Triangle of Sadness equals award happiness

 Triangle of Sadness (2022, Ruben Östlund)

 

In contemporary European soccer, some league titles are decided even before a ball is kicked. The Cannes Film festival appears to be headed that way as well, especially when it comes to awarding the Palme d’Or to Ruben Östlund. Now, it is true that over the years some directors would always get their films programmed in Cannes Competition regardless of merit. Think Ken Loach, Nanni Moretti or Paolo Sorrentino. And some would never get in Competition. Until this year, Claire Denis used to fall in this category. Getting a film in Competition is one thing but winning the top Cannes prize is another matter altogether as a Jury decides who gets the Palme d’Or. That is why it is baffling Ruben Östlund has now won back-to-back Palme d’Or for The Square and Triangle of Sadness, two films that are weaker than his two earlier films Force Majeure and Play.

Force Majeure perfectly balanced its comedic scenarios with astute human observances. It was a dry wit film, which I placed in my Top 20 Scandinavian films list, that allowed the time and space for all its ideas to fully come through. On the other hand, The Square felt an attempt to take the witty vignette’s of Roy Andersson’s cinema and pushing the boundaries slightly until the scenario shifted out of comedy into shock. While The Square had some moments that sparkled, overall the film felt incoherent where the individual parts didn’t fit together.

If The Square felt like a step down for Östlund, then his latest feels like hitting the bottom of the barrel. Triangle of Sadness has constructed a feature film by combining many vignettes which follow the same characters from start to finish. However, each scenario comes across completely manufactured to produce a reaction. Packed with clichés, the pseudo political commentary and attempts to poke fun at elites and class structure don’t always land because one can see the entire setup for miles. There is even a scene with an overflowing toilet, likely a nod to Parasite. If Östlund thought including such a scene would be a good omen for a Cannes win, he was proved right. At this rate, I fully expect that Östlund will complete his Cannes hat-trick with his next film which is on a plane (departing away from the ship in Triangle of Sadness) and examines what passengers do without in-flight entertainment.

Best Films from Rest of Asia Poll

Wonders in the Dark is having their "Rest of Asia" film poll. The countries covered are South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal, Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Laos, North Korea, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

There is a wealth of rich cinematic works from these countries and a Top 20 is not enough to do justice especially since it is easy to make a list consisting entirely of films from South Korea and Philippines. Lav Diaz could easily take over half of this list on his own. However, this list is a bit more inclusive and consists of films from 9 out of the possible 18 countries eligible for the poll.

Top 20 Films from the Rest of Asia Poll

1. Manila in the Claws of Light (1975, Philippines, Lino Brocka)
2. Tropical Malady (2004, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
3. The Housemaid (1960, South Korea,  Kim Ki-young)
4. Memories of Murder (2003, South Korea, Bong Joon Ho)
5. Insiang (1976, Philippines, Lino Brocka)
6. Evolution of a Filipino Family (2004, Philippines, Lav Diaz)
7. Right Now, Wrong Then (2015, South Korea, Hong Sang-soo)
8. Tirador (Slingshot, 2007, Philippines, Brillante Mendoza)
9. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010, Thailand, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
10. Sepet (2004, Malaysia, Yasmin Ahmad)
11. Made in Bangladesh (2019, Bangladesh, Rubaiyat Hossain)
12. The Missing Picture (2013, Cambodia, Rithy Panh)
13. ILO ILO (2013, Singapore, Anthony Chen)
14. The Scent of Green Papaya (1993, Vietnam, Anh Hung Tran)
15. Between Two Worlds (2009, Sri Lanka, Vimukthi Jayasundara)
16. The Salt in our Waters (2020, Bangladesh, Rezwan Shahriar Sumit)
17. Burning (2018, South Korea, Lee Chang-dong)
18. Wonderful Town (2007, Thailand, Aditya Assarat)
19. From What is Before (2014, Philippines, Lav Diaz)
20. Woman on Fire Looks for Water (2009, Malaysia, Woo Ming Jin)

Top 20 via country breakdown:
Philippines: 5
South Korea: 4
Thailand: 3
Bangladesh: 2
Malaysia: 2
Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka: 1

Fear and Loathing in Small Town, Everywhere

Two Eastern European films that compliment each other even though they are separated by two decades:

Big Animal (2000, Poland, Jerzy Stuhr)
Fear (2020, Bulgaria, Ivaylo Hristov)

In Big Animal, a circus departs a Polish town and forgets a camel behind. As the camel wanders around town, Zygmunt (played by the director Jerzy Stuhr) decides to take the camel home.

