#LIFF29

Unfortunately for me, a combination of AmDram commitments this week, and a training course Down South next week, meant my annual dabble into the Leeds Film Fest was limited to just three films this year.

Here are my hot-off-the-press-and-probably-not-entirely-thought-through reviews…

Victoria

I’ll start with the one most fresh in my mind [it played this evening].

As a technical and artistic exercise, Victoria is very, very impressive. Shot in one single take over nearly two-and-a-half hours (and I believe the take they used for the film was only their third or fourth), it follows the story of the eponymous girl who has seemingly little to lose as she falls in with a gang of men she meets outside a Berlin night club, and seems complicit in going along with their plans late that night/early that morning.

Whilst this film was a tense thriller; most of that for me was an uncomfortable feeling right from the start that Victoria should not have got caught up in the scenario she did, and when she seemed to embrace it I didn’t entirely understand why.

Although you forget the film is ‘limited’ by the single shot, you do find yourself wondering if you should empathise with any of the characters at all. Possibly the central character, but a jarring scene involving a cafe piano that (evidently to me) wasn’t actually being played, unintentionally removed the empathy I had for Victoria. When the film played out to its inevitable conclusion, I didn’t really feel much for the characters; if anything I just had to accept the film was a brilliant technical/artistic endeavour, just let down by a lack of connection to what went down.

3/5

-

Nina Forever

I probably went into Nina Forever with the wrong impression. A collective interpretation of the trailer set an expectation that there was a Polyamorous element to the film. And whilst there was to some extent; this wasn’t the cult sleeper film about open relationships I perhaps thought it might be.

My mistake. I admit that.

What it was, was a very dark comedy that I enjoyed for a large part; certainly the intention by the film’s creators to not assign it to any particular genre allowed for refreshingly believable albeit surreal moments.

In the Q&A afterwards the director said the film was primarily about grief. And I think if that had been more of a focus, the film might have had a more emotional tow to it - the speech by Nina’s father towards the end certainly came out of left-field, but didn’t entirely tie up the underpinnings of the film that one might have hoped.

That said, the black comedy was perfectly handled, especially by the three leads [Fiona O'Shaughnessy in particular managed to leave Jessica Hyde behind, despite inhabiting a similarly off-the-wall character].

It was fun, black, and atypical.

But for a black comedy about unusual relationships, I’ll stick with Sightseers thanks…

3.5/5

(or if you’re called Emily and think I’ve broken the system… 3/5 ;-)

-

Alice Cares
Which brings me to Alice Cares - an at-times unbelievable documentary about a social-care robot for the elderly trialled in the Netherlands.

Yes, you read that right. Perhaps the trailer might explain…

It is very difficult to review this film without being utterly distracted by the apparent advances in AI that have taken place. I honestly had no idea such interactions were possible, and it actually gives me some hope for the future applications of such robots (although millions of complications may well come along with that).

Obviously a point the film doesn’t entirely make but certainly hints at is that such a robot is not a replacement for a human being doing social care - but it does have it’s applications. Two great examples are assisting with exercises and helping post a letter [not perhaps in the way you might imagine].

I was quite taken with Alice, and the small window into the future reality of elderly care as part of a wider social problem(?).

I think I would happily watch a longer TV series around this, maybe looking at more issues and taking things on in more depth.

But I’m thankful that the documentary exists - to tell me about Alice and the future of social care aided by AI - and there were a few touching moments; quite literally by one of the elderly ladies saying goodbye to what is just a robot - and the moments you see in the trailer; interaction on a more human level than you might expect, showing Alice photos, or watching the football match with her/it.

Great stuff. My best of the three.

4/5