don’t-tell style of plotting, still resonate emotionally with the grounded performances given by Smollett and Howery. We Grown Now ultimately succeeds in what it aims for, but be aware that the story is nothing the average film consumer hasn’t seen before. In fact, I suspect that the story’s familiarity is what led it to also win the Audience Choice award for Best U.S. Feature. which is voted on by festival attendees, but that’s just a theory.
The Echo — High Side of Liked It
In the International Documentary Competition, the top prize of the Golden Hugo was awarded to The Echo, a well-earned recipient. Set in the remote village of Puebla, Mexico, the film follows the daily lives of three families living in a rural farming community. For as simple as that premise may sound, there’s a lot to be enamored with here. For one, rather than a standard talking heads documentary, The Echo is actually presented as a docu-fiction hybrid of sorts. Nearly every conversation within the film could pass as a scripted encounter written for the characters, but there’s a casual earnestness to how things are said that makes the movie feel genuine. Writer/director Tatiana Huezo takes the time to show a lot of nuance amidst the general mundanity that pervades these people’s lives, but does so by acting as a passive observer. At no point in this movie will you find an example of a filmmaker telling you what to feel. Instead, the camera exists to witness both moments of happiness and solemnity. Subject matter from Huezo’s past works rears its head in the background of this film, as human trafficking and death are explicitly alluded to and play a role in the film’s narrative, respectively. It’s also worth mentioning that there’s no attempt made to shield the audience from the harsh realities of farm life. Combined with the nature-heavy setting and consistent presence of children, it’s these elements of the film that give off a coldness. And it’s that coldness that makes the occasional moments of joy feel all the more precious. Huezo spent one year filming the people in this community, the results of which make for a year well spent.
Goodbye Julia — High Side of Liked It
Honored with the Roger Ebert Award, Goodbye Julia marks a tremendous feature debut for writer/director Mohamed Kordofani. As Sudan’s official submission for Best International Film at next years’ Academy Awards, the film follows the relationship between two women when one (Mona, played by Eiman Yousif) hires the other (Julia, played by Siran Riak) as a maid after secretly being responsible for the death of the latter’s husband. The synopsis by itself was more than enough to pique my interest in seeing the film, and what followed did not disappoint. While a lot of credit certainly rests on the shoulders of Kordofani’s direction, it’s worth highlighting how efficiently written the screenplay is. There’s an incredible balance struck with how many elements of the story get focused on at any given time. Those elements primarily consist of the film’s use of performance, music, clever plotting, clarity for its characters’ differing perspectives, and the thematic richness of guilt and class division. The aughts setting is also not without purpose, as there’s definitely an importance placed on the backdrop of Sudan and the subsequent secession for South Sudan in 2011. That emphasis is made all the more pivotal in its effect on Mona and Julia’s relationship, given that Mona is a citizen from the northern territory of Sudan, which has long-running conflict with those from the southern territory, such as Julia. That political tinge inserts a layer of tension to several scenes, lest we forget the inciting incident of this story is a murder. The notion of truth also plays a role in the film’s climax, the consequences of which lead to a quietly resonant conclusion. In all, Goodbye Julia certainly offers a grounded tale with a clear sense of personal connection that can be felt from Kordofani and is all the more impressive when remembering it as a debut feature.
La Chimera — High Side of Liked It
La Chimera is one of a select few films to achieve wins in two separate categories. Awarded for Best Ensemble Cast Performance and Best Cinematography, the film certainly has the merit to back those decisions. Josh O’Connor confidently leads the ensemble as Arthur, a gifted archeologist who returns home where he finds himself embroiled in a grave robbing scheme for ancient artifacts with his friends. Alongside O’Connor is an eclectic cast of performers who service their characters well and offer a pivotal role in furthering Arthur’s arc, as well as the main plot. Cinematographer Hélène Louvart deftly nails the aesthetic the film is aiming for. There’s a vibrant yet subtle aura to the way Louvart goes about shooting the rather unglamorous Italian climate the film is set in. You’ll find no shortage of degraded buildings, glimmering sunsets, luscious jungles, or dirt-stained excavations scattered across numerous scenes in this movie. But if you were to pick out virtually any one of those scenes, you’ll certainly find an image worth remembering. Aside from the movie’s superlatives, director Alice Rohrwacher certainly deserves recognition for not only her direction, but also the screenplay. There are certainly a number of reasons that could be attributed for why La Chimera would classify as a good film, but it’s in Rohrwacher’s writing that I would primarily label it an interesting film above all else. She doesn’t hesitate to show a real sense of patience in building to a slow burn conclusion which succeeds in both tying together the movie’s themes, and delivering an emotional payoff for the audience.
Explanation for Everything — It Was Just Okay
Explanation for Everything walked away with the top prize of the festival as the 2023 recipient of the Golden Hugo award in the International Feature Competition. Additionally, the film also won the Silver Hugo award for Best Screenplay. Considering the depth of the competition for those categories, winning both is certainly an achievement. The film itself shifts perspectives between four individuals connected to a Hungarian national controversy stemming from a slacker student’s failed high school exam: the student (Ábel, played by Adonyi-Walsh Gáspár), his father (György, played by István Znamenák), Abel’s teacher (Jakab, played by András Rusznák), and the journalist (Erika, played by Rebecca Hatházi) who is covering the story. It’s through this formatting choice that the film is able to cover as much ground as it does to flesh out its themes and characters. Each character is cleverly written to be at the center of their own story, which in turn allows them to tackle their own struggles that still relate to the larger issue at hand. Without explicitly revealing the inciting incident, there are undertones of a political satire within the discussions the film has which are very specific to the history of Hungary. The subtext of which may go over people’s heads, as the movie is a rather talky affair, but the wittiness of the humor does a good job in balancing that out. For as many interesting topics of discussion want to be addressed, I must admit there are a few degrees of separation which kept me from being fully grabbed by the movie. That primarily falls on a bit of indulgence with the tropes of prestige filmmaking and scenes going on longer than needed, but there’s still an interesting movie that’s worth seeing, even if the territory it covers is done better by other movies in the festival.