Zygmunt and his wife Marysia (Anna Dymna) decide to adopt the camel as they have no kids of their own so they are happy to give the camel a home. There is a warmth to the couple’s behaviour and at first, the couple’s kind act is considered favourable by the locals. 

However, gradually the locals prejudice comes out. They distrust the ‘foreign animal’ and consider it a burden to their town. The town blames everything bad on the camel. They shun the couple and even make Zygmunt stand a court trail.

Big Animal, based on a story by Kazimierz Orlos with screenplay co-written by Krzysztof Kieslowski, is a not so subtle allegory about how a close minded town treats a foreigner. In the end, the camel mysteriously disappears. The couple is heart-broken and they travel to visit a zoo in a bigger city, happy to witness a camel there. The couple’s smile and body language observed at the zoo indicates that their perspective has been changed forever and no matter what they do, they will stay open-hearted.

The disappeared camel makes a surprising entry near the end of Ivaylo Hristov’s Fear, which isn’t a subtle film at all. Bamba (Michael Flemming) is an African refugee who arrives on the Bulgarian border. He wants to go to Germany but ends up getting stuck in a small Bulgarian border town where he encounters Svetla (Svetlana Yancheva). 

At first, Svetla is hostile towards Bamba but she reluctantly helps him and then develops an understanding with him. On the other hand, the town locals are openly racist towards Bamba and don’t hide their hatred. When the locals find out that Svetla is helping Bamba, they attack her as well. 

In the end, Svetla and Bamba decide they don’t want to live in Bulgaria and plan to go to Africa. As the couple wander off into the snowy landscape, the black and white film gets a splash of colour when a camel casually walks across the screen.

The presence of the camel in Fear brilliantly ties the film with Big Animal. Of course, this isn’t the only connection. The hatred of the locals and the words they speak in Fear mirror those spoken in Big Animal with regards to the camel. Such hatred towards foreigners isn’t isolated to small European towns but sadly exists everywhere in the world. The last few years has exposed this hatred across small towns in North America.

The Films of Miklós Jancsó

 “THE GREATEST HUNGARIAN FILM DIRECTOR OF ALL TIME” - Béla Tarr

The above words by Tarr are featured on Kino Lorber’s recent six film disc set of Miklós Jancsó:

The Round-Up (1966)
The Red and the White (1967)
The Confrontation (1969)
Winter Wind (1969)
Red Psalm (1972)
Electra, My Love (1974)

I had seen a few films of Jancsó long before I had seen any film by Béla Tarr. Now, having revisited some of Jancsó's films, Tarr’s words make more sense because I can clearly see the influence of Jancsó on Tarr’s films.

The sweeping camera movements, the sideways camera pan, found in Jancsó’s films clearly has an influence on Tarr’s films in terms of shot composition. Although, Tarr’s camera rhythm and pan speed is slighter slower than Jancsó's and that is due to the differing focus and topics the two directors want to cover. 

Jancsó’s films are concerned with the fate of a society or nation in general and as a result, characters in his film are involved in debates between capitalism vs socialism, industrial vs agricultural ways of live. Depiction of these debates are shown via sweeping camera movements as the camera moves across a diverse array of characters, rival groups and fighting armies who are debating these lofty ideals and the fate of society. 

The camera has a lot of ground to cover in Jancsó's films because there are multiple viewpoints that need to be shown and these beautiful measured camera movements engulf an entire universe as individuals slowly blend into a larger mosaic. Jancsó also shows the impact of authoritarian rule which crushes individuals and his films depict the sexual abuse committed by men (soldiers or those in power). On the other hand, Tarr’s camera wants us to focus on 1-2 characters in its movements. Sometimes, Tarr’s camera wants us to focus on objects as the characters are not in the frame. There are crimes committed in Tarr’s films as well but those are mostly individual in nature or undertaken by a few against a small community.

Another difference between the two directors is regarding the mood in the films, which includes the colour palette and background noise. The sound of the landscape, rain and environment, filters through more in Tarr’s films whereas in Jancsó’s films, it is songs, music, spirited debates and gunfire that come through. Tarr’s films feature dark or grayish palettes with rain and gloomy skies. On the other hand, Jancsó’s films are packed with bright lively skies in the four colour films in the above set (The Confrontation, Winter Wind, Red Psalm and Electra, My Love). This is true even in Winter Wind where the snow doesn’t appear gloomy at all.

