A lot of times the problem brings us the best art. Or at least, that’s what we tell ourselves, weighing the problems of today against the hope that something might come of them. This year’s crop of Cinematic Awards show that our current trying times inspire diverse, far-reaching responses to the quandaries that confront us with the most iconic films. Those themes felt particularly strong at the BFI London Film Festival, one of the last major festivals leading up to the awards press. After opening with Rian Johnson Knives Out: Raise a Dead ManA creative reflection on faith, the 10-day Festival showcased diverse research into storytelling from around the world. At heart almost everything was a reference to two ideas: lost and alienated.
Loss is clearly shown in films like Chloé Zhao’s Mine and Clint Bentley’s Train the dreamsNews -Good and good news about grief and how we continue to pass away after a child is lost (and tested Something with feathers). Kaouther Ben Hania’s Essential Film The word of Hind Rajab Similarly explore the depth of grief that the death of a young person can manifest, but it works more like a call to arms than a quiet meditation. Based on real events and using real audio, Docudrama shows the killing of a six-year-old girl in Palestine at the hands of Israeli forces, confronting the viewer with the reality of war, to end it or not. It is a film about what we have lost, but also what we will continue to lose.
Grief is not just about people, as several films this year acknowledge. Father Sister Sister, The sensitivity value, The top line, & Men and Unnamone looking at the strength of family relationships, while The love that remains, Is this item open? again Springsteen: Set me free to end the face of love. Others, like the effortlessly handsome Bradley Cooper Is this item open?include opportunities for reconciliation. Maybe any relationship is worth another shot. Richard Linklater’s Small but compelling A blue moon reckons with another kind of loss: art ownership. Ethan Hawke plays songwriter Lorenz Hart, a few months before he dies, as he accepts his fate as a failure on the evening of his ex-partner Oklahoma!
Hart’s cut from Rodgers, the bad core of A blue moonit suggests that we may fear isolation more than loss. Grief is often ephemeral, passing over time, but a lack of human connection can last a lifetime. Hikari’s fantasy film The Employed Family Brendan Fraser stars as an American living in Tokyo, far removed from both his culture and his former life. You are alone, which draws you to the connection of the submissive work of other single people. The pillarThe nature of the festival and Harry LightOn’s Seclut festival, suggests that we can only find true connection if we are honest about who we are and what we want. The film is aided by Harry Melling’s weak performance as a young British man who finds solace in a submissive relationship with the leader of a biker gang. We are much less than we think, sexual preferences aside.
Isolation is not always resolved by the presence of another person, as Lynne Ramsay’s has explored Die my loveaddressing and addressing women’s mental health. As a Postpartum woman with a conflicting diagnosis, Jennifer Lawrence is of the sea and completely at sea, lost even when she is with her husband and child. He tries to subjugate himself through sex, alcohol, and violence, but he is so connected to himself that nothing will hold him back. between Water chronologyKristen Steresial Recorial Desitenial, Imogen poots featuring real-life author Lidia Yuknavitch, and who turns to the practicalities of reality. It doesn’t work, but Lidia eventually finds writing as a way to communicate and a way to be proud of her brutal past. between DestroyerAnother festival stand and a feature drawn from Fritish Filmmaker Cal McManus, the prisoners share a compelling connection but can only advance their crimes by taking action. The circumstances they shared will not separate us at all, as McManus explores with his lead character, played by rising actor David Jonsson.
Although Palestinian history and identity were prominent and important on display during the festival The word of Hind Rajab, Palestine 36 and Hasan in GazaThis year saw a distinct lack of political films. It is not a year for War Epics or presidential Biopics, but instead for more intimate stories that emphasize the idea that the personal is political. Despite being shaped by the Internet and social media, we often feel isolated in our struggles and experiences. Movies remind us of what we share and why we share it, especially in times like these. Loss and division impact everyone, everywhere, as many Screenwriters and screenwriters are currently exploring. Spotlight This awards season is about people’s emotions and people’s fears, told in beautiful and sometimes unique ways. As the BFI London Film Festival Lineup underlines, this is a great year for cinema. Ideally, it will leave a record of a special time in modern history – one where we know what we have to lose and are willing to face it.
More on film