Flow
Gints Zibalodis
2024, 85 mins.
Oh for cat’s sake
Not since viewing Samsara (cross-reference below) has a film with no dialogue made me so glad to have seen it.
In this case, the stars—a-yellow-eyed cat, ever-inquisitive lemur, broken-winged stork, golden retriever dog and an amiable capybara—come together one by one as the crew for an abandoned sailboat, trying to outrun/outlive an extremely sudden rise in water levels—even the deer are galloping to unknown safety.
In many ways, deliberately of course, it’s a cautionary tale for our presently overstressed planet. The more powerful (at least in their own minds) preying upon seemingly easier targets until a natural calamity (in this case huge, ever-rising floods), makes everyone vulnerable and forced to have strange bedfellows for any chance to survive.
One of the beacons of hope is the aforementioned sail boat where the animal farm “crew” take turns steering the rudder desperately hoping to avoid capsizing in brutal storms or ending their journey smashed to smithereens on the rocks.
The animation team (headed up by Thibault Delahaye and directed by Léo Silly Pélissier), deftly engage the eye with scene after scene of calamities, calm and courage, while the accompanying music (original score from Zibalodis, Mikko Raita and Rihards Zalupe), infused with a prominent bass clarinet and many mallet interventions—alongside the animals’ cries, screams, barks and purrs—keep any ear eagerly awaiting the next chart.
In many ways, the film’s magic stems from the assembled creatures with their clearly defined characters, glowing eyes and—at times—unpredictable actions. Without a word being said, viewers can latch on to one of these mostly furry or feathered stars and decide for themselves which of this rag tag collection of critters they most identify with. Not unlike following (or not) those in real life who deign to save us all from the next climate-driven calamity, unhampered by any knowledge of the facts. JWR
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Mohammad Rasoulof
2024, 167 mins.
Liars one and all
With America’s Liar-in-Chief’s second term just getting underway, this tale about the rule of law (ours, not yours) in Tehran has much to say about both countries.
Iman is proud as a peacock with his promotion to investigative judge in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Court—the coveted position all but assures a full judgeship if he can survive two years in his new position, bringing with it not only added prestige but also a fabulous home and salary beyond his wildest dreams. What could go wrong? Suddenly more overburdened with cases than ever before, the neophyte must sign hundreds of “adjudicated” cases, without having time to read almost none of the details and, with the stroke of a pen, send the presumed guilty to lengthy jail terms or sudden death. These are acts not dissimilar to taking out a Sharpie and sending millions into all manner of mayhem, undeserved pardons and illegal firings.
As a means of protection from bereaved, boiling angry families of the judicially despatched, all investigative judges are issued a service revolver, er, just in case. To assist in limiting early ends to the careers of the verdict purveyors, their identities are held as closely to the regime’s chest as possible—much more difficult in the 21st century with social media and cameras everywhere.
In this instance, Iman (a fine descent into paranoic madness by Missagh Zareh) initially has qualms about rubber stamping verdicts that may or may not be just. But those human concerns pale in comparison when his protective gun goes missing, raising the spectre of his own three-year jail term if he cannot discover its whereabouts.
On Iman’s home front are a devoted, if somewhat ambitious wife, Najmeh (a fine mix of unfailing and tough love from Soheila Golestani) and her two precocious daughters, 21-year-old Rezvan (adroitly played by Mahas Rostami) and a few years younger Sana (while readily portraying a nail polish-loving, out-of-step-with-her-elders teen, Setareh Maleki’s early-for-her-age acting chops grow in every scene, as her character gradually supplants all others). JWR