Film is a carrier of emotions, outlining life and death, joy, anger and sorrow on a screen; The festival amplifies this experience, provoking the strongest emotional resonance and emotional resonance in a short and tight schedule.
After three years, the Beijing International Film Festival returned to the bright April of spring, and reunited with all fans in the revived capital, we can finally fulfill the promise, "Spring, come to Beijing to watch the best movies", and experience complete crying and laughing together in the dark and deep theater.
Under the award concept of "unity of heaven and man, beauty and harmony", the films shortlisted for the main competition unit of the "Temple of Heaven Award" of this year's Beijing Film Festival also presented a rich picture of human emotions through beautiful images, exquisite situations and speculative texts.
More than 60% of this year's shortlisted films had Asian or international premieres, and for the first time there were five female directors in the main competition section. If movies are always exploring the inner multidimensional universe, then I hope that this year's fifteen shortlisted films can complete this journey of human emotional discovery and feeling with you.
Everything about the everyday
The background of all emotions comes from the daily cycle, every action, every demeanor, every type of bond, across time to build life itself. And sometimes, the camera is aimed at daily food, clothing, housing, and interpersonal communication, without thrilling plots or hidden lines, but also enough to convey the ups and downs of emotions and the intertwining of emotions in the precipitation of countless details.
Following "The Long Confession", director Zhang Lu focused the camera on the Beijing we are all familiar with. In "Light of the White Tower", the hutongs of Dongcheng, the roofs of Postpost cafes, and even the art theater of the archive are all possibilities for Zhang Lu's dialogue with "Beijing" itself in a relaxed plot. As a place where the present connects with history, reality and memory, the White Pagoda Temple is a testimony to how the city's past and individual feelings are closely intertwined and annotated with each other.
Audiences familiar with Zhang Lu's works may think more from "Light of the White Tower". The lonely middle-aged man played by Shin Pak-ching, just like Park Hae-il in "Wing Goose" and "Gyeongju", always explores the truth in his heart; And the young photographer played by Huang Yao also inherits the high initiative of the female characters in Zhang Lu's films as always.
After being shortlisted for the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, "Light of the White Tower" was able to return to the origin of all stories and images, and I believe that the mutual reflection inside and outside the play will bring greater charm to this film.
Another film, Totem, which was shortlisted for the main competition of this year's Berlin International Film Festival, shows us the day and night of a Mexican family.
At this moment, every family and friend is doing their best to prepare a birthday dinner for Tonna, who is a painter and a young father, but at the same time they cannot get rid of the sadness and sorrow of life, all of which are watched by the clear eyes of the little girl Solesto, and will always affect the hearts of you and me off the screen.
Through classical 4:3 format, dull warm tones, and emotional close-up shots and handheld shots, director Lila Avilles patiently depicts the daily details of the preparation period and creates a group of extremely vivid portraits.
This birthday party is enough to make people feel that love and warmth are like an invisible trickle, flowing in the family space, and allowing every member to gain the courage and strength to resist the nothingness of life and death.
In contrast, the international premiere of Time Out presents a more fragmented and turbulent picture of everyday life. The film is based on a weekend and describes how three people who have been granted brief parole try to get back to their daily tracks.
Amussen, who is self-denying and longs for a normal life, Bonnard, who is suffering from mental pain, and Colin, who cynically hides his true feelings, have lost too much in their lives in prison, but the chance to do it again still seems out of reach.
Director Eve Disherman methodically tackles the three narrative lines so that they both complement and contrast each other. It takes two days to re-establish order in everyday life, and the painful longing from each character is enough to throw a difficult question of morality and value judgment to all audiences.
Hearts that sway with weight
Words are often lacking because of the swing and complexity of feelings, hesitation, hesitation, and thousands of turns are the normal state of human emotions, and this often becomes the tension of film drama, and the difference in the characters' thoughts is enough to constitute the suspense of the smallest unit, promoting the continuous progression of the storyline.
The upcoming Asian premiere of the film "Goodbye! Adios Buenos Aires shows how a small man is constantly wavering between immigration and staying.
