FILM FEST FEVER –MAMI 09-3

Indu Raman | Festivals & Contests | November 1, 2009 at 8:48 pm Print this article!

LIGNES DE FRONT (BLACK OUT) DIRECTOR JEAN CHRISTOPHE KLOTZ

War did not end in 1945 with World War II. There are wars out there in the world where it never stops raining bullets. Hundreds of men, women and children are killed or die of starvation. Thousands of young soldiers sacrifice their lives every year. Unknown heroes work relentlessly with the UN, the Red Cross and missionaries live on the brink of danger trying to bring succour to the suffering. And yet nothing can be done to stop all this.

This is what a French journalist Antoine Rives realizes when he fails in his efforts to find a young woman left behind by her employers. 80,000 people were massacred in the genocide in Rwanda where Hutus and Tutsis were at war. The director Jean-Christophe Klotz has first hand experience in covering the war in 1994 as a reporter. He brings his experience to the screen with stark images of the suffering population. Antoine meets Clement (Cyril Guel) who is planning to return to his native country and bring his fiancée back. The two use each other’s clout to get food, shelter and transport. Antoine documents Clement’s search as an exclusive for his channel and we sometimes see the action in black and white through Antoine’s camera. In the course of the search we see horrific scenes of the massacre and the mute pain of those in hiding. The heart wrenching scene of the children playing ball in the open yard without a sound, without joy, without laughter is unforgettable.

The film highlights the apathy of the rest of the world for whom it is a chunk of information on their news channel. Jalil Lespert as the journalist is a convincing and intense portrayal. The internal debate and horror of his nightmarish expedition finally takes a toll on him. This is Klotz’s debut feature film. His documentaries on war zones have earlier won acclaim and awards.

LOS BASTARDOS- DIRECTOR AMAT ESCALANTE

Jesus and Fausto are two young brothers who are illegal Mexican migrants. They wait for work everyday at the corner outside a shop. n some days if they are lucky they get a day job which pays $10 an hour. On other days there is nothing. Add to this the abuse and taunts of the ‘gringos’ and one can understand why their temperaments are quite volatile. One day they get a contract job unlike any they have done before. They should have made a fortune and got out but things take a turn for the worse.
The film describes the stereotyped western household where the middle-aged woman is busy cooking dinner for the music-junkie son who shows scant respect for his mother. Packaged dinners, coke, drugs, meaningless TV, and a luxurious swimming pool -you have it all. The two hungry filthy poverty ridden men break into this house and find themselves definitely incongruous in this scenario. The woman is held hostage while she feeds them, offers them a joint and is compelled to join them in the pool. All the time the tension is palpable and one is misled to believe they will walk away with the booty. The story has gruesome shock value twists and turns. The long drawn first scene where the two men kick a football and walk towards the camera does nothing to prepare you for the horrific climax.
While the film’s denouement does not make a great impression, there is impressive camera work in the pool scene which has exciting lighting and angles.