My third visit to the London Film Festival and it was back to the BFI Southbank to view Mugabe and the White African. Arriving at the BFI a large crowd was waiting outside the auditorium ready to go in, and a lot of them seemed to know each other. Turns out the stars of the documentary, the crew and their friends and families were all there as this was the first time the documentary had been screened in the UK. We were treated to a short introduction by the films producers, and promised a “surprise” at the end of the screening. As I already noticed the stars of the documentary were in the audience I had a good feeling what the surprise would be.
As for the documentary itself, it was a rather strange affair. The subject matter was fascinating. The film follows Mike Campbell, a white African farmer in Zimbabwe who is desperately trying to stop his farm being taken away from him by Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF party. Despite threats, vandalism and even being kidnapped along with other members of his family, Mike continues to fight to keep his farm which he has owned for over 20 years. He eventually takes his case to the South African Development Committee (SADC) who give a monumental ruling that he can keep his farm. It's an interesting story, and Mike and his family are amazingly strong characters who make for a great subject for a documentary.
Unfortunately, the presentation of the documentary brings down the impact of the documentary. The main problem is that the directors have overdone the presentation. Many of the scenes appear to have been staged, with glossy presentation and a distracting melodramtic score playing over the top. While done for dramatic effect I actually felt it distanced the audience from what was happening and it was sometimes hard to be emotionally attached to what was happening on screen because of the over the top presentation. The film is frequently punctuated with footage of Zimbabwe nature and wildlife. These scenes are initially quite pleasent but soon become overplayed, start to feel unnecessary and threaten to kill the pace of the movie. Towards the end of the movie these nature shots are used less and less and the tension and emotion on screen noticeably ramps up.
The best scenes of the film are the hidden camera segments. One highlight is a secretly filmed confrontation with the son of a Zanu PF government minister, who claims Mike should hand over the farm to him. It is a raw, fascinating and dangerous few minutes which raises emotions that the glossy, stagy scenes just can't provide. If the film was just a camera crew following the family, I feel it would have made for a far more interesting and emotionally charged documentary.
There's no doubt that Mike's crusade is an important one, and this film should be seen by as many as possible despite the flawed presentation. After the screening the “surprise” was a 45 minute Q&A session with the directors, producers and Mike Campbells son-in-law. This gave a fascinating insight to what life was like for Mike Campbell and family post-SADC judgment, and sadly not a lot had changed. In fact if anything things had got worse. Mugabe effectively ignored the SADC judgement, Mike had his farm burned down and their staff are regularly threatened and even beaten by Zanu PF officials. Mugabe and the White African may not be perfect film-making, but the subject matter makes this one of the more important documentaries of recent times. If you don't get the chance to catch it in the cinema it will be shown on Channel 4 next year.
Thursday 29 October 2009
Wednesday 28 October 2009
London Film Festival – Castro
After the sombre The Milk of Sorrow the night before, I was hoping Castro, an Argentinian film categorised as “Experimenta” by the BFI, would be a more fast paced affair. It was. In fact the entire movie is essentially one long chase sequence. The plot, what there is of it, centres around the eponymous Castro, a grumpy chap who is literally running away from his problems the entire film. He's running away from his nagging girlfriend who desperately wants him to get a job. When he eventually finds a job delivering mysterious parcels he has to run either with or from his colleagues. Finally he's unknowingly running away from mysterious characters who have been sent by his ex-wife to find him.
The plot really isn't important. The story is flimsy at best, the characters receive little development and we're never given any real reasons why these events are happening. But what Castro does well and what makes it so enjoyable is the fast paced and funny slapstick and mayhem happening on screen, handled with a expert hand by director Alejo Moguillansky. The film is essentially a string of comic scenarios, joyously played by the talented cast. With the smooth camera work and grubby South American city backdrop it has the look of a modern movie, but the curiously retro jaunty piano soundtrack coupled with the classic slapstick routines sometimes gives the film the feel of a Laurel and Hardy or Buster Keaton movie.
Castro is by no means a top flight film. Filmed on digital, the colours are harsh and unflattering, it's like watching camcorder footage (it wouldn't surprise me if it was filmed on camcorder.) As mentioned the plot is flimsy and the slightly surreal finale is disappointing. But at a tidy ninety minutes this funny, entertaining film doesn't outstay its welcome and was well worth a watch.
The plot really isn't important. The story is flimsy at best, the characters receive little development and we're never given any real reasons why these events are happening. But what Castro does well and what makes it so enjoyable is the fast paced and funny slapstick and mayhem happening on screen, handled with a expert hand by director Alejo Moguillansky. The film is essentially a string of comic scenarios, joyously played by the talented cast. With the smooth camera work and grubby South American city backdrop it has the look of a modern movie, but the curiously retro jaunty piano soundtrack coupled with the classic slapstick routines sometimes gives the film the feel of a Laurel and Hardy or Buster Keaton movie.
Castro is by no means a top flight film. Filmed on digital, the colours are harsh and unflattering, it's like watching camcorder footage (it wouldn't surprise me if it was filmed on camcorder.) As mentioned the plot is flimsy and the slightly surreal finale is disappointing. But at a tidy ninety minutes this funny, entertaining film doesn't outstay its welcome and was well worth a watch.