Unbearable to endure the corruption and exploitation of society, Julio had already made up his mind to immigrate to Germany as soon as possible, but as an accordionist in the tango orchestra, he had a deep attachment to Argentine music, culture and land, and the encounter with taxi driver Marella "no bump and no acquaintance" shook his mind.
Through a collage of news images and fictional plots, Goodbye! Buenos Aires" presents a fairly realistic emotional dilemma, which also makes Julio's final choice a kind of response to the current state of society. And former director Jemen Klar, who once directed "The Last Tango", also continued his love for this art form, and a large part of the music brought the heat and vitality of tango to this melodrama.
The Man Without Guilt depicts a more intense psychological struggle. After her husband died of an incurable disease caused by asbestos dust, Angela, a caregiver, accidentally became responsible for the diet of the culprit, who was already paralyzed.
Between duty and hatred, how should Angela choose, and how should she implement her revenge plan? The entanglement of human nature is particularly amplified in this film.
"The Innocent Man" is the first feature film written and directed by director Ivan Gogolette, which makes a profile for the families of asbestos dust victims, and Italian actor Valentina Caniluti, who has appeared in films such as "Splendid Life" and "Made in Italy", has created this highly suspenseful and socially realistic psychological drama with Ivan with her meticulous and exquisite acting skills.
The critically acclaimed Canadian film "Until Branches Bend," which was presented at the Toronto International Film Festival, reveals a retro texture from the exterior to the core.
As bright and beautiful as a vacation movie, the ordinary and peaceful life was broken by the unknown bugs found by Robin, the security inspector of the peach factory assembly line, but the boss and the townspeople who rely on the peach orchard harvest to live for the sake of profit ignore the truth and even falsely accuse and frame, Robin has to bear great psychological pressure to prove his innocence, like a snowball, the town gradually slides into irreparable disasters and tragedies.
Perhaps the deep structure of Until the Branches Bend reminds you of Cruzot, Hitchcock and even David Lynch and his Twin Peaks, while the film's mixed use of film noir elements and a thrilling soundtrack create a stormy atmosphere. This feature film debut may show director Sophie Jarvis's genre creation skills, which makes people look forward to the follow-up masterpieces.
Of course, human nature will also go to darkness, and emotions also have quite dark dead ends. The film "The Punishment" has a relatively simple scene and premise: a couple in the woods looking for their lost son, but when the rescue team arrives and checks the facts, their instructions are full of lies.
Through the special space full of crisis and oppression of the forest, director Matthias Bisse let the two characters stage a "battle of trapped beasts", and the disappearing son is more like a McGophien, guiding the two parents to say their deep fatigue, grievances and anger about marriage and parenting, "If only they hadn't done it in the first place", when the appearance of peace is torn apart, and the black mud in their hearts is spit out, can they still pretend that nothing happened and return to their past family life?
Another Chinese-language film shortlisted for the main competition unit created a "good show" that reversed layer by layer around the evil of human nature. Produced by Chen Sicheng and co-created by Cui Rui and Liu Xiang, the film "Disappearing Her" will probably be the most watched Chinese-language genre film of the year.
The wife was mysteriously dropped during the wedding anniversary trip, who set up the bureau, and who really wanted to frame? Zhu Yilong, Ni Ni, Wen Yongshan and other actors "racing" on the stage in a foreign country is not too enjoyable, and the peeling truth is also like watching a "cool article" with twists and turns, allowing people to follow the film into a climactic mental game.
Youth is a different story
Coming-of-age is an enduring movie theme, perhaps precisely because while determining our relationship with the world for the first time, we must also experience a lot of emotional awakening and germination.
As the saying goes, "It takes a whole village to raise a child," but in Scrapper, which appeared at this year's Sundance Film Festival, Georgie, a 12-year-old girl, said, "No, I can take care of myself, thank you." She has always lived independently and reunited with her biological father, whom she has never met, and in the continuous getting along and running-in, an equal relationship different from the traditional family has been gradually established.
