Thessaloniki review

Geoff Andrew reports back from the Greek film festival.

Nov 30 2006

Now in its 47th incarnation, and wisely adhering to the decidedly international format developed by Theo Angelopoulos and Michel Demopoulos, predecessors as president and director to the Festival's current Georges Corraface and Despina Mouzaki, Thessaloniki this year kicked off with 'The Queen', ended with Alain Resnais' 'Private Fears in Public Places', and covered a great many points in-between.

Famously, the Festival pushes new Greek cinema (the example I tried, 'The Crossing', was a little predictably disappointing) and Balkan fare, but much besides. A wealth of strands and retros offered diverse delights: a complete tribute to Czech surrealist genius Jan Svankmajer (including an exhibition of artworks produced with his late wife Eva); an invigorating panorama of Brazilian cinema (critics and filmmakers galore, including warmly welcomed leading light Walter Salles); a survey of recent popular cinema from China (sadly, 'Manhole' and 'Dreams May Come' didn't go down well with yours truly); a tribute to Malian maestro Abderrahmane Sissako (unfortunately ill health prevented his attendance at the Greek première of the superb 'Bamako'); and the world première of 'The Rape of the Sabine Women', the latest video installation from London-born artist Eve Sussman, whose fine Velázquez-inspired '89 Seconds at Alcázar' also played.

One highlight was a comprehensive tribute to Wim Wenders, to whom Angelopolous presented an honorary award – very movingly, as it happened, after a silence to mark Robert Altman's just-announced death. Films like 'Don't Come Knocking' may frustrate, but the opportunity to reassess digitally restored gems like 'Alice in the Cities' and 'Kings of the Road' was a reminder of how confident and rewarding a filmmaker Wenders was.

As for new movies, Thessaloniki offered up many gems screened two weeks beforehand at the LFF: highlights included 'Longing', 'Das Fräulein', 'Born and Bred' and the New Crowned Hope titles 'Syndromes and a Century' and 'I Don't Want to Sleep Alone'. All strong stuff, which is more than can be said for some other new movies I caught. Joshua Dorsey's 'The Point', for example, is well-meaning in terms of its non-judgmental take on Montréal's multi-racial teens doing their thing, but stilted performances and plotting reduce credibility. 'The Peter Pan Formula', from South Korea's Cho Chang-Ho, starts well but its tale of a teenage swimmer dealing with a mother in a coma turn ludicrously and over-explicitly Freudian, going wildly off the rails as it does so.

At least 'Mon Colonel', directed by Laurent Herbiet and co-scripted by Costa-Gavras (who as an expat Greek was warmly welcomed home for a masterclass) paints a decently detailed portrait of a fiercely free-thinking French officer serving in Algeria in the '50s; it throws light on the current 'war against terrorism' and benefits from a typically excellent performance by Olivier Gourmet, best known for his work with the Dardennes. The best two new movies I saw, however, came from Brazil and Iceland. 'Suely in the Sky' – can we please change that English title?!?! – sees Karim Ainouz following his impressive 'Madame Sata' with another subtly judged study of a young mother let down by a fickle lover and proffering, through a raffle, a night in paradise with her body in order to escape her stifling if sympathetic small hometown. Performed, shot and edited with a great feeling for spontaneity and emotional authenticity, it's an admirably deft piece of work.

So, too, was 'Thicker than Water', Arni Asgeirsson's wry account of a couple blown apart after a blood test performed upon their son – just as the wife's about to give birth a second time – wreaks devastating consequences. At first the movie looks as if it's about to dive into tragic mode, but an astute script, fine camerawork and note-perfect performances – particularly from Hilmar Jonsson as the perplexed, grieving