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sarbryt
Reviews
Sib (1998)
A powerfully subtle, highly intelligent and compassionate film, visually stunning.
I can't add much to the review by Bob the Moo from Birmingham, who pretty much sums up the strengths of this film. However, as an illustration of the skill of the film-maker I would like to mention one scene that stands out in my memory, not in detail so as not to 'spoil', where a sense of incipient menace is subtly hinted at - one is almost expecting something horrible to go wrong to prove that it was right to keep the girls imprisoned for their own safety and this looks like being the moment when it happens; one hardly dares hope that it will have a happy and positive outcome - but it doesn't. It turns out there is nothing to worry about at all. This sounds like a non-event, but I found the subtlety with which this point was made quite outstanding.
The film is a pure delight, more powerful than any heavy diatribe against repressive regimes. The compassion with which all participants are presented in their own contexts, particularly the father who could have been demonised but isn't, is also outstanding. No judgements are made, and the lessons are all the more clear and convincing for that.
This is a film that stands out in my mind, both visually and symbolically, as clearly today as when I saw it several years ago.
Aaltra (2004)
Surreally real and very funny
To me this film epitomises the surreal underbelly of everyday life. I don't think it constitutes a "spoiler" to say that the film portrays in a strangely endearing way the boyish pigheadedness of grown men and the strength this and their devotion to their obsessions can give them. It also portrays the bleak loneliness of the island each man can become if he's not very lucky and the unlikely ways in which this loneliness can be alleviated.
Visually, I enjoyed the painterly quality of the over lighting of many scenes, which allows moments of reflection and, in the tradition of true art, encourages the viewer to see everyday objects or scenes in a new light. Again, I don't think it spoils anything as it's merely a brief passing scene, to suggest you look out for example for the tall thin man in the wheelchair at the railway station, disappearing into the light after passing one of the main protagonists in a doorway - it reminded me of the paintings of Francis Bacon among others. Even grim events can have a visual beauty, or at the least an arresting quality about them, and this is a film that has the courage to flaunt the fact and doesn't shy away from what is at first sight mundane or ugly. And as it highlights the hidden beauty of many ugly things so it also highlights the humour that can accompany the most unfortunate events. Even dreadful people have stories worth telling.
As regards the humour, it is indeed black and cynical but at the same time, and as is reinforced by the ending, it actually leaves the viewer (or this one at any rate) with a warm feeling and a sense almost of admiration for the sheer dogged tenacity and survival instinct of the two main protagonists. Moreover, the humour marinated in my mind so that next day, when trying to recount some of the scenes to friends, I found myself crying with laughter so that I was barely coherent, and seeing even more humour than I had noticed at the time.
This is not an unpolished piece of work; it is in fact skillful and deceptively subtle. A more obviously polished style would have sat uncomfortably with the spirit of the piece. It works on more than one level, rewarding anyone who can view it completely clear of any assumptions, prejudices or unnecessarily prudish criteria. It doesn't waste time being polite, it just tells it like it is. Remember you're just watching it. It's only fiction and art and you don't need to approve or disapprove. Just experience and hopefully enjoy.
I can't wait for it to be available on DVD so I can share it with my friends.