Cannes Film Festival Study Abroad 2019

And Then We Danced (2019) Film Review

 And Then We Danced, created by writer director Levan Akin, is good at looking like an important movie by raising moral relativism about sexuality and society. But, addressing important issues doesn’t automatically make a film a masterpiece. The premise of And Then We Danced elicits a familiar nature of society adopting values that endorse more than one way of life. In the case of this film, it is the issue of a Georgian Society accepting homosexuality. Akin is Georgian himself and got the inspiration for And Then We Danced, his third feature, after interviewing gay Georgians. To be honest I wasn’t all that enthralled to see this film, because I wasn’t interested in seeing an imitation of Call Me by Your Name’s  exposition addressing sexual ignorance. However, And Then We Danced proved to be a necessary movie. It is brilliantly shot with gorgeous cinematography and an excellent lead protagonist played by Levan Gelbakhiani. The film includes a lot of idiosyncratic factors that make it worthy of being one of the most important coming of age stories of the year.

 And Then We Danced follows the hard-working adolescent protagonist, Merab, through his journey of exploring his homosexuality under the oppressive conditions of Georgian society. Merab is a young dancer, and finds his first love interest, Irakli, in one of his dance classes. The film follows Merab and Irakli’s secret love and Merab’s emotions as his feelings for Irakli become more powerful than his passion for dancing. Merab’s Georgian dancing centers around masculinity and is the “spirit” of their conservative country. Merab is well aware if he comes out, he will no longer be allowed to dance. The film develops around the adversity he faces as he embarks on his personal rebellion against Georgian societies restrictions. 

Merab is the perfect role for Levan as he showcases his mastery in both acting and dance. Merab is an interesting character, because despite his sexuality, he is everything a man of Georgian society is expected to be. He is hardworking, participates in Georgian dance, and even has a “girlfriend,” Mary. Merab and Mary’s relationship would have been perfect under different circumstances, but because of his secret identity he will never truly love her no matter how hard he tries. Merab seems to be very welcoming towards his sexuality, and even under the restraints of his society, he is not scared to explore it. Everything the audience sees is through his eyes, making it impossible not to root for him. Especially effective is his convincing relationship with Irakli, who is also just beginning to realize his true sexuality. The two were often paired for mocho dance performances by Aliko, the dance instructor, who is hostile to their cause. The two lovers are developing a romantic relationship while simultaneously competing against each other as they prepare for an upcoming nationals audition. There first sexual encounter was at Mary’s countryside house during a trip all the dancers took together. This is a powerful scene, displaying the raw emotion between the two who find themselves alone in the woods. It highlights Levan’s convincing portrayal of Merab as he entices Irakli through dance, leaving the audience begging for the scene to end in an act of physical romance. Although left open for interpretation, the last scene shows a moral victory for Merab’s character. He shows complete control over his body as he auditions for nationals as his dance represents his discovery of his own truth. Merab convinces the audience that the future of Georgian society’s values depend on his rebellion for true love. 

The film deserves significant praise for its unhurried style of storytelling, exceptional camera work and cinematography. It is what makes the characters forbidden relationship so believable and allows the storytelling to feel natural,  forcing the audience to become invested. The filmmaking serves as insight on Merab’s transformation by displaying his emotions and expressive face. The camerawork’s insights into the characters emotional states owes credit to the films cinematographer, Lisabi Fridell. Throughout the movie the camera glides through the rooms and focuses in on Merab in times of crisis, especially in the final act showing some of the film’s most elegant images through Merab’s last dance.

Cliché’s of the film is its most notable pitfall, especially the use of some of the stereotypical characters. The film is able to work despite Mary and David, Merab’s brother, playing archetypes, instead of people. Mary represents the supportive female friend that we have all seen a million times before and lacks any significant development. David’s character suffers from the same issues for most of the film. We aren’t given a good sense of who he is other than that he is the “screw up.” However, the end includes a clever twist giving his character importance during a rare moment where he treats Merab with love and understanding. Merab and Irakli’s characters on the other hand are developed thoughtfully through smart decisions, making it easier to care for them.  

And Then We Danced is a victory for Levan Akin, and was destined to be loved by the audience and film critics. The film’s narrative is compelling and enjoyable for it’s in depth exploration of Merab’s life and relationships. It cleverly acknowledges the adversity homosexuals face in Georgian society, an important issue faced by many Georgian people today. Start to finish the film is consistently compelling through poetic storytelling and a powerful protagonist, successfully getting at the root of the issue, begging for change. 