Miklós Jancsó’s films take real life events in Hungarian society and bring them to life. However, the manner in which the films are shot have a universality to them. This is due to the films being shot in open fields which turns the focus more on the words and actions of the characters. The crimes the men commit and their unflinching loyalty to their cause are still applicable in today’s world as the world is more divided than ever with men willing to go to any lengths to justify their cause.

There is plenty of good writing on Jancsó’s films. Here are just a few worthy ones:

1. Richard Brody in New Yorker

"Jancsó crafted a primordial form of slow cinema, but made it full of action. “Winter Wind,” for instance, is famously made of only twelve or thirteen elaborately choreographed shots, with the camera weaving around a host of actors, passing from one to another, and observing groups form and dissolve; these hypnotically abstract patterns of movement depict concrete and often violent events. "

"Jancsó’s films relentlessly stage cruelty, ruthlessness, and sadism—the use of power as spectacle to cow freethinkers into submission. The sexual abuse of women is a constant of tyrannical and repressive forces, and women’s resistance to them takes heroic forms, "

"What’s more, he elevated irony to a matter of cinematic form. The films in the Metrograph series are all trees, leaving it to viewers to draw their own forest. With his pointillistic vision of microhistory, of an overwhelming profusion of details, Jancsó radically decontextualized historical events and turned them into abstract symbols. The heroism of revolutionaries in “The Red and the White” makes Bolshevism look like a suicide pact, a death cult; in “Red Psalm,” soldiers purporting to side with the people are bloody murderers of those they claim to defend. "

"Jancsó also evoked the unique psychological horrors of life under tyranny—in style as well as substance—in his depiction of people enduring brutal and horrifying political events that, owing to mass censorship and individual intimidation, go undenounced and even unnamed. Jancso’s foregrounded vision of turbulent action rendered it both overwhelmingly complex, with its Kafkaesque snares and deceptions, and blankly Beckettian, with the absurd cold opacity of its violence, of the nerve-jangling proximity of life to death. "

2.  J. Hoberman in Film Comment

"First manifest in The Round-Up (65), Jancsó’s boldly stylized film language appeared to be a synthesis of Antonioni (elegant widescreen compositions, austere allegorical landscapes), Bresson (impassive performers, exaggerated sound design), and Welles (convoluted tracking shots, intricately choreographed ensembles), even as his free-floating existential attitudes and “empty world” iconography evoked the theater of the absurd, albeit without the laughs. Jancsó’s subject or, rather, his prison, was history. His narratives recalled the literature of extreme situations-pivoting on cryptic betrayals, mapping the seizure of power, dramatizing the exercise of terror- and his politics were ambiguously left, perhaps crypto-Trotskyist."

3. Patrick Dahl in Screenslate:

"Circularity runs through all six films in the series. Circles, mostly made of bodies, collide, surround, break and absorb one another as power shifts between the masses and agents of control. "

"Jancsó’s encircled masses and long takes reached their apex with Red Psalm (1972) and Electra, My Love (1974, pictured at top). Featuring only a few dozen shots each, the films offer a nearly impenetrable array of historical symbols and folklore in which groups of singing, dancing and naked peasants lock arms in solidarity against tyrannical forces. "

Best Films from Austria, Belgium, Greece, Holland, Ireland, and Switzerland

Doing a deep dive into a specific region or nation’s cinema often reveals blindspots and gaps in one’s knowledge. This proved to be case when compiling a list of top films from Austria, Belgium, Greece, Holland, Ireland, and Switzerland for Wonders in the Dark’s “Rest of Europe” spotlight. The gaps again highlight the lack of viable legal options to see many classic films from these six nations. There are some exceptions though when it comes to older films from these regions such as Chantal Akerman’s 1975 film Jeanne Dielman and Paul Verhoeven’s 1973 Turkish Delight, both of which are easily available. The oldest film in this list is Michael Cacoyannis’s 1956 Greek film A Girl in Black and that isn’t a surprise because until the late 1990s, his films such as Stella (1955), Zorba the Greek (1964), Attila 74 (1975) were the most common Greek films available to rent on VHS tapes at my local video stores (yes those physical spaces). Next most common Greek films available were those of Theo Angelopoulos. Things changed after 2010 when newer Greek films became available due to works of New Greek cinema playing at most film festivals and finding distribution after their festival runs.

