film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: Hugues Porquier

  • Bad Hair: Review

    Bad Hair: Review

    Screened for the first time in January 2020 at the Sundance film festival, “Bad Hair” is a film written and directed by Justin Simien. Justin Simien is mostly known as the director of the Netflix series “Dear White People” (2017-2021). As a huge fan of horror films of all kinds and various quality, I was bound to be excited after reading the synopsis. 

    “In 1989, Anna (played by Elle Lorraine), an ambitious young woman gets a weave in order to succeed in the image-obsessed world of music television. However, her flourishing career may come at a great cost when she realizes that her new hair may have a mind of its own.”  From the first minutes of the film we understand that, in addition to being a horror film, “Bad Hair” will try to denounce the oppression suffered by black women in the 90s, which is a very interesting idea. 

    Indeed, the mix of horror and social drama is a combo which works very well in recent years and gives a certain depth to the film.  For example, there is the excellent “Get Out” (2017) by Jordan Peele or “His House” (2020) by Remi Weekes. 

    Both of these films rightly use societal elements integrated directly into the film’s narrative to generate horror while intelligently denouncing racism and oppression.  Despite these various elements that only bode well, the film quickly fails in the horror aspect and the characters are mostly very unconvincing.

    “Bad Hair” leans too much into comedy to be able to create real horrific stakes. In addition, the very weird special effects, do not help to create true horror and fear. However, the film succeeds in showing in a very original way how black culture was and is used and instrumentalized by white people for profit. It also shows the pressures that black women face in relation to beauty standards through the character of Anna, who will have to change who she really is to have a better chance of success.

    The first part of the film works pretty well. The film introduces the character of Anna, her past, her present and the environment in which she evolves.  But as soon as the presence of the cursed hair becomes more frequent and more aggressive, the film progressively loses its scenaristic quality and its interest. The scenario gets very weird, and unfortunately doesn’t seem to be really under control anymore, the various events follow one another in a very curious way. Also, the dubious special effects also reduces the overall quality of the film.   

    “Bad Hair” is therefore interesting because of its subject matter and its denunciations, but will probably not satisfy the majority of horror fans. 

  • Scales: Review

    Scales: Review

    “Scales” is a Saudi film written and directed by Shahad Ameen. After her short film “Eye & Mermaid” (2013), the director reuses the myth of the mermaid and deepens some of the ideas present in her short film. 

    “Scales” was the official submission of Saudi Arabia for the “Best International Feature Film” category of the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021. In 2019 the film won the “Verona Film Club Award” of the prestigious Venice Film Festival.

    Hayat (played by Basima Hajjar) is a young girl born in a village with strange traditions. Each family must sacrifice one of its daughters to the creatures of the sea. In return, the sea creatures are hunted by men.

    To honor this sacrifice, some throw away their baby daughters, others wait until they are older. Hayat’s father, Muthana (played by Yagoub Alfarhan), has refused this sacrifice and is rejected by the village since this decision. Through this refusal, he is perceived as a weak man who goes against the interests of the village. 

    This idea of a sacrifice, in order to have a good hunt or good resources to provide for the needs of a village inevitably brings to mind Robin Hardy’s “The Wicker Man” (1973). 

    This notion of sacrifice also refers us to a more social aspect. Linked to the condition of women in Saudi Arabia, where the domination of men largely oppresses women. 

    The progressive transformation of Hayat is also one of the main subjects of the film. Like her father, she has also been seen as an outcast since childhood. 

    When her feet touch the water, scales gradually form, but she refuse this change and would rather hunt with men. She will go as far as to confront directly the marine creatures to be finally accepted by the men. Basime Hajjar, despite his young age, delivers a performance close to perfection, she fits perfectly into this universe as strange as distressing.  

    The photography of João Ribeiro is sublime, he uses to perfection Oman and its various seascapes. 

    The use of black and white allows to make this small coastal village unreal, it give us the impression to attend a count taking place in a dystopian universe. 

    The presence of mermaids and the very slow rhythm of the film also reinforce this idea. It’s difficult to localize the village and its inhabitants but also to define the time in which the story takes place. 