Through stylized imagery and pseudo-documentary passages, as well as comic-like representations, Occasional Echoes presents the eccentricity and whimsy of adolescence.
Lola Campbell completely played the little adult Georgie, and the role of the father of the waste wood is "The Triangle of Sorrow" star Harris Dickinson, the seamless cooperation of the two actors makes this coming-of-age story full of fun and humor, and the film won the feature film jury prize in the World Film Section of this year's Sundance Film Festival.
The Asian premiere film "Sisters" also tells the growing pains of adolescent girls, facing the shadows and injuries brought by their original families.
Faced with an opportunity for an intercountry adoption, how can the sisters Anastasia and Diane, who have been abandoned by their birth mother, fill the gaps and traumas in their hearts? How does the youth who has nowhere to go through this journey of finding his mother? Anatacia's choice gives the film suspense, and her confusion and perseverance will definitely move us off-screen.
The story of growing up is not only about blood and kinship, as depicted in films such as "Walk with Me", friendship is also a precious asset in life. The latest masterpiece by the well-known director Jan Samuel, The Lulus, tells the story of building a new family through friendship.
Set against the backdrop of World War I, four boys from a church orphanage wanted to take refuge in neutral Switzerland. In the rumbling cannon, they helped each other, supported each other, and also encountered the existence of parents and sisters, this journey allowed them to witness the cruelty of war and the brilliance of human nature, and made their friendship indestructible, and finally ushered in a surprising ending for everyone...
Intertextuality and contrast
Coincidentally, among the shortlisted films in this year's main competition, two groups have certain similarities in terms of character settings and plot entry points, and also form a certain intertextuality and contrast at the level of emotional expression.
Young director Song Xinqi's feature film debut "Look at a Bridge" and the French film "Driving Madeleine" present us with two pairs who met on the road. In "Look at a Bridge", Zhang Qianying, a bridge engineer played by Hui Yinghong, and Chen Zhiyong, a rebellious teenager played by Hu Xianxu, met because of cross-provincial substitute driving, and this journey has also become an opportunity for the two to redeem each other, and the two hearts that are gradually getting closer can support each other, overcome the difficulties of daily life and the disappearance of their loved ones, and finally fly into the sky like a fantasy.
"Look at the Bridge" was shortlisted for the final review of the WIP project at the 11th Beijing International Film Festival in 2021, and now we can finally see this excellent work full of warmth on the screen.
And "Graceful Journey" will remind you of the classic "Driving for Miss Daisy". Drivers and elderly women of different ages and identities get to know each other on a trip across Paris, and the non-linear narrative structure adds historical and textual thickness to the film.
The flashback passages lead the audience into thinking about the fate and living environment of women, and further amplify the practical significance of the film.
The Romanian film "Men of Deeds" has a similar character relationship to "Savage Tales" director Damian Szfron's new "To Catch A Killer": a pair of partners with different ages and experiences.
"The Man in Need" focuses on the life choices of a small-town inspector who is experiencing a midlife crisis and longing to retire, and his partner's injury forces him to face the dark side of the town that he used to ignore, and eventually pays the price. Interestingly, the film adopts a rather unique perspective - from a chicken that escaped by chance, shuttling through the town, coldly watching the farce and tragedy of the world.
And "Chase" continues Damian's thinking about human violence in the previous film. Eleanor, a self-destructive policewoman and FBI Director Lanmark, who has always been exploited by the bureaucracy, team up to track down a cold and dangerous indiscriminate murderer, but their own mental illness haunts them all the time.
With the help of a model of a police and bandit genre film, Damian raises the core of the film to the height of social moral speculation, interpreting what "others are hell".
The above is the main introduction and highlights of the fifteen films in the main competition of this year's Beijing Film Festival "Temple of Heaven Award".
The short 120 minutes on the screen can condense the most extreme human emotions; And we also threw ourselves into the darkness of the theater and gained a hearty emotional experience.
The films shortlisted for the main competition unit this year will also be screened simultaneously during the award period, and I hope that every audience can gain their own resonance and understanding in it.