Top 15 films from “Rest of Europe” Poll: Austria, Belgium, Greece, Holland, Ireland, and Switzerland

1. Homo Sapiens (2016, Austria, Nikolaus Geyrhalter)
2. L’Enfant (2005, Belgium, Jean-Pierre Dardenne/Luc Dardenne)
3. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975, Belgium, Chantal Akerman)
4. The Vanishing (1988, Holland, George Sluizer)
5. Rosetta (1999, Belgium, Jean-Pierre Dardenne/Luc Dardenne)
6. Father and Daughter (2000, Holland, Michael Dudok de Wit)
7. Turkish Delight (1973, Holland, Paul Verhoeven)
8. A Girl in Black (1956, Greece, Michael Cacoyannis)
9. The Weeping Meadow (2004, Greece, Theo Angelopoulos)
10. Lourdes (2009, Austria, Jessica Hausner)
11. The Boat is Full (1981, Switzerland, Markus Imhoof)
12. In the Name of the Father (1993, Ireland, Jim Sheridan)
13. Revanche (2008, Austria, Götz Spielmann)
14. A Town Called Panic (2009, Belgium, Stéphane Aubier/Vincent Patar)
15. Dogtooth (2009, Greece, Yorgos Lanthimos)

Honourable mention:

Man Bites Dog (1992, Belgium, Rémy Belvaux/André Bonzel/Benoît Poelvoorde)

Best Films from Africa and Middle East

Wonders in the Dark recently concluded a Best Films from Africa and Middle East poll. The inclusion of Iran, Israel and Turkey in this poll meant that the list is vastly different than the combined results of my previous Best films from Africa and Arab World list. Here is my submitted entry. 

Top 20 films from Africa and Middle East.

1. Taste of Cherry (1997, Iran, Abbas Kiarostami)
2. Touki Bouki (1973, Senegal, Djibril Diop Mambéty)
3. Crimson Gold (2003, Iran, Jafar Panahi)
4. The Time That Remains (2009, Palestine, Elia Sulieman)
5. Soleil Ô (1967, Mauritania, Med Hondo)
6. Timbuktu (2014, Mauritania, Abderrahmane Sissako)
7. Black Girl (1966, Senegal, Ousmane Sembene)
8. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011, Turkey, Nuri Bilge Ceylan)
9. The House is Black (1963, Iran, Forugh Farrokhzad)
10. Chronicles of the Years of Fire (1975, Algeria, Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina)
11. Close-Up (1990, Iran, Abbas Kiarostami)
12. A Man of Integrity (2017, Iran, Mohammad Rasoulof)
13. Return to Homs (2013, Syria, Talal Derki)
14. A Separation (2011, Iran, Asghar Farhadi)
15. Al-mummia (The Mummy, 1969, Egypt, Chadi Abdel Salam)
16. Cairo Station (1958, Egypt, Youssef Chahine)
17. Salt of This Sea (2007, Palestine, Annemarie Jacir)
18. Tilaï (The Law, 1990, Burkina Faso, Idrissa Ouedraogo)
19. The Little Wars (1982, Lebanon, Maroun Bagdadi)
20. Waltz with Bashir (2008, Israel, Ari Folman)

Note: I have listed the primary country only for the co-productions above.

Titles by country:

Iran: 6
Senegal: 2
Palestine: 2
Mauritania: 2
Egypt: 2
Turkey: 1
Algeria: 1
Syria: 1
Burkina Faso: 1
Lebanon: 1
Israel: 1

It isn't a surprise that Iran dominates this list with 6 titles given the strength of its cinema.

Best Films of 2021

We are almost halfway through 2022 and I still haven't caught up with all the worthy 2021 films. Still, I have seen a few that required a change to the Top films of 2021. So here goes.

Top 10 Films of 2021

1. The Great Indian Kitchen (2021, India, Jeo Baby)

 

As the title indicates, there is food in the movie which will cause one to get hungry. The food preparation and techniques are shown in incredible detail but it becomes apparent that the film is more than about food. And the kitchen is more than just a space to make food. The difference in roles of the husband and wife are emphasized as are the expectations of a woman in some segments of society. Even though this film is rooted in South India, aspects about marriage and treatment of women are applicable to many other patriarchal societies around the world. Credit to the director Jeo Baby of how this depiction is shown, by repetition of the same tasks, which definitely produced a visceral reaction in me.

