10 Films to Look Out for at the 20th Vilnius International Film Festival

 

THE QUEEN OF SILENCE by Agnieszka Zwiefka

 

Agnieszka Zwiefka follows the life of a ten year old deaf mute girl who lives in a childish world of her own dancing like a Bollywood princess. The real story of this girl becomes the perfect metaphor of the innocence of childhood placed under threat by the serious socio political context in which she is being brought up, unwelcome in her Roma community residing in Poland, and her sensory awakening after she receives a hearing aid dramatically co-incides with this community fighting back deportation from the country. The Queen of Silence also plays a lot with the cinematic medium, thus giving us a byway into the world of fantasy of the little girl, almost encouraging the afore mentioned influence with glorious musical numbers, and at this point it is only safe to say that the music also contributes to a wonderfully engaging viewing experience.

 

THE LOOK OF SILENCE by Joshua Oppenheimer

 

Following the rightful success of the nothing short of groundbreaking previous work The Act of Killing, Oppenheimer returns to Indonesia to talk about the infamous but little talked about Indonesian Communist Purges and digs deep inside the conscience of the perpetrators of such brutality and violence. In The Look of Silence, Oppenheimer sides more blatantly with the victims, through the story of one man in particular – a man whose brother was killed in the sixties and who goes around the village interviewing the men responsible for these unspeakable acts. Aside from this documentary being the type of enriching and intense experience one would expect on a political ground, it is also to be admired as the work of a man who does not believe in the neutrality of the camera. This, in fact, was what was so admirable and even shocking to some extents about his previous work where he got the perpetrators of the purges to re-enact their evil deeds on camera. In The Look of Silence, he lets the camera eye linger on the two opposed parties, studying their silences long after they have stopped wanting to say anything else at all. A final paradox is provided by the figures in this documentary, the vast majority seemingly going deaf and blind. This is a metaphorical type of paradox, which represents a see no evil hear no evil outcome that the whole historical event is sadly destined to have.

 

PASOLINI by Abel Ferrara

 

Anyone familiar with Ferrara’s previous work might have been expecting or indeed even concerned by the controversy that such a film might have caused. When this controversy did not take place, and when unexpectedly this turned out to be an almost complete tribute to the works of one of the most highly regarded filmmakers Italian cinema ever dished out, critics expectedly turned against it. Seen without prejudice, however, Pasolini by Abel Ferrara is one of the most touching and faithful films a filmmaker ever made about another filmmaker in the history of cinema. The connection shared between filmmaker and subject is so touching a times that it may even seem like a collaboration – this is particularly true in the scenes where Ferrara brings to life the project that would have been Pasolini’s next feature before his untimely death. Even still, it is remarkable that despite the fact that there was so much ground to cover even by focusing on the last little over 24 hours of Pasolini’s life, Ferrara was so capable of fitting so much into his feature. His interviews, his casual relationships with friends and family, his openly homosexual lifestyle and in the end even his death. But by the end, thankfully, there is no time for investigations or conspiracies to feed the controversy. Take it for what it is. Pasolini is a touching tribute as well as a great portrayal of human vulnerability, born out of a daydream thought a whole generation of filmmakers who grew up with Accattone and Mamma Roma must have had once in their lives - and in the case of Ferrara, a daydream that became a fixation.

 

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement

 

Mockumentary about a group of vampire housemates, which follows its subjects in their ordinary struggles with everyday life. What We Do in the Shadows by Waititi and Clement is genial in its simplicity. A refreshing take on the comedy spoof genre, the film’s approach gives way to improvisation that makes the comedy seem a lot less staged and much more spontaneous. This approach also aids the different characters in naturally achieving their own distinctive characteristics through the actors’ own performances – themselves influenced by their own comedic personalities. To add to the overall appeal are some great references to the horror genre that take uS back to the good old days when vampires were gothic and cool rather than being the modern day sparkly skinned melodramatic counterparts. Structured around some very creative gags, this film is fun and entertaining. As well as that, by the end of What We Do in the Shadows, there is also a feeling that these are characters that could easily be brought back to life in various formats, from TV to a sequel.

 

VIKTORIA by Maya Vitkova

 

It's hard not to get excited about such an impressively unique vision as Viktoria. Ambitiously covering three decades worth of Bulgarian history, this film is also inspired by the filmmaker's own life and her relationship, or lack of relationship with her mother. The film looks beautiful and spontaneous at the same time, feeling all at once as if employing documentary like realism as well as metaphorical poetry. The cohesion of the visual and the narrative also shows a confidence and maturity by Maya Vitkova that is quite rare to find in a first feature. This might be because of her closeness and dedication to the subject. Nevertheless, Viktoria is also a story with a universal appeal and with plenty of interesting and facinating elements. As well as that, the calm pace of the story allows the emotional sides to sink in with the viewer and makes the film for a priceless and completely rewarding mediatative experience.

AMOUR FOU by Jessica Hausner

 

Amour Fou is a film based on the real life of a German poet in the romantic era who convinced a seemingly content housewife to join him in a suicide pact. Hausner channels feelings and emotions of classic literature by evoking their extreme views on romanticism in an almost satirical way. Nevetrtheless, while the approach can be mostly described as deadpan and even a comedic one at that, there is also plenty of drama in the apparent coldness of the characters and their inabilities to truly connect and communicate in a substantial way. Delightful art direction and still cinematography enriched by a meticulous mise en scene likens this film to the art of the time, and provides further cohesion in a very interesting film with much intriguing and yet soft spoken drama.

 

GOODNIGHT MOMMY by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz

 

A truly terrifying experience. A masterful conglomeration of horror film clichés with a compelling lenience towards arthouse cinema – in fact the same sort of arthouse approach that producer Ulrich Seidl is known for. Despite all this, first time feature directors Franz and Fiala already seem masterful in building an intense and chilling atmosphere with haunting and downright shocking relentlessness, spinning out of a relatively innocent domestic drama, developing into a dense psychological thriller with paranormal flirtations and erupting into a full blown tough to watch torture movie. The story is pretty simple – two twins become suspicious and then obsessed by the fact that their mother is not their real mother but a kidnapper or a monster. The visual charge of Goodnight Mommy provides added immediacy in such elements as the bandages worn by the mother, who has just returned from a facial plastic surgery operation. It’s hard to pay rightful tribute to the visceral horror that is Goodnight Mommy. It is, in fact, one that has to be lived through but it is certainly not one to be experienced by the faint hearted.

 

MELBOURNE by Nima Javidi

 

Javidi’s feature directorial debut is the story of a Hitchcockian dilemma. The story takes place in one house, and even more so in one room. It also takes place on a big day – the day in which the central couple is to move to Melbourne. However, the titular destination seems almost unreachable when a good deed turns into tragedy as they agree to help a nanny look after a baby and the baby is soon after discovered dead. The drama intensifies and the frenzy begins as hoards of friends and family come and go to wish them well and say their goodbyes while the two undergo extreme internal conflict and drama and the four walls in which they are confined become tighter and tighter, in fact claustrophobic. Melbourne is a well-timed and perfectly balanced thriller drama. Despite its tricky ambition of employing a theatrical approach, the acting conveys the tension and suspense amazingly well and makes the whole viewing experience even more gripping and exciting.