At the Competition Section, as in every year, recently produced European films that have not yet been bought by a Greek distributor will compete for the Panorama Prize. The Jury of the 24th Panorama consists of the established Greek directors Thodoros Angelopoulos (President), Dimitris Avdeliodis, Vasilis Vafeas, Nikos Panayiotopoulos and Lakis Papastathis. Moreover, the festival has recently established a Prize awarded by a 5-member committee comprised from the readers of “Athinorama” magazine.
Among the films of the Competition Section stands the amazing, poetic, free-flowing “Mysteries of Lisbon”, directed by Raoul Ruiz, whose recent death, at the age of 70, deprived European cinema (where he worked since he left his homeland Chile as a refugee) of a great and original creator. In the competition section, there is also a film from Cannes film festival, the political “Pater”, directed by the French Alain Cavalier. Cavalier made his debut in 1962 (“Le Combat dans l’île”) in the nouvelle vague era and continued his career pursuing a lonely –but always interesting- road. From Poland comes “Suicide Room” by Jan Komasa, dealing with a teenager boy whose computer obsession leads him into a dangerous dead end. Among the young directors of the competition section are the Russian Igor Voloshin with “Bedouin”, recounting a woman’s drama while her young child dies of cancer, the British Ben Whitley with his dark thriller “Kill List” and the Turk Tayfun Pirselimoglu with the Greek-Turkish production “Hair”.
Mysteries of Lisbon
Portugal, France, 2010, col. Dir.: Raoul Ruiz.Scr.: Carlos Saboga, Camilo Castelo Branco (book). Cin.: André Szankowski. Ed.: Carlos Madaleno, Valeria Sarmiento. Mus.: Jorge Arriagada. Cast: Adriano Luz, Maria João Bastos, Ricardo Pereira, Clotilde Hesme. Prod.: Paulo Branco. Dur.: 272΄.
This idiosyncratic film by the recently departed Raoul Ruiz follows a jealous countess, a wealthy businessman and a young orphaned boy across Portugal, France, Italy and Brazil where they connect with a variety of mysterious individuals. Using fluid, long takes and a complex but always clear narrative, Ruiz brings Camilo Castelo Branco’s book on the big screen in the most exemplary way.
UK, 2011, col. Dir.: Ben Wheatley. Scr.: Amy Jump, Ben Wheatley. Cin.: Laurie Rose.Ed.: Robin Hill. Mus.: Jim Williams.Cast: Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Harry Simpson, Michael Smiley. Prod.: Claire Jones, Andrew Starke. Dur.: 95΄.
Jay is a hitman but business isn’t going so well these days. One day though, an old pal shows up with a list of names and a mission. What follows is practically a descent to hell, since Jay could never have imagined what he would have to be faced with. Kill List, Ben Wheatley’s second film, starts as a kitchen sink drama and goes effortlessly to the limits of Grand Guignol. The critics mention it as one of the best horror films of recent years.
France, 2011, col. Dir.: Alain Cavalier. Scr.: Alain Cavalier, Vincent Lindon. Cin.: Alain Cavalier, Vincent Lindon. Cast: Vincent Lindon, Alain Cavalier, Bernard Bureau, Jonathan Duong. Prod.: Michel Seydoux. Dur.: 105΄.
Alain Cavalier and Vincent Lindon elect themselves respectively prime minister and president of France in this mad pseudo-documentary; naturally, they leave nothing standing. Using improvisation as a tool, they criticise and laugh at French politics with a postmodernist mood.
Russia, 2010, col. Dir.: Igor Voloshin. Scr.: Igor Voloshin.Cin.: Aleksei Rodionov.Ed.: Tatyana Kuzmichyova. Mus.: Gingger Shankar. Cast Olga Simonova, Serafima Migai, Mikhail Yevlanov, Remigijus Sabulis. Prod.: Igor Voloshin, Alexander Orlov. Dur.: 100΄.
A Ukrainian woman agrees to become a surrogate mother for a gay Moscow couple because she needs the money to pay for the treatment of her teenage daughter Nastya who suffers from leukaemia. When they fail to pay her on time, she asks her neighbour and occasional lover, Zhenya, a merchant with shady underworld connections, to help her out. He duly sets her up with an audition for a specialist porn film.
Hamdi owns a small wig store. Lonely and frustrated by unfulfilled desires, Hamdi becomes obsessed with Meryem, a middle-aged woman who sold him her hair. He starts following her and gets involved in her personal life. Tayfun Pirselimoglu’s riveting images expose a deeply humanistic and minimalist approach.
Πολωνία, 2011, col. Dir.: Jan Komasa. Scr.: Jan Komasa.Cin.: Radoslaw Ladczuk.Ed.: Bartek Pietras. Mus.: Michal Jacaszek.Cast: Jakub Gierszal, Roma Gasiorowska, Agata Kulesza. Prod.: Studio Filmowe Kadr. Dur.: 114΄.
Dominik is a typical teenager; he has a lot of friends, the hottest girl in school, rich parents and lots of money to spend. An innocent kiss with another boy, however, will isolate him from the outside world and will turn him into the virtual world of his computer. A mysterious girl introduces him to the “suicide room”, a space from which there is no escape.
Italy, 2010, col. Dir.: Mario Martone. Scr.: Giancarlo De Cataldo, Mario Martone, Anna Banti. Cin.: Renato Berta.Mus: Hubert Westkemper. Ed.: Jacopo Quadri. Cast: Luigi Lo Cascio, Valerio Binasco, Toni Servillo, Francesca Inaudi. Prod.: Conchita Airoldi, Carlo Degli Esposti, Giorgio Magliulo. Dur.: 170΄.
The Italian version of The Birth of a Nation follows the destinies of three young revolutionaries from the south involved in the struggle for Italian unity. A journey into 19th century Italian history with contemporary echoes.