    The use of black and white harmonizes perfectly with the differents marine visuals and its reflections and allows to João Ribeiro to deliver a sumptuous photography.

    This film, like Robert Eggers’ excellent “The Lighthouse” (2019), shows us that black and white can be an interesting and relevant artistic choice, even in 2021. 

    “Scales”, through its photography, its subtext and the performance of its actors is a successful and very interesting film.  

  • Dirt Music: Review

    Dirt Music: Review

    “Dirt Music” is an Australian film directed by Gregor Jordan and inspired by a 2008 short story of the same name by author Tim Winton. Gregor Jordan is an experienced Australian director, he has directed more than nineteen projects since 1995 including “Two Hands” (1995) starring Heath Ledger, “Buffalo Soldiers” (2001) starring Joaquin Phoenix and “Ned Kelly” (2003) with Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom and Naomi Watts.

    The film was presented in September 2019 at the Toronto International Film Festival, and is available for streaming on several platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Hulu or iTunes. It takes place in the wonderful and wild landscape of western Australia, more precisely in White Point, where nature still seems to be very present and at the heart of the local economy.

    The film presents a budding romance between Lu Fox, played by Garret Hedlund, known for his role as Sam Flynn in “Tron” and Georgie Jutland played by Kelly Macdonald, who is known for her appearances in the series “Boardwalk Empire”, or in films such as “No Country For Old Men” and “Trainspotting 1 & 2”. Georgie is a former nurse, now in a relationship with Jim (played by David Wenham, Faramir in Lord of The Ring), one of the most important fishermen on the coast, a rich man, respected and feared by the locals.

    The plot of the film will therefore revolve around the forbidden love relationship between Georgie and Lu. In parallel, the film traces the dark history of Lu’s family and the meeting between Jim and Georgie. Unfortunately, the writing of the film makes us feel that the first part, devoted to the meeting between Georgie and Lu, is rushed. This romance is established way too quickly, we can even have the impression that they already know each other and this does not allow us to really grasp the strength of this relationship. The rest of the film will spread out and sometimes get lost between the flashbacks.

    The writing of the male characters is really very basic and unoriginal. Whether it’s Lu, a cliché of a character with a heavy and dark past, who today is plagued by turmoil and doubt. Or Jim, a cliché of a rich man, who can’t stand to be denied anything or to lack control. The photography of the film, anchored in the superb natural landscapes of western Australia, will make us enjoy superb aquatic, desert or mountainous scenes, always very wild. It’s thus one of the strong point of the film.

    The performance of the actors, in spite of roles that are not very elaborate, remains very good, especially the Scottish Kelly Macdonald, who remains very interesting throughout the film. “Dirt Music” suffers from a lack of rhythm and a not very elaborate plot, but will make us travel thanks to its superb visuals. However, it will perhaps satisfy the fervent lovers of romance.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mld6x7yKpkY
  • The Swarm: Review

    The Swarm: Review

    “The Swarm” is a French film present in the list of the 2020 International Critic’s Week (unfortunately cancelled due to covid), a parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival, which aims to discover new talents. 

    “The Swarm” is Just Philippot’s first feature film, based on an original idea by Jérôme Genevray. It will go through several festivals such as the festival of Angoulême or Sitges before being known by the public during the international festival of the fantastic film of Gérardmer. 

    The film takes place in a small town in the French countryside. Virginie Hébrard (played by Suliane Brahim) started growing grasshoppers after her husband died, in order to feed her two children Laura (played by Marie Narbonne) and Gaston (played by Raphael Romand). But her farm is far from working as she had hoped, and she will soon be, like many farmers in France, drowning in debt and not having enough to live on. 

    At first, the film takes the direction of a social film, pointing out the difficulties that farmers can face in their job, such as lack of buyers or crop failure.  But this “social film” aspect will gradually plunge into a more fantastic horror. The film approaches the theme of sacrifice in a very interesting way. 

    Financially supported by Karim (played by Sofian Khammes) a wine grower, Virginie Hébrard tries in vain to make her farm work until she loses her temper. This violent outburst will open the doors to madness when she realizes that grasshoppers react strangely to blood.