2. Drive My Car (2021, Japan, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)

The second of Hamaguchi’s films to be released in 2021 is an exquisite tender film that is funny, charming, emotional and intelligent. It is also that rare film which lives up to the hype and unanimous praise from all corners of the world.

3. Memoria (2021, Colombia/Thailand co-production, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

 

The sound design opens a new dimension to Apichatpong’s previously explored themes of past/present, living/dead. In fact, the sound allows time/space to be collapsed and presents a new way to experience our world, a new way to make sense of our memories and dreams.

4. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021, Japan, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi) 

 

 

The first of the two Hamaguchi films released in 2021 is pure cinematic delight. The playful structure, including abrupt zooms, reminds of Hong Sang-soo’s cinema but the honesty and mature stories are a continuation of what he explored in his earlier Happy Hour (2015). Another lovely surprise is the inclusion of an element that reflects our current pandemic world.

 

5. Întregalde (2021, Romania, Radu Muntean)

 

 

There are no vampires in this contemplative film set in Transylvania yet there are elements of morality and ethics that are relevant to our world today. Those elements centre around doing good for others at the expense of one’s needs.

6. The World After Us (2021, France, Louda Ben Salah-Cazanas)

 

A charming Parisian film that balances the sweetness of romance with the bitterness of a writer’s struggles.

 

7. A Night of Knowing Nothing (2021, India, Payal Kapadia)

 

 

Payal Kapadia’s beautiful poetic film shows that despite decades of progress, many things haven’t changed in India (or the world in general). In fact, some things are regressing including basic human rights.

 

8. Fire in the Mountains (2021, India, Ajitpal Singh)

 

 

A remarkable film which derives its power with a smart mix of dry humour and plenty of heart. In the hands of another filmmaker, this could have been a completely dramatic film but Ajitpal incorporates many light hearted touches and that elevates the film.

 

9. Faya Dayi (2021, Ethiopia/USA/Qatar, Jessica Beshir)

 

 

An immersive, hypnotic and poetic journey to Harar! With a photographer's soul, Beshir lovingly captures the myths and rituals around Khat along with its growth, sale and consumption.

 

10. Aleph (2021, USA/Croatia/Qatar, Iva Radivojevic)

 

 

Smartly uses a Jorge Luis Borges short story as a spring board to explore diverse stories in Buenos Aires, Greeland, Kathmandu, New York City and the Sahara. Easily one of the most creative films of the year!

Honourable Mentions (alphabetical order):

Ahed’s Knee (2021, France/Israel/Germany, Nadav Lapid)

Ancient Soul (2021, Spain, Álvaro Gurrea)

Azor (2021, Switzerland/France/Argentina, Andreas Fontana)

The Card Counter (2021, USA/UK/China/Sweden, Paul Schrader)

The City of Wild Beasts (2021, Colombia/Ecuador, Henry Eduardo Rincón Orozco)

Hit the Road (2021, Iran, Panah Panahi)

Pebbles (2021, India, P.S. Vinothraj) 

Straight to VHS (2021, Uruguay, Emilio Silva Torres)

Taming the Garden (2021, Switzerland/Germany/Georgia/Holland, Salomé Jashi)

What Do We See When We Look At the Sky? (2021, Georia/Germany, Aleksandre Koberidze)

John Abraham's Amma Ariyan

Amma Ariyan (Report to Mother, 1986, India, John Abraham)

My selection for the 6th AFOFF is inspired by Allan’s incredible ‘The Fish Obscuro’ section. I always used to look forward to see what film Allan would post about in this section. Often, the titles were discoveries for me as I hadn’t seen the film or had only heard about them. Allan also included how he saw the film (DVD2, DVD1, not on DVD) and that highlighted the lack of proper distribution for many films he was seeing. Over the last few years, we have had many more streaming options to see films yet distribution of many foreign films still remains a problem. Case in point, John Abraham’s 1986 film Amma Ariyan (Report to Mother).

Abraham’s name is vital when discussing India’s Parallel Cinema even though he only directed four features and tragically died at a young age of 49 in 1987. However, I hadn’t seen any of his four features and never came across a DVD/Blu-Ray of his films. That changed over the last 2 years when I finally saw his last film via the link posted below. Incidentally, Amma Ariyan also received a proper screening in 2021 via Bologna’s Il Cinema Ritrovato festival in a special section on Parallel cinema curated by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Cecilia Cenciarelli and Omar Ahmed.

