Llueve (it's raining)

Alex Mendez Giner, Venezuela

Experimental, 2007, 14'

In the montains, a man is running, wounded, and ends his escape uncounscious in front of a house... The three inhabitants, two men and a woman seems occupied by very strange, maybe illegal business, but we're not able to tell exactly of what kind. They take care of the wounded man. Words are rares, and the situation is not clear. Is the woman with one of the two, or with both ? What is this key, held by one of the two, that seems to be the symbol of his power ?

Under a continuous rain, in a beautiful landscape of isolated mountain, what is really happening in front of our eyes ? The rain contributes to create a feeling of wildness and isolation of the people. To be honnest, the scenery is really beautiful, framed perfectly, and the interiors have an impressive softness of lights and clairobscurs...

But what kind of job requires them to get out, and dig in the mud ? A lot of question, and this film does not intend to answer. This is the description of a cursed place, where actions of each are conditioned, in a succession of men arriving here without past or future. In this very understated film, the rôle of the actors is dominant, and they succeed in creating the reality of a logical world, without giving us the keys to understand it.

Despite of the globaly positive judgements, I have to moderate this. The lack of implication of the audience, the lack of comprehension and enjeu doesn't help to really enter in a film, even if its qualities are real.

Meeting Philipp Barker (Clermont Ferrand 2008)

Night Vision

Philim Barker, Canada

Fiction, 2006, 24'

In the office of an analyst, a woman watches a photograph. This is a test, a kind of TAT, and she starts to imagine a story behind this photograph. The story starts... She is a mother, with two children. A sense à catastrophy, something happened that is killing all the fireflies... But their goal is to catch as many fireflies as possible, for an alchemy opération that creates pills that will help an old man to see. The story will be lead in two phases, after coming back to the analyst, the story will start again, as if the wowan is trying to rearrange a story that did not fit. The process of imagination is very realistic, as a mind pussle, piece after piece. Fascination of this very living landscape (a lake in north Canada), but fill only by the product of the woman's imagination.

It's a story of a very strict mother, who looses her children (they fall in a waterfall), but who tries to arrange things, teaching them her alchemy science and treating them as adults. It's the story of initiation, where the vision is not something given, but womething that had to be earned after a lot of efforts. It's about dedication of the youth to a cause, to this old blind man, who is trying to remember the names of the colors.

The cinematography is wonderfull. Large landscapes are shown in low saturated colors, and really seems to come from imagination. I can't remembre the number of breathing scenes, or on the water, or in the cabin during the preparation of the pills... We are transported somewhere else, on another planet, and it's impossible not to be amased by such images.

Philip Barker

[interview soon]

Philip barker's website
(with a direct link to an extract from the very beggining : link)

Delwende (Lève-toi et marche)

Synopsis :

In a small village of Burkina countryside, the young Pugbila is being raped in the night after the sacred danses. She is married by her father the day after, and leave the village to live with her husband. But the village is touched by an epidemy : children are dying. The elders decide to call for the marabout, who lead a ceremony : the Songho, which is supposed to be able to find the cause. Pugbila's mother is conviced to be the witch, and must leave the village. Her errand, being repelled by everyone will lead her to the capital, where her daughter will try to find her.

The movies whows us a busy and colorfull Africa, far away from any prejudice of pauverty. No miserabilism, the topic is somewhere else. The easy traditionnal way to solve problems, calling the Manes to help, and the common practice to point at a woman as the scapegoat of any problem is at the center of the realisator's concern here. Scenes shot in a « witch shelter » exploits the contrats between the young and beautiful Pugbila and these old women, who live in a junkyard, only by charity of the « Ministere du developpement de la femme ».

It's a reality of Africa, how traditions can be a weight for supersticious people, and a curb to development. Maybe the subject could have been tackled with less insistance, and smugness (not. In the shelter's scenes). The whole story is a way to tell us something, and is the narration get very secondary in the second part of the movie.

Errance, wanderring : aimless for the mother who doesn't know hos to survive, and determination of her daughter, who wants to save and rehabilitate her. This girl, of the new generation who is asked to stand and walk. That hope, symbolised by the new generation is a message that join a common topos in african cinema : the young girl who bring truth and peace into a conflictual situation, with dignity and determination. Pugbila is something of the princess of Ceddo.

The first scene is a beautifull danse of youth, the young girl of the village are both sensuals and energic. Plans are long, the crane is used with dexterity and inventivity. But during the movie, this virtuosity disapears, for the benefit of more statics plans, well composed and very colored. But there is no more surprise, no real invention after this. This is especially perceptible when the narration rythme get slower in the second part.

I must say delwende is a good movie, the immerge us into the traditions and the customs of a small village. But it hardly get to something more that a good « thesis movie », militant for social changes.

Realisator

S Pierre Yamaedo is born in 1955 in Koudougou (Burkina Faso). He studies cinema in Paris (Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français), and makes his first short in 1984 : « L'oeuf Silhouette ». His first feature, Laafi, is selected for the Festival de Cannes 's Prix de la critique. He gets a prize at the 1993's Fespaco for «Wendemi ».

A movie by S. Pierre Yamaedo.

2005

With Blandine Yameogo, Claire Ilboudo and Céléstin Zongo.
Regard Hope Award, at 2005's Cannes Festival.