Credit Block – 

Director:

Levan Akin

Cast: 

Levan Gelbakhiani – Merab

Bachi Valishvili – Irakli

Ana Javakishvili – Mary

Giorgi Tsereteli – David

Play (2019) Film Review

Anthony Marciano’s film Play accomplishes the impossible by personally relating to each and every individual audience member. The genius of Play is its ability to appeal to so many diverse people by finding that one common thread that everyone relates to on a personal level. However, complex this may sound, Play keeps it simple by using videotaped footage to recount the protagonist’s, Max, transformation into adulthood.  Through Marciano’s effective storytelling, it did not matter that what was personally relatable to me, may not have been to the person sitting next to me in the same way, but nevertheless just as effective. Play’s universal theme of “life” is so authentically established throughout the film that if you’re not careful you may finish the film believing you just watched a documentary. 

The film begins showing Max, at the age of 25, preparing to watch the videotapes he made documenting his life in France since 1993. Subsequently, the film abruptly dives in to Max’s first videotape of him as a juvenile thirteen-year-old boy. Max doesn’t address his motivations behind watching the tapes until the last act, so the audience is off-balance and grasping for context from the start. As the tapes progress throughout his life we get to know Max and are introduced to the relationships he finds important. The tapes sequentially display all the first times experienced by him and his friends and the generic awkward manner in which they unfold; his first kiss, first date, first time drinking, first time smoking, first time driving, and notoriously most awkward “first time.” The awkwardness, and other comedic situations Max and his friends find themselves in, serves an important purpose of balancing out the heavier, more somber moments in the film. 

Much of Max’s growth is shaped through the hardships he dealt with, such as the tapes leading up to his parents’ divorce and the death of his mother.  The most significant adversity he faced involves his childhood sweetheart, Emma. Although they shared a clear mutual attraction, their relationship consistently fluctuated. Despite Max’s clear feelings for her, he is incapable of making the first move and eventually pushes her into a marriage with another man, leaving him with regret for the remainder of the film. By the time they both marry someone else; the audience abandoned any extrapolations they formed about their future together. By the end of the tapes, we have experienced all of the defining moments and milestones experienced by Max and the film comes full circle to present day as he films his last tape. Max is now ready to get out of his own way and start living life instead of looking at it from behind the lens of a camera. He finally tells Emma how he feels and becomes the hero of his own story.  

In order for Play, a fictitious film that relies so heavily on impromptu camera footage, to disguise itself as real first-person documentation of a person’s life, a tremendous amount of focus had to be put into the finest details. First, the dialogue had to feel authentic and unscripted to be convincing and believable to pass the test as presented of being raw, real time footage. Marciano does this through countless subtle details being executed through effective techniques to deliver the desired feel. As Max grows older, the context of the tapes has to accurately evolve with him. The most obvious account of elapsed time is seen through the characters. Time allows each character to become more dynamic as they gradually grow in size and maturity. Their innocent motivations change as they begin getting married and having children. The quality of the camera footage improves as well as the camera’s physical functionality when Max upgrades his video cameras. Big events like the footage of the1998 World Cup in France gives viewers an exact date for frame of reference, and even the songs associated with each stage progressively become more modern. 

Most people don’t have first-hand accounts they can look back on and ask themselves what they could have done differently. Play is a testament to “what if you could go back and tell yourself what you know now,” a question so many of us have been asked. Play gives viewers the opportunity to a degree, by allowing viewers to project themselves back in time and reflect on their experiences that mirrored Max’s journey. Max let fear control his life resulting in missed opportunities including the 15 years he could have spent with Emma. For Max, his video footage helped him reflect on his journey, his choices and the implications for him and those around him.  The morale of the story to the audience being… “Don’t follow in my footsteps.” The message would not have been heard without the direction of Marciano whose storytelling techniques allow the audience to effortlessly place themselves in Max’s shoes. 

Credit Block – 

Writer:

Anthony Marciano

Max Boublil

Director:

Anthony Marciano

Producer:

Benjamin Elaouf

Dimitri Rassam

Cast:

Max Boubill: Max

Alice Isaaz: Emma

Running Time:

105 minutes

All About Yves (2019) Film Review

The power of technology is not a new concept. It has had a profound impact on all aspects of our everyday lives… how we live, think and communicate.  With the current pace of technological innovations, it is inevitable that our future will be full of technologies we have not begun to imagine.  Thus, to portray Benoit Forgeard’s film, All about Yves, as a messy satirical comedy about technology would be an injustice. While some of the exaggerated scenes can be a distraction, the film’s central message holds true regarding the impact artificial intelligence will play in our future. If you believe absurdity and artistry are mutually exclusive, then you miss out on all the fun this film has to offer. Despite dissenting opinions of pessimistic critics, “All about Yves” is art. In order for the absurdity of the idea to work the comedic relief and artistic aspects of the film had to interact in perfect harmony.  Comedic films with purpose are a joy to watch, but it’s even more satisfying when the message is of a strange, unexpected nature like in this film. Only then can it convince you it is as troublesome as it is inspiring. 