On paper, the story of Amma Ariyan is simple but the brilliant execution is what makes this film stand apart. In the film, Purushan (Joy Mathew) is a young man on his way to Delhi to pursue a better future when he comes across a dead body that the police say is unidentified. Purushan can’t get over the sight of the dead body and feels the face is familiar. So he postpones his journey to Delhi and goes about trying to identify who the person is. His quest leads him to meet people from all walks of life, including musicians, theatre artists, who end up helping identify the deceased as Hari, a tabla player. Purushan wants to travel to Kochi (formerly Cochin) to inform Hari’s mother of his death.  He is accompanied by all the different people who helped confirm Hari’s identity. Thus begins a road journey unlike any other where people who have nothing in common work together towards a common end goal.

The film’s structure consists of multiple flashbacks where each person sheds a little more light on Hari’s past and that helps piece together events that preluded Hari’s death. The story is set against the backdrop of the Naxalite movement in Kerala when police tortured and beat up youth. The details of the political ideologies and struggles aren’t spelled out but the omission of details works in the film’s favour as that lends the material a universal flavour. Multiple countries, including those in our contemporary times, have cases of police abusing their power and beating up innocent people based on differing political ideologies. In that sense, Amma Ariyan is powerfully relevant to our current world.

The community nature of the film also has relevance in our current world. In the film, all the people who help identify Hari form a community and drop everything to go inform Hari’s mother. They want to do their part in helping out in whatever manner they can and share the grief of Hari’s death. The film’s ending features an emotional walk of the group including the mother. Over the last few years, we have seen many movements where people from different backgrounds have come together to share in a common sense of loss. Even in social media retweets or reposts of a tragedy are one form of people sharing in someone’s loss.

Amma Ariyan (Report to Mother) floored me, emotionally and technically. Technically, the film stands apart from other Indian films I have seen. Renowned film scholar Dr. Omar Ahmed notes the non-Indian influences on the film:

With the extreme wide-angle shots, a liberated camera continually on the move and a quasi-documentary aesthetic, John’s style recalls the Latin American Third Cinema of the 1960s (especially Mikhail Kalatozov’s Soy Cuba) manifesting a creative hybridity in which indigenous film practices and modernist cultural sensibilities intersect with broader international influences. -- BFMAF

I can’t imagine how such a precious film did not get proper distribution earlier. For now, I hope more people can view this film and appreciate what it has to offer.

Note: Cross-published on Wonders in the Dark.

The Films of Maya Da-Rin

Margem (Margin, 2007, Brazil/Colombia/Peru, Documentary)
Terras (Lands, 2009, Brazil, Documentary)
A Febre (The Fever, 2019, Brazil/France/Germany)

Fluid Borders

Margem/Margin (Maya Da-Rin)

The examination of borders is a theme in all three of Maya Da-Rin’s films yet the borders aren’t defined by fixed walls or markers. Instead, they are fluid borders where it is hard to tell where one border ends and another begins. In both Lands and Margin, the boats traveling on the Amazon river cross from Brazil to Peru or to Colombia without any actual border crossing or any markers. The locals points to the direction on land where a new country begins but in the river, it is hard to tell where one nation's border ends and another starts. 

In The Fever, it is the border between city/jungle and dreams/reality that is examined. At certain points in the film, there is a chain link fence that stands between the urban centre and the jungle but in many other parts of the city, this border is nonexistent. And as the film goes along, it is hard to determine if there is any separation between dreams and reality as the two realms feed into each other.

Transporting of goods

In the two documentaries, one can see the essential everyday items (food, goods) being transported in the boats. These items are on full display in the boats so locals can see them from afar and even hold the items. In addition, the locals can engage in trading if something catches their eye.

However, in The Fever, the goods are secured inside gigantic shipping containers. They come from faraway lands and their identity is well hidden. The good may be parts for industries as per Justino (Regis Myrupu). We never get to see what lies in these containers but instead observe the complex machinery at ports which load/unload these endless ocean of containers.