London Film Festival – The Milk of Sorrow
For the past week the 53rd London Film Festival has been taking place across various venues in the capital. There have been plenty of big name films this year including three George Clooney premiers, however as I'm not a BFI member and am also poor I saw none of the big films. My approach to the London Film Festival was to browse through the programme, see what sounded interesting, pray there were some seats left and book a ticket. In the end I ended up seeing four films, the first being The Milk of Sorrow.
It sounded interesting, to me anyway. A Peruvian film which was the winner of the Golden Bear at this years Berlin Film Festival. The screening was taking place at the Vue West End which I was looking forward to visiting as it has a very cosy bar. Naturally the bar was closed for a private function when I was there though. The screening took place in a “intimate” (read: small) screen. We were lucky enough to get a brief introduction from the cinematographer of the film. She provided some brief background about the story of the film but didn't say much about the making of the film itself. It was nice to see her there and made the screening feel a bit more special.
The film revolves around Fausta, a young Peruvian girl whose mother has suffered through terrible atrocities during wartime in Peru. A Peruvian myth is that women who were raped or tortured during wartime carry their sorrow in their breast milk, which is passed on to their daughters. Indeed the cinematographer informed us in her introduction that the direct translation of the original Peruvian title is “The Frightened Tit.” Fausta's mothers ordeal has a profound affect on Fausta herself. Terrified and confused she has inserted a potato in her nether regions to stop what happened to her mother happening to her. We follow Fausta as she deals with her mothers death, and we follow Fausta's growing of character as she takes on a job as a maid to raise enough money to give her mother a decent send off. We also get to know about Fausta's home life, where she lives with her uncle, aunt and cousins.
Fausta's journey is largely intriguing but the film moves at a sometimes glacial pace. This suits the story for the most part as a film about a young girl with a potato in her initimates dealing with the death of her abused mother is not going to be a knockabout farce. But unfortunately the slow pacing does occasionally threaten to kill the film dead. Luckily the superb cinematography means there's also something wonderful to look at even if not much is happening story wise. The film is also punctuated with lively scenes of Peruvian life. These scenes, especially the ones revolving around the weddings that Fausta's uncle and aunt help organise, are filled with a humour and energy that left me with a buzz that helped me get through the slower parts of the film.
Director Claudia Llosa has produced a worthy film which gives a sometimes fascinating look at a part of the world that is rarely seen in Western cinema. The insight into Peruvian folklore and culture is interesting and come across on screen well. A lovely soundtrack featuring traditional guitar playing and unaccompanied singing add to the drama.
Although the cinematographer was supposed to return at the end of the screening to answer questions she never reappeared, which was a shame. It was a good start to the festival nonetheless.
It sounded interesting, to me anyway. A Peruvian film which was the winner of the Golden Bear at this years Berlin Film Festival. The screening was taking place at the Vue West End which I was looking forward to visiting as it has a very cosy bar. Naturally the bar was closed for a private function when I was there though. The screening took place in a “intimate” (read: small) screen. We were lucky enough to get a brief introduction from the cinematographer of the film. She provided some brief background about the story of the film but didn't say much about the making of the film itself. It was nice to see her there and made the screening feel a bit more special.
The film revolves around Fausta, a young Peruvian girl whose mother has suffered through terrible atrocities during wartime in Peru. A Peruvian myth is that women who were raped or tortured during wartime carry their sorrow in their breast milk, which is passed on to their daughters. Indeed the cinematographer informed us in her introduction that the direct translation of the original Peruvian title is “The Frightened Tit.” Fausta's mothers ordeal has a profound affect on Fausta herself. Terrified and confused she has inserted a potato in her nether regions to stop what happened to her mother happening to her. We follow Fausta as she deals with her mothers death, and we follow Fausta's growing of character as she takes on a job as a maid to raise enough money to give her mother a decent send off. We also get to know about Fausta's home life, where she lives with her uncle, aunt and cousins.
Fausta's journey is largely intriguing but the film moves at a sometimes glacial pace. This suits the story for the most part as a film about a young girl with a potato in her initimates dealing with the death of her abused mother is not going to be a knockabout farce. But unfortunately the slow pacing does occasionally threaten to kill the film dead. Luckily the superb cinematography means there's also something wonderful to look at even if not much is happening story wise. The film is also punctuated with lively scenes of Peruvian life. These scenes, especially the ones revolving around the weddings that Fausta's uncle and aunt help organise, are filled with a humour and energy that left me with a buzz that helped me get through the slower parts of the film.
Director Claudia Llosa has produced a worthy film which gives a sometimes fascinating look at a part of the world that is rarely seen in Western cinema. The insight into Peruvian folklore and culture is interesting and come across on screen well. A lovely soundtrack featuring traditional guitar playing and unaccompanied singing add to the drama.
Although the cinematographer was supposed to return at the end of the screening to answer questions she never reappeared, which was a shame. It was a good start to the festival nonetheless.
Tuesday 27 October 2009
Hi there!
You've managed to stumble across my blog before I've even had the chance to add any meaningful content. Your curoisity impresses me. Come back in a few days and there may be some content waiting for you.
David.
David.
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