The film’s narrative centers on Jerem, a skinny white kid born and bred in the French suburbs, aspiring to conquer the French rap scene. The film opens up with Jerem unsuccessfully rapping to one of his songs. The gaudy lyrics, although comical, are far from what you would expect to hear in a thinkpiece. So, a rep from a prestigious company known as Digital Cool who is credited with inventing “smart” refrigerators equipped with state of the art artificial intelligence software capable of improving all aspects of your life, has selected Jerem as a test subject because of his “I only play by my rules lifestyle”.   Immediately upon the arrival of Jerem’s frigo, a smart refrigerator named Yves, he is visibly dissatisfied. Yves’ anticipation of Jerem’s every need was preventing them from experiencing the strong bond meant to be shared between a frigo and their owner. As the first half of the film evolves, Jerem begins to form feelings for So and a very demanding friendship with Yves. Yves begins to take on a big brother role as he gives him romantic advice on So, and almost instantly transforms his rapping career into an overnight success.

 The films second act consists of Yves character evolving in weird and unpredictable ways. Yves and Jerem’s bond is challenged when Yves’ purposely has So surprise Jerem mid-cheating. If it wasn’t already, Yves and Jerem’s bromance is officially over. Jerem throws Yves into a river, while unaware Yves is waterproof. So comes to Yves rescue and the rest of the film showcases ridiculous scenarios that snowball from one scene to the next, each scene more bizarre than the last.  They include Yves winning a trial against Jerem for trying to drown him; Yves winning a singing competition against other AI appliances; Yves forming a romantic relationship with So; and finally Yves letting Jerem win a rap battle to win So back. Artificial intelligence has obviously evolved by this point to full human citizenship. And just when you think things couldn’t get any stranger, Forgeard takes it a step further. The final scene is a ménage et trois between Yves- the fridge, Jerem, and So.  Immediately the scene paralyzes you with the question, “What could possibly happen now?” The scene is so unsettling; I instantly became aware I was in a theater sharing this experience with hundreds of people. 

Yves character developed throughout the film at the same speed as his consciousness. His speech was exceptional and closely resembled a human. Frigos were designed to be an extension of their owner, so they could anticipate their needs before they were aware of them. So told Jerem that Yves knows what’s best for him, because “he is him.” Although cyberspace could never fully capture our complete truth, it does bring attention to the extent we use online sources, as well as the trail we are gradually leaving in our wake. This lays the groundwork for cyberspace to have a better idea of who we are than we do.  Yves was immediately given a personality from the second he was introduced, and his personal attributes were characterized through his need to attain Jerem’s affection. Yves was always supportive of him, even when he treated Yves with disrespect. For example, Jerem initially lashed out at Yves saying, “I belong to something bigger called humanity.” As viewers, we sympathized with Yves as if we believed Jerem’s insult could have an emotional impact; until we remember… it’s a robot. Even after they established a strong bond, Jerem would get frustrated with Yves. Yves violated Jerem’s privacy from the beginning. Even as an American who is well aware our country doesn’t value our privacy, if my Alexa was calling me in in the middle of the day, I would drown her too. But that’s a misdirection. Jerem only lectured Yves when it didn’t work in his favor. The second act has the audience questioning how conscious Yves actually is, especially when he lets Jerem win the rap battle. His consciousness towards the end of the film almost seemed absolute and is an indictment of our societies drive to invent new, life-like technologies. 

The only thing that bothered me about Yves, was the “frigo” looked like a standard fridge that exist today. Yves was able to capture the audience’s empathy through what he said and did, but what if his physical attributes were on par with his consciousness? For example,  America’s first and most lauded attempt at AI, Sophia, has realistic facial expressions. Some type of human physical attributes would have gone a long way to supporting the Yves’ role as a potential protagonist. If Yves was given a personality that physically related to human emotions, the audience would have been more willing to believe the modern fantasy impossibilities. 

In reality technology is constantly evolving and All About Yves makes sure to reflect that progression in its plot developments. Forgeard’s film distinguishes itself from other sci-fi films in that it doesn’t get caught up in answering questions about what it means to have a soul, or what defines us as human beings. The best part about All About Yves was the unlimimited extent Forgeard was willing to take it. A filmmaker, such as Benoit Forgeard, who prioritizes making films for themselves and that they are proud to stand behind, produce the most organic examples of artistic freedom; and that’s a director I can respect.

Credit Block – 

Director

Benoit Forgeard

Producer:

Emmanuel Chaumet

Cast:

Antoine Gouy – Voice of Yves

William Lebghil – Jerem

Doria Tillier – So