Welcome to the eighth of the chronicles that we will dedicate day after day to the 69th edition of the Seminci – Valladolid International Film Week, the second that a server will cover for El Séptimo Arte.
'Mercy' – The latest film written and directed by Alain Guiraudie requires carrying, being in practice a highly ironic black comedy that in its own way is reminiscent of titles like 'But… who killed Harry?'. In whose way? That of the aforementioned Alain Guiraudie, a filmmaker who gives his particular sensitivity to a provincial rural thriller about family, the past and established morality that, little by little, progressively and between small and not so subtle jokes, ends up becoming a A mocking and sly parable that is not hidden at all… to the disappointment of anyone looking or hoping to find a more or less normal and conventional thriller, more or less credible. And the “mercy” to which its title refers is marked by desire, “the great mystery of life”, and not by morality, in addition to a clear anticlerical irreverence, a manifest police clumsiness and a tone in naturalistic appearance passed through the filter of a surreal fantasy that could have been signed by Quentin Dupieux. ******* 'Black Dog' – A humanist thriller about redemption, loyalty and survival in provincial China shaken by the social, political and identity transformations parallel to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. It is also a film with a dog; well, with many dogs, a wolf and a tiger that starts better than how it ends. And the thing is that Guan Hu, its scriptwriter and director, finds everything a bit confusing due to a somewhat cumbersome and repetitive narrative that doesn't quite weave together fluently the many ideas it contains. Hence, for example, his comic notes, although welcome, seem out of character. And what predominates is the solitude, the dryness and the gray appearance of the open spaces of a desolate city surrounded by a hostile desert about to be demolished to make way for the world of tomorrow. All of this framed with relaxed panoramic elegance and a clear animalistic nuance by the aforementioned Guan Hu, who presents a solid and always appreciable film reminiscent of Jia Zhangke that nevertheless lacks some harmony and also a bit of rhythm to be truly notable. . *******
'Timeshare' – It aims to be the most personal film of Olivier Assayas, who forces us to search the Internet for a photo of him to clear up doubts: No, the one who is in front of the cameras is not him… although he obviously looks like him. Because, just as Woody Allen, the protagonist of 'Timeshare' is an alter ego of Assayas who gives free rein to his obsessions as a person, brother and filmmaker: A film director who shares the COVID confinement in the family country house with his brother and their respective partners. The film doesn't have much else, as if Assayas himself had filmed it during those unforgettable days (in one way or another) to entertain himself given the situation. Simple, honest, therapeutic. 'Timeshare' It is entertaining, even though it is still pure and scattered rambling. Nice and light digression reminiscent of Jean Renoir in which Assayas shows himself in a way that is not particularly funny or insightful, in what is a film that is clearly less than the greater glory of oneself (and of French culture) than just a wealthy and renowned filmmaker can afford. ******
'The Fable' – The importance of family legacy, the search for one's own identity, the personal reappropriation of the land, the wounds of British colonialism and a few fireflies are wrapped in a dreamlike aura, adopting the forms of a corrosive Indian folk fable. As its title indicates, Raam Reddy's second film is a “mystical tale” that takes us into the imposing landscapes of the Indian Himalayas in the late 80s through the figure of Dev, a patriarch who owns land inherited from the colonial era that defends its class condition while accusing everyone of wanting to destroy its present. Filmed in a dirty and authentic 16 mm to reinforce the impression of being a story lost in time, and paced through a voice-over, the film, very solid on all levels, shines for its sober and impressionistic staging marked by a magical realism organically integrated into a firm and convincing narrative with an exquisite evocative aroma between the classic and the immortal, the timeless and the imperishable. *******
