Competition review - 11 MINUTES by Jerzy Skolimowski

JERZY SKOLIMOWSKI is unafraid of the unexpected, which ultimately ties his large array of characters to a sudden destiny in his latest ambitious feature 11 MINUTES, which premiered in the official competition of the 72nd VENICE FILM FESTIVAL.

JERZY SKOLIMOWSKI, who once took a seventeen year long break from filmmaking to focus on painting, now returns five years after his previous feature ESSENTIAL KILLING with a different feature that is both different in structure and ambition. 11 MINUTES, as the title implies, follows the lives of a number of characters over the titular length of time, and culminates in a spectacular ending at once ironic, tragic and cathartic. 

Despite the attention given to the ending, which is also highlighted in the title of the film, getting there is just as interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly, the characters themselves are very varied and together they form quite an interesting representation of modern life and its dilemmas. They include a jealous newlywed husband, an actress at a meeting in a hotel room with an agent looking for more than her resume, a young drug dealer, his father with a dark past, a young man who reinvents himself as a thief and so on. 

And, despite the restricted time, SKOLIMOWSKI gives himself narratively speaking to tell their stories or some of their stories, his snapshots offer interesting and enriching glimpses. The other challenge, of course, was the handling of the multiple storyline structure, which in itself can be quite tricky. But his handling of this aspect is remarkable, and highlights a meticulous work of post production. The journey to the final destination is a frantic fugue, gripping from start to finish.

But the thing that differentiates 11 MINUTES from the vast majority of films that dwelled upon similarly constructed films is that it is contextualised by meaningful explorations of wider themes. One of them is earthly - the theme of surveilance, as represented by cops overlooking the city from computer screens projecting images from CCTV cameras. Another is more spiritual, and that is the helplessness of humanity in the face of destiny, as represented by the suddenness of the ending. In this case, hence, there is a slight critique of surveillance, and the price of privacy that is paid by people in order to be "protected", when after all some things that happen quite simply just do. 

This is perhaps also what inevitably leads to the reference to 9/11, or post 9/11 society paranoia, more blatantly represented by the element of a plane flying far too low over the city, something that also serves a narrative purpose in tying the multi-layered story together and giving it something of a timestamp. However, one must not make the mistake of thinking that the number 11 somehow links the story of the film with a reference to 9/11, as that would most likely be missing the point of what is essentially a different brand of picture, inspired by a more general condition of modern society. 

To further enhance the excitement and energy of 11 MINUTES, there are a number of additional creative elements that enrich the plot. An introduction shot with amateurish equipment shows the experimental edge of SKOLIMOWSKI, and enough intrigue to be left wondering about what is to follow. Sometimes, the viewpoint is changed from a more introspective one, and in at least one instance the film flirts with surralism as the male drug courier has an intense trip high on cocaine. 

As well as that, JANN CASTOR's music, which is dominated by guitar and drums, add an interesting energy to it all as well as a very charged framework that conveys other beautiful experimentations with sound.