TEAFF 22: The very good, the good and the not so good

TEAFF 22: The very good, the good and the not so good

At international film festivals, as, I guess, in released films that I watch as a critic, I have found that one yard-stick has remained constant. Of films I see, the really remarkable ones lie in the range of 10-20%. The rest are either just about watchable or prompting a walk-out after about 20 minutes of endurance. So, a good festival, for me, is one in which I end up watching 20% + very good films, an average festival gives me only 11-20%, and a below par festival is one where the good and very good films I see amount to 10% or less. On this scale, the Third Eye Asian Film Festival, that concluded on January 15, scored high: above the 20% mark. That makes it a festival worth the time, money and effort taken to wake-up early, reach the venue, partake meals and beverages, and return home, late at night, day after day.  

It got off to a false start, though. Clearance to screen the first film, 6 am, from Iran, did not arrive in time, and at the P.L. Deshpande Kala Academy’s mini-theatre at Prabhadevi, Mumbai. It had to be substituted, at the eleventh hour, by Fatherless, that just about passed muster.

Fatherless (China, directed by Wenxin Yan) begins with a few minutes of gratuitous, torrid sex scenes. The film then settles to narrate the story of a man who loses his father to a prolonged disease and continues to have sexual relations with two women, simultaneously, one older than him, the other younger, who looked after his father in his last days. He also discovers that he was an adopted child. After the passing away of his father, when the two women exit his life, he has to confront reality and show maturity.

Rating: **

Malika (Kazakhstan-Moldova-Ireland: Natalia Uvarova) dealt with the subject of separation of parents, a parent’s (mother’s) impending re-marriage, and its impact on their 12-year-old daughter. Legally, the father, who is the earning member of the family, will get custody of his daughter, if the mother remarries, but she wants to stay with her mother. On a visit to her maternal grandparents, the girl discovers peace and calm, living with the extended family, at the countryside. The mother, too, wants to retain custody of her daughter. A realistic plot, with beautiful visuals and familial bonding, the film held interest. The film was screened as one of the two titles picked, as the Best of Busan (International Film Festival)

Rating: ** ½

About My Mom (Turkey: Sonnet Sert) was not so much about a Mom as it was about a father and son and uncle and aunt. A Turkish man returns to Turkey from Germany, where he has settled, to attend his mother’s fifth death anniversary. He is picked-up at the airport by his father, and they have a long drive to their home. The two show no love lost, though the father is vociferous in his declaring his pretentious love for his son, who he is meeting after many years. Things get a bit messy when the father feels that his son is gay and the son says nothing to deny this accusation. It is also discovered that the car was stolen. As they reach their home, we learn that the anniversary was just the excuse to get the family together and for his father, and himself, to stake his claim on part of the land left by the grandfather, and now under the possession of his uncle and his family. About My Mom showed almost its characters in various shades of grey, and almost black. It had a lot of loud talking, but a couple of well-written twists.

Rating: ** ½

My fourth film of the opening day, January 09, was the opening film. In its traditional scheduling, the TEAFF shows the opening film as the fourth one of the day, in the late evening, after the inauguration ceremony. This film was a rare coming together of an Asian and a Middle-Eastern country, both unlikely partners. It was a good choice.

On Your Lap (Indonesia, Turkey: Reza Rahadian) was mainly an Indonesian venture, with Saudi Arabia collaboration. In the last 4-5 years, Saudi Arabia has opened up its film industry and even hosts international film festivals. Indonesia’s film industry, by contrast, has been flourishing for several decades now. The theme of the film is absolutely ‘local for global’. A pregnant young woman flees he home, in search of a better life for herself and the child she is carrying. She lands-up at a run-down café, run by an old couple, mainly by the wife, Mama. Mama has a retinue of 3 or 4 girls, and applies make-up on their faces to lure customers. Their clientele consists mainly of truckers, who stop by for coffee and snacks. As an attraction, the girls often sit on the laps of their customers. Some even serve as part-time prostitutes, using minuscule ‘rooms’ to ply their trade. One trucker develops feelings for the pregnant girl, and offers to marry her and take her away. A happy ending? Watch it, to discover. Rooted and reality. Compelling performances.

Rating: ***