By Marti Dols Roca.

Historically there have been two ways of approaching sex related crimes on the seventh art: visually hinting what happened and dwelling on its consequences and implications or expounding on it leaving no room for the imagination and sometimes ending up closer to gore and sophisticated ultra violence than to the cruel and cold reality. Obviously, the amount of reasons for taking those choices is endless: subtlety, elegance, comfort of the viewer, censorship, ignorance, lack of respect or just aesthetic reasons.

However, there are times when the filmmaker succeeds in articulating a scene that portrays a rape (for instance) in a way that feels as close to reality as can be; therefore, the scene is both difficult to watch but effective. Not only in the construction of a successful cinematic moment but in, indeed, making the audience uncomfortable and, ultimately, provoking a thought, a reflection, a reaction.

One of the most famous examples of such can be seen in Gaspar Noé’s Irreversible (2002), during the nine minutes long one shot sequence in which the character played by Monica Bellucci is vaginal and anal raped. Irreversible is a film that relies a lot on an oppressive and disturbing atmosphere achieved by lightning, sound design and performance. It’s part of the tone of the film and of Noe’s trademark. A similar closeness to reality, but in a completely different movie in terms of genre, story and feel, is found in Strangled (Árpad Sopsits, 2016).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzgZQ0hI0L8

Strangled had its UK Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival last week and will have its theatrical release in the British Islands on November 17^th. Previously, the film collected nine statuettes in the Hungarian Film Awards 2017 and has premiered in renowned festivals like Warsaw, Sitges or Parma, amongst others. Based on real events, this psycho-thriller set in post war Hungary (1960s) follows a veteran detective and a young prosecutor on their chase for the truth regarding a series of despicable crimes in a small Hungarian town. Several reviews and synopsis on the film can be found in the internet praising its visual appeal, dark atmosphere or compelling storyline; rightfully so, as the movie successfully delivers a gripping story full of political and social implications.

Nonetheless, one of the most remarkable aspects of Strangled is its approach towards the sexual violence scenes: those being part of the movie but not in a repetitive or abusive way; as it obviously centers in the investigation and the nightmare the wrongly convicted culprit goes through. In any case, returning to the initial point, it is gratifying (in absence of a more accurate concept) to see that rape and sexual related crimes can be shown on screen without being too explicit but not losing an ounce of veracity. As an audience, the viewer goes through a bad time, but that is the intention of the author when shooting the scene; to use it as a tool in order to tell the story and explore all its nuances as well as, hopefully, make a point.

Strangled is the prove that even though every genre and story within it has been told in a thousand different ways, the thousand and one can be as satisfying, striking or disturbing as the first one if done loyally to the core of the story and the demands of the medium in which is told.

“Seventeen year old Miklós Varga’s plans to escape his migrant family and run away with his best friend Dan are crushed by the accidental death of his older brother Tomi. Only Mik knows the events that led to this tragedy, and he is suddenly forced to navigate his guilt and explosive sexuality to find the man he can become.”

Teenage Kicks is a heart wrenching portrayal of burgeoning sexuality caught between tragedy and machismo. It demonstrates the anger of a young man: Mik, played by Miles Szanto, on the cusp of adulthood, unable to come to terms with himself. He seeks solace in all the wrong places and is oblivious to the genuine lifelines offered.

The supporting cast, including Home and Away’s Charlotte Best, and Shari Sebbens (Thor: Ragnarok), are all complex characters. A message to Mik throughout that he is not the centre of the universe, though that’s how he is behaving: each person has to come to terms with their own mistakes, and grief is a personal thing.

A coming of age film in the same bracket as My Summer of Love (2004), and Y Tu Mamá También (2001).

Teenage Kicks is directed by Craig Boreham, a pioneer of Australian queer cinema, known for his award winning short films. A feature length version of his 2009 short Drowning.

Available to buy from Amazon.

By Marti Dols Roca.

Seven years after the war in Sri Lanka, thousands of people are still missing. Most of them presumably dead. The mostly Tamil* families of the missing have held demonstrations to support their cause. Some of them have complained that they have been abducted or arrested by the police while staging their protests.

As many as 100,000 people are thought to have died in the conflict.

Trance (Gnanadas Kasinathar, 2017) is a short film that addresses the “missing people” issue in post-war Sri Lanka. Inspired by stories told by victims of the war and shot entirely in Sri Lanka by a native cast and crew, Trance follows a mother whose son is missing and seeks courage and answers by taking part in a religious ceremony in honor to the Goddess Kali. The woman is told that good news are about to arrive and she identifies those with the visit of two young men (a Tamil and a Sinhalese) who claim to be friends of her missing son. As usual in these kind of tragic stories, the woman ends up giving money and selling her goods in order to help her boy through the two unsettling youngsters.

Eventually, she will uncover the scheme (as, ironically enough, it has nothing to do with ethnic communities; it’s just pure theft) ran by the two latecomers who will end up assaulted by a furious Tamil mob.

Trance has won the prestigious Award of Recognition from The Best Short Film Competition (California) and will be screened in the London Eye Film Festival in UK as well as in Cape Town International Film Festival in South Africa amongst others.

According to the director “We learn cinema by doing it and making mistakes. This award gives confidence not only me and our team, but the whole Sri Lankan Tamils”. Trance is one of those little movies that are able to deliver a simple but very strong social message in a very stylistic manner. The limitations in shape of narrative or resources are also obvious, but on the whole the short film succeeds in its purpose and underlines an ongoing conflict that seems to be forgotten by the international media.

* Alongside Sinhalese, the two main ethnic groups living in Sri Lanka.

B&B is a new LGBT-themed thriller from writer director Joe Aherne (Doctor Who) in a Hummingbird Films production; funded by Creative England, Film Cymru, and Pont Neuf Productions. The film id being distributed in the UK by Peccadillo Pictures.

‘Marc (Tom Bateman) and Fred (Sean Teale) return to bait the owner (Paul McGann) of a remote Christian B&B who they had successfully sued him for not allowing them to share a bed. Events take a deadly turn when another guest arrives, who they think might have something sinister in mind’

Perhaps sitting comfortably in the suspenseful thriller/horror genre this film at it’s heart is a dark comedy in the vein of Shallow Grave, In Bruges & Blood Simple; however this film has it’s own unique conceit which comes from a world which will seem very real to anyone who has read a newspaper in the last few years. The plot presents itself as being very straightforward to begin with but don’t let it fool you; there are several twists and turns that will leave you asking questions about right & wrong and viewing the film from different perspectives.

McGann plays homophobic B&B owner Josh who is on one level battling with the gay couple that have targeted him and on another level his own beliefs & fatherhood of son Paul (Callum Woodhouse); it’s a very subtle, understated performance from McGann as we see the character follow his own path through the story while never really faltering. It could be seen as a despicable character but it is left to the story and the audience to decide what he is rather than being exaggerated. McGann continues to show his excellent range (having recently played a Nazi general on-stage). This plays well against Bateman as Fred; who essentially plays ‘the other side of the coin’ as the more protagonist part of the couple and it is the tension between these two that provide some of the best moments in the film.

It’s a small, claustrophobic film with an excellent ensemble cast and almost perfect pacing which to me was very reminiscent of ‘Shallow Grave’. The cinematography is simplistic and deliberately bland and with a subtle scoring which allows the story and performances to be powerfully effective. It questions your beliefs and flirts with stereotypes and tropes without ever distracting from the core of the story.

4/5 – Highly recommended.

The film is released on on DVD and VOD in the UK on October 23rd (already available in USA).

To find out more about B&B, upcoming screenings, and its creators, please check the film’s official website www.bnbfilm.co.uk.