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The 43rd Annual San Francisco International Film Festival - Feature Films

By Anhoni Patel

Another festival has come and gone, offering us an array of films from around the world.

I don't think I've ever seen so many movies in such a concentrated period in all my life.  But all the running around was worth it.  I walked away with some amazing images and stories that I will be keeping with me for a long time to come. Below is a survey of all the feature films I managed to watch. 

 

Babette's Feast (Denmark) This film is a must-see; it is a cinematic delight of the senses. It tells the story of two sisters Martina (Birgitte Federspiel) and Philippa (Bodil Kjer)

whom live in a rural, ascetic village in Danish Jutland with their beloved father, the leader of an austere religious sect.  After his death, the two women and his followers gather each year to pay him homage.  Their pastoral life continues as usual, then one stormy night Babette (Stephane Audran) mysteriously arrives at the sisters' doorstep. The film is emotionally and visually beautiful.  Director Gabriel Axel adroitly portrays a sensuality rarely seen on celluloid.

Beau Travail  (France) Director Claire Denis' newest film is loosely based on Herman Melville's Billy Budd. This strange film takes place in Djibouti, Somalia where a troupe of French Legionnaires are stationed.  The sergeant Galoup (Denis Lavant) is consumed by jealousy towards the beautiful, young officer Sentain (Gregoire Colin).  He is driven by his own insecurities and vows to destroy him.  However, the plot only provides a fragile structure for the strong images.  The beautiful male physiques of the men as well as their boyish camaraderie drive the homoerotic focus of the film.  Denis' use of various musical styles is also breathtaking, making the last scene in the film one hard to forget.  

Civilized People (Lebanon/France) This was my favorite film at the festival.  The characters were quirky  and well developed.  The story was beautiful and lyrical.  The film revolves around a community trying to live in an abandoned and war-torn Beirut in 1981. The politicians and wealthy have fled the city, leaving the servants, immigrants, prostitutes and poor behind.  Director Randa Chahal Sabbag's searing shots of bombed and crumbling buildings capture the isolation and fragile strength of the people who remained in the city. This is a truly entertaining and radiant film.

The Closed Doors (Egypt) The beauty and poise of actress Sawsan Badr is one of the joys of watching this film.  Badr plays a struggling single mother trying to rear the confused adolescent Mohamad.  As she tries to fend for her son and cope as an unmarried woman, he is awkwardly dealing with his manhood and finds a misunderstood solace in an Islamic Fundamentalist group.  Director Atef Hetata captures the boy's Oedipus complex wonderfully.

Journey to the Sun (Turkey) In this poignant film, Director Yesim Ustaoglu depicts a tough, gritty Istanbul and a dying, crumbling countryside. Mehmet (Newroz Baz) is a soft-spoken and friendly young man, fairly new to Istanbul.  He works in the water department and is dating Arzu (Mizgin Kapazan).  When crowds become violent after a soccer match, Mehmet befriends Berzan (Nazmi Qirix), a Kurdish activist. The film is about these tender and devoted relationships as well as a critique of the ruthlessness of Turkey's military-police regime.

The Lady of the House (Bariwali) (India) Actress Kimon Kher gives an amazing performance as Banalata, a lonely women who occupies a withering mansion.  With only her two servants to keep her company, Banalata lives a simple, cloistered life while fending off debt. To make some money, she opens her home up to a film crew.  Directed by Rituparno Ghosh, deemed the successor of Satyajit Ray, the house comes alive.  The film is slow like the Lady's life, but Kher's character touches you so much that you keep interested.

Lies (South Korea) Sex, sex and more sex. But if you look beyond the sex you see the evolution of a relationship.  An 18 year old school girl (Lee Sang-Hyun) decides to take a 38 year old married sculptor (Kim Tea-Yeon) as her lover. There are documentary-realist touches at the beginning of the film that are very striking. They push the boundaries of socially accepted relationships and sexual activities. There is a lot of sadomasochistic exploration that confronts issues such a pleasure and power.  The direction by Jang Sun-Woo is superb and he utilizes music in a riveting way.

Mask of Desire (Nepal) The first film to be produced entirely in Nepal, it focuses on religion, family, desire and the mysterious.  A happy couple, Dipak and Saraswati, try to cope after their relationship is shaken by a family death.  The religiously devout wife suffers from guilt and depression, and therefore believes she is being punished by an angry goddess.  They go to a healer for help, and their lives are all altered.  The acting is clearly influenced by the melodramatics of mainstream Indian cinema. The characters are fairly one-dimensional, except for Gita, the healer. The film is based on an actual case that occurred in Nepal.

Nadia and the Hippos (France) This film is quite a disappointment. It is slow and fairly uneventful. The film is supposed to be about a single mother looking for the father of her child among striking workers, and who ends up roaming the worker's meetings with a group of union agitators.  Director Dominique Cabrera fails to bring the 1995 Paris transportation strike and its workers to life.