GODLESS (RALITZA PETROVA)
We watch on as Gana (Irena Ivanova) continues to do her job with an absurd level of apathy. Gana takes care of the elderly for a living. She checks in on them, cleans them and makes sure they have the correct medication and is taking it.
This apathy has led her to a life of stealing, buying them by force, ID cards from her patients so that more ambitious criminals can take those cards and launder money through companies registered to those IDs and therefore not be detected. We watch on as she skirts away responsibility for her actions as she sees things escalate with these elderly patients until she can’t abide by it any further.
Every once in a while I ask the same question of films. Is it possible to enjoy or engage with a film where you loathe all the characters in it. We watch on as this woman, and her partner Aleko (Ventzislav Konstantinov), just allow these crimes to flow through them. It’s like those bank robbers who shout “It’s the bank’s money, and it’s insured” so we shrug and say sure. These two each time tell the elderly patients to call the company and tell them they lost their card. No harm, no foul. During which time these other criminals are laundering millions.
It escalates further to us seeing these infirmed are being bullied, threatened and even murdered when the operation is put in jeopardy. It happens multiple times and Aleko and Gana shrug, saying maybe it didn’t need to happen like that, but they shrug and move on doing these things. Can we? Can I engage with a film like this and not just want to lambast it for it’s characters. The world isn’t just made of just people. So not every film needs to have the moralistic Paladin warrior as it’s lead.
Regardless of this the film is a wonderful look into world of apathetic corruption. My only true concern is how it leaves a few lingering pieces that we never quite understand why we’re shown it in the first place. We see the sex crazed Judge (Dimitar Petkov) and how he fits in, but it feels like surplus information since Gana doesn’t know about it. The rest of the films entirely from her perspective with the exception of a couple of scenes like this. And an ending that keeps me thinking where it truly fit.
Regardless this film is worth it’s weight in just the performative glory that is Irena Ivanova’s showing.
DIVINES (HOUDA BENYAMINA)
Dounia (Oulaya Amamra) and Maimouna (Deborah Lukumuena) are the best of friends living with their respective families in Paris. They run about shoplifting, staring at boys with cute asses, making snapchat stories and trying to get ahead of this life of mediocrity they seem to be destined for.
Under threat of repeating her mother’s mistakes of just being a drunk and upset at life sleeping with whichever man is in front of her that night; Dounia engages the local drug dealer, Rebecca (Jisca Kalvanda), to take over a less than capable employee, Samir (Yasin Houicha). This gives her purpose, and the ability to buy the better things in life. She can treat her family to the things they want, pay their rent and such.
Slowly we see as this life goes to her head. She antagonizes police; allows her friend to become more and more involved but in a way that you feel to them it’s all play time rather than real world dangers; and continues to engage her family as if they are just the people keeping her down. We watch on as eventually all comes to a head and Rebecca begins to force her to choose between her freedom, money, the sexy dancing boyfriend, and her best friend.
This is Benyamina’s first feature film and her willingness to play with the perceptions of a child while at the same time creating devastating realities that remind me of Andrea Arnold’s FISH TANK is amazing. She inserts just enough whimsy to keep us entertained and when consequences come knocking we feel it just as hard as Dounai.
HEADSHOT (KIMO STAMBOEL & TIMO TJAHJANTO)
Ishmael (Iko Uwais) washes ashore unconscious without a name or anything. Lee (Sunny Pang) breaks out of a prison in badass fashion. The story begins that intertwines these two with fists, guns, knives and even typewriters.
Action movies are hard to discuss. Like great comedies eventually it comes down to moments. Many will discuss the simplicity of it’s story and how it’s just dumb. A man washes ashore forgetting who he is and is eventually attacked by others and isn’t sure what’s going on. As the blood, mayhem and broken bones piles up a momentum is created. We cheer and watch on as more and more people try to test Ishmael’s skills and we keep asking for more from our fighters.
The film begins slowly enough. We watch on as the doctor sits next to Ishmael, coming up with her own fantasies as to who this man is. Eventually he awakes and it begins. There are some great action scenes. However, it hits its height towards the final third where we finally have the likes of Besi (Very Tri Yulisman) and Rika (Julie Estelle), both highlights from the team that did The Raid 2, ramp up the brutality and the complexity of the fights. Every movement feels operatic and every drop of blood a note in a perfectly heightened symphony of sounds that equals crack to any action junkie.