15th Kolkata Film Festival 2009 - Day 1

With so many films to choose from I was really confused. I also had to make sure I choose movies by looking that their running time. Finally, after a few hours I was done with my schedule for Kolkata Film Festival. I will be watching 26 movies 7 days. Phew! Some crazy week this is going to be.

I started with Fellini as I thought most people would have seen his work so the theater would be less populated. And I was correct indeed.


Variety Lights
Dir: Federico Fellini
Italy/ 93 min

I really wanted to watch the movie, as it is Fellini’s debut film as a director. I was surprised to see that it is unlike most of Fellini’s work. It has a very straightforward narrative and it is completely void of any symbolism. The narrative is similar to `La Strada’ and `Nights of Cabiria.’

The film tells the story of a troupe of performers and what happens when a beautiful, young woman with dreams of perusing her career in showbiz joins the troupe. How the equations of relationship change and how much the troupe and the people in it are affected by it. The three main leads, Peppino De Filippo (as Checco), Carla Del Poggio (as Liliana) and Fellini’s wife Giulietta Masina (as Melina Amour) give superlative performances. The film is highly enjoyable with lots of humor thrown in. The ‘behind the scenes’ of the performing troupe is shown with lots of detailing.

Variety Lights is definitely not among Fellini’s best works, but still a very enjoyable movie with good performances.


Lost Song
Dir: Rodrique Jean
Canada/ 102 min

After beginning with Fellini’s movie, I was worried if the next movie would not meet the already set expectations. Just like I thought, the second movie was a damp squib.

Rodrigue Jean’s Lost Song tells the story of a couple, Pierre (Patrick Goyette) and Elisabeth (Suzie LeBlanc), and their struggle with post-partum depression. While the subject is interesting, the execution is absolutely not. So much so that I was wondering what was the necessity of the first 30 minutes. It seemed like 3 or 4 sequences over and over again. It felt like a montage of similar sequences without making any sense. It was frustratingly slow.

The characterization of Elizabeth, the mother, is very uneven. So sequences which should have resulted in sympathy towards the character, results in cheap shocks for the confused audience. The only plus point of the movie is the superb performance of Suzie Le Blanc as Elizabeth, the mother suffering from post-partum depression.

But that ultimately does not save the movie from becoming frustratingly slow and confusing garbage.


The Desert Within
Dir: Rodrigo Pla
Mexico/ 112 min

This one completely took me by surprise. I had plans to watch some other movie. But due to the excess crowd I went to watch Rodrigo Pla’s The Desert Within. The best decision of the day I took!

The backdrop of the film is 1920s when Mexico government banned Catholicism and persecuted its followers. The film tells the story of Elias (Mario Zaragoza) and how he puts his family into trouble by trying to have his unborn child Baptized. To redeem himself and his family of his sins, Elias starts building a church. What happens to the family after the church is built forms the crux of the film.

This movie is a powerful tale about the obsessive pursuit of redemption and the toll it takes on the family. The film is divided into four chapters: Sin, Penance, Sign and Pardon. By the time the movie ends, Elias has become a tragic figure of Shakespearean proportions.

The best part of the movie is the usage of animation along with live action and how perfectly both blends. The cinematography is breathtaking. The acting is uniformly good but Mario Zaragoza takes the cake with a superb performance.

For me, The Desert Within was the best movie of the day.


Lake Tahoe
Dir: Fernando Eimbcke
Mexico/ 85 min

Fernando Eimbcke’s Lake Tahoe is a lovely, little indie about coming of age. The film tells the story of Juan (Diego Cataño), who crashed his car to a post and his (mis) adventures in trying to find a mechanic to repair his car. There is also a parallel story about dealing with the loss of his father.

Fernando Eimbcke seems to be inspired by Jim Jarmusch that is evident in the way Lake Tahoe is shot. The luminous long shots, the wide-angle cinematography and cut into segments with blackouts – all reminiscent of Jim Jarmusch’s early works. The deadpan look on Juan’s face, the lack of characters in the movie and on the streets, all add on to show the emptiness in Juan’s life following his father’s death.

The film is fairly enjoyable with dry humor throughout. The only issue with the movie is the editing pattern. The blackouts used in the movie are so long and repetitive and after a point it becomes tedious and starts affecting the charm of the movie.

Yet with all its flaws, Lake Tahoe is a rewarding, little indie that deserves a watch.