The social satire The Lobster, by Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, is an absurd and droll film that is specifically about the way we define ourselves according to our relationship status, but more broadly about the ridiculousness of any form of tribalism or absolutes. It mocks both the imposition of established social norms and the imposition of rules resulting from reactionary rebellion. It is violent, depressing and cruel, and the funniest film I’ve seen this year.
Similarly melancholic, absurd and darkly funny is A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, the final film in the loosely defined ‘Living Trilogy’ by Swedish filmmaker Roy Andersson. A series of bleak and dead-pan scenes that are immaculately composed visually, there is still something strangely humane in this film even when it contains confronting imagery. The message I took home is that life is short, painful, depressing and thinking about atrocities done in our name can be unbearable, but in between all the terrible and banal bits, there are moments of joy and there are plenty of moments of humour.
The film adaptation of Rosalie Ham’s novel The Dressmaker continually shifts between being a grotesque and camp comedy about small Australian towns, and being a dark insight into the hypocrisy and double standards of a small community where judgement is passed on the undeserving while perpetrators of abuse and oppression get away with their cruelty. Australian filmmaker Jocelyn Moorhouse handles the dramatic tonal shifts magnificently, resulting in a film that combines stylistic flairs from gothic romances and westerns, and a brilliant homage to the iconic ‘Put the Blame on Mame’ scene from Gilda.
It wasn’t all dark, cynical, existential social critiques this month, as October saw the release of two excellent Hollywood crowd-pleasers by established directors doing was I felt was their best film in years. Ridley Scott’s faithful adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel The Martian maintains the Arthur C Clarke-inspired combination of hard science with a probable futuristic story and likeable human characters. The resulting science-fiction/survival film not only privileges and promotes intelligence, ingenuity and knowledge as heroic character traits, but is a celebration of human resilience and resourcefulness.
And the other big Hollywood film of note from October is Steven Spielberg’s inspired-by-a-true-story Cold War film Bridge of Spies, where the contribution Ethan Coen and Joel Coen made to the script is both noticeable and welcome. As well as beautifully recreating Berlin in 1957 as the Berlin Wall was constructed and being an effective spy thriller, this is a film that champions justice, diplomacy and mutual respect as the key factors for ensuring that what you are fighting for doesn’t become compromised.
In brief, I was very impressed by the Australian documentary Putuparri and the Rainmakers, where the personal story of one Indigenous man’s struggles with his own demons is used as a launching point to tell a broader story about a compelling land title claim in the Kimberley’s Great Sandy Desert. And on a completely different note, I really enjoyed the independent American film Results, a sort of anti-romantic-comedy involving personal trainers that while undermining many of the conventions of the genre, was still sweet, charming and funny. All the performances are great, but Guy Pearce deserves a special mention for making his fitness guru character so endearing and adorably sincere.
CINEMA AUTOPSY 