Flick of The Day: Pater

I have often pondered the cultural divide between nations, particularly when it comes to cinema. It often appears that European cinema is far more cultured and worldly than the standard multiplex fare created in Hollywood but then perhaps that  is just a perception formed by the fact that we tend to only see the higher quality films from Germany, France, South Korea, etc exported to our shores given the costs of subtitling and release. I am sure each of these countries produce plenty of dodgy action and schlock horror flicks. We just never see them. That said, there is undoubtedly a wildly different attitude in cinematic taste from country to country. The less developed a country, the less developed its tastes though this is not a hard and fast rule. Since the dawn of cinema, it was the art form of the poor working classes. Imagery transcends language barriers in immigrant communities so much easier than other forms.

With this in mind, today's flick of the day is Pater, an experimental narrative from France which received an inexplicable 17 minute standing ovation at Cannes and yet will probably never receive a cinematic release outside of France. A matter of national taste surely.

Pater

From director Alain Cavalier and actor Vincent Lindon, two doyens of the French avant garde cinema comes this experimental political satire. Over a serious of lunches and meetings over the course of a year, the two men take on two characters and create a narrative around them that is at once compelling and complex. Cavalier becomes the President of France, an ageing politician looking to retire. Lindon is his new Prime Minister. Together they aim to change France forever by instituting a maximum wage in France. As the meetings progress, they become more drawn into their tall tale and the characters they have created, ad libbing conflicts and speeches they will give as they lurch from one policy decision to another. 

While never likely to be a commercial success outside of France, there is an interesting film here. Filming with handheld cameras and playing without a script, this is as much about film making as it a story.  It is interesting to see talented people become drawn into roles they have invented and driven from the beginning. At one point, Lindon acknowledges this, saying that he now walks down the street wondering why the nation doesn't consult him on important matters like his character.

I think it probably says much about France that this film was such a success at Cannes. As a nation, they would seem to have more time for the arcane and the odd then other nationalities I can think of. Alain Cavalier has long forged his own path in French cinema and it is a testament to his talent that he can attract an actor of the calibre of Vincent Lindon to such a non-commercial project. While not to everyone's taste, it stands up as piece of cinema if not as a piece of entertainment.

Flick of The Day: The Skin I Live In / La Piel Que Habito

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar has long been one of the most avant garde and visually stunning film-makers out there. His work has always challenged the viewers perceptions and played with reality with films like Talk to Her, Bad Education and the brilliant Volver. His latest film and today's flick of the day, The Skin I Live in, is perhaps his most bizarre creation, an adaptation of a very dark tale by Thierry Jonquet. 

Tarantula: the Skin I Live in

Set in the year 2012 in the city of Toledo, the story focuses on the revolutionary work of skin specialist Robert Ledgard, played by a one time Almodovar regular cast member Antonio Banderas. Robert has developed a revolutionary new form of skin, that cannot burn claiming to have tested only on mice. Meanwhile at his country estate which also serves as his testing ground, he is keeping a beautiful young woman played by Elena Anaya in captivity having tested on her. In a roundabout fashion, it becomes apparent that Robert's motivation is losing his wife in a fiery wreck. In flashbacks, we learn of how he saved her after the accident despite her horrific burns however she ultimately commits suicide. Meanwhile their young daughter Norma, having witnessed this becomes mentally unstable and has to be committed. Years later and a teenage Norma having regained a little of herself is at a large family party on Robert's estate when she is taken advantage of and raped by a local boy. A vengeful Robert tracks down the rapist and abducts him to exact a terrible revenge. To say any more would be to give the game away.

It has to be said, this is a truly odd film. At times, it feels like the kind of run of the mill mad scientist torture porn that has polluted the multiplex for the last few years. Yet as Almodovar has noted, this is a horror film "without screams or frights". He is right in that sense but it is no less scary because of it, for this is as shocking and ending as one could imagine.

Banderas is excellent as the chillingly driven Robert, reminding us of how good an actor he can be given a meaty role, something not seen for many years. Like all of Almodovar's work, the film is predictably pretty with Robert seeming to live an almost idyllic life.

While this would be a departure from his usual work genre wise, it explore many of the same themes that have long been a feature of his work. Questions of identity and of what it means to be human, of sexual identity, of loneliness, betrayal and ultimately death. If there is a problem it is that this sits unevenly on the mad scientist plot. There is an almost laughable level of seriousness  to some of the scenes and when the twist in the tale is revealed, I for one could not stifle a giggle. It's just an Oh Christ moment.

That said, there is enough film making ability on show to make this worth your while. Almodovar is one of the greats of European cinema of the last twenty years and even something as out there as this is worth a look.

All in all, while nowhere near his best work, it includes a fine performance from Banderas and if nothing else will leave you with food for thought.