Globalization

The impact of globalization on local villages and people’s lives is clearly on display in all three films. In Lands and Margin, locals talk about leaving their nation to find better jobs on the other side of the border. This same need to earn a better living plays a big part in Justino’s decision to leave the forest and move to Manaus in The Fever. Manaus is surrounded by the Amazon rainforest and we can see how the city is encroaching on a daily basis further into the rainforest. However, in its own way, nature fights back. There are reports of attacks on the locals from a mysterious creature which has likely come from the jungle. The bigger fightback from nature is the fever that Justino gets. The fever is a reference to humans destruction of nature thereby eroding whatever borders protected humans from nature’s diseases. Justino also remarks on the eating habits in the city where as per him, eating supermarket food weakens one’s immune system. This comment illustrates how food is distributed and how in the cities, people get their food from packaged/processed goods as opposed to local means. The Fever is packed with many brilliant observations including some vital scenes which show the racism that indigenous people have to suffer in the city.

The City of Wild Beasts

La Ciudad de las Fieras / The City of Wild Beasts (2021, Colombia, Henry Rincon)

Tato (Bryan Cordoba) is a young rapper in Medellin who is looking to make ends meet and find money wherever he can. 

His days are spent in rap battles, hanging out with his girlfriend La Crespa (Valeria Pérez) and his friend Pitu (Joel Mosquera).

After his mother’s death, Tato attempts to dig out of poverty and debts but his life heads into dangerous territory riddled with guns and crime. When death comes looking for Tato, he escapes to the countryside to find his grandfather.

Tato has never met his grandfather Octávio (Óscar Atehortúa) before but his grandfather is the only relative he has left. Octávio isn’t initially impressed with Tato and his attitude and dress style. Meanwhile, Tato isn’t too keen to follow Octávio’s rules and hardworking lifestyle. Yet, as the two get to spend more time together, their perspectives start to change. 

The story at the core of The City of Wild Beasts sounds familiar and even some of the visuals of Medellin recall other Colombian films. However, the film is vibrant and full of life. Huge credit to director/writer Henry Rincon and the entire crew for making a tender film which gives me hope that cinema will always exist and continue to spin its magic as long as filmmakers are willing to tell stories in an honest manner.

Top Films from Spain and Portugal

In compiling a list of the best films from Spain, Portugal, it became immediately clear that many essential films from the Iberian peninsula have had a decent amount of distribution. This is in stark contrast to films from Africa, Arab world and Hungary. Of course, Spanish and Portuguese films weren’t always as easily available. Until a decade ago, I hadn’t seen any films from Pere Portabella and only saw them after mubi.com showcased a selection of his works. Meanwhile, the quest to legally see any films from Pedro Costa was almost a 4 year personal quest and that only ended in 2010. Plus, I had not seen any of Paulo Rocha’s films until 2020.

Top 15 films from Spain and Portugal:

1. Muerte de un ciclista (Death of a Cyclist, 1955, Spain, Juan Antonio Bardem)
2. El Verdugo (The Executioner, 1963, Spain, Luis García Berlanga)
3. La Caza (The Hunt, 1966, Spain, Carlos Saura)
4. Mudar de Vida (Change of Life, 1966, Portugal, Paulo Rocha)
5. Volver (2006, Spain, Pedro Almodóvar)
6. O Sangue (Blood, 1989, Portugal, Pedro Costa)
7. El Espíritu de la Colmena (The Spirit of the Beehive, 1973, Spain, Victor Erice)
8. Viridiana (1961, Spain, Luis Buñuel)
9. La Mala Educación (Bad Education, 2004, Spain, Pedro Almodóvar)
10. O Estranho Caso de Angélica (The Strange Case of Angelica, 2010, Portugal, Manoel de Oliveira)
11. Vitalina Varela (2019, Portugal, Pedro Costa)
12. Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About my Mother, 1999, Spain, Pedro Almodóvar)
13. Aquele Querido Mês de Agosto (Our Beloved Month of August, 2008, Portugal, Miguel Gomes)
14. Cuadecuc, vampir (1971, Spain, Pere Portebella)
15. Mistérios de Lisboa (Mysteries of Lisbon, 2010-11, Portugal, Raúl Ruiz)

Honourable mentions (as per year of release)

Lucía y el Sexo (Sex and Lucía, 2001, Spain, Julio Medem)
Juventude em Marcha (Colossal Youth, 2006, Portugal, Pedro Costa)
Dans la ville de Sylvia (In the City of Sylvia, 2007, Spain, José Luis Guerín)
A Fábrica de Nada (The Nothing Factory, 2017, Portugal, Pedro Pinho)
Dolor y Gloria (Pain and Glory, 2019, Spain, Pedro Almodóvar)

Note: Top 15 list submitted for Wonders in the Dark poll.