    As if she had signed a pact with the devil, Virginie will gradually plunge into dementia and her obsession with grasshoppers will grow. As a metaphor for the condition of farmers, she will sacrifice her body and her soul to the point of exhaustion in order to survive.

    The photography of the film, set in a beautiful French countryside, is very successful. The very precise visuals of the grasshoppers provoke a mix between fascination and disgust for these insects, which feed a feeling of unease. 

    Through their evolution and their mutation, the grasshoppers become louder, more threatening. At the beginning of the film they were just harmless, but gradually become a real source of horror. 

    The rhythm of the film is very well worked, some slowness, well executed, contributes to a progressive rise of tension and uneasiness.

    Suliane Brahim of the Comédie Française, recently seen in Olivier Nakache’s “The Specials”, plays the character of Virginie remarkably well, a force of nature that seems to be led to the rupture. 

    We can also notice the excellent performances of Sofian Khammes, revealed for the public in Romain Gavras’ “The World Is Yours” (2018) and Marie Narbonne, who recently had a small role in Quentin Dupieux’s “Mandibles.”a Both of these French actors look very promising.

    Combining social drama and horror, “The Swarm” is an excellent first film for Just Phillippot, who manages to make a poignant film of a great scenaristic, visual and rhythmic quality. 

  • Les Nôtres: Review

    Les Nôtres: Review

    “Les Nôtres” is a film directed and co-written by Jeanne Leblanc, presented in 2020 in several festivals such as the Nashville Film Festival or the Raindance Film Festival. After several short films, this is the second feature film of Jeanne Leblanc, who was director of “Isla Blanca” in 2018. The film is available since June 18, 2021 in some theaters and on demand.

    In “Les Nôtres” we witness the story of Magalie (played by Emilie Bierre), a young girl of thirteen years old, whose life will be profoundly changed by a mysterious pregnancy. Magalie lives in Saint-Adeline, a small Quebec community that was devastated by a tragic factory accident in which Magalie lost her father.

    Around Magalie, there is her mother Isabelle (played by Marianne Farley), who seems to be totally overwhelmed and who can no longer communicate with her daughter. We also find a couple of friends composed by Jean-Marc (played by Paul Doucet) and his wife Chantal (played by Judith Baribeau), whose adopted son, Manuel (played by Léon Diconca-Pelletier) is quickly designed as the father of the future child.

    All these characters take place in the town of Saint-Adeline, in which there is still a feeling of communitarianism leading to racism, especially towards the adopted children of the mayor. The event of this pregnancy is therefore a major event for this community, which everyone will talk about very quickly.

    But we soon learn that the baby’s father is none other than Jean-Marc, the mayor of Saint-Adeline, a man in his fifties, loved and respected by his community. From that moment on, Jean-Marc will do everything possible to keep his act secret

    The film then becomes much darker and deals with the theme of the unhealthy domination that a malicious adult can exert on a child, how he can abuse his age or his hierarchical position to manipulate such a fragile mind. This same theme can be found in Charlène Favier’s recent film “Slalom” also in French language. The film shows us that evil can come from anywhere even from respected people, who seem to be above any suspicion. But it also focus on the importance of listening to children in this kind of situation.

    We witness a situation where the evil is already done, powerless in front of the consequences of a terrible and unforgivable act. The different actors are very gifted, especially Emilie Bierre, a very young actress who interprets to perfection the role of a teenager, betrayed, abandoned, who struggles to express herself in front of a situation that should not exist. Marianne Farley as Magalie’s mother is also excellent.

    Some passages, almost silent, reveal the heaviness of the sequences and the difficulty for Magalie to really communicate about her situation.

    We could criticize the film for not really focusing on Magalie’s character and her emotions or more globally on teenagers’ feelings. Indeed, the film seems to focus more on the adults’ vision of this situation. But despite this, the film keeps a real interest and works very well.

    “Les Nôtres” is a very interesting film which deals with a very important and serious subject, which benefits from excellent acting, good writing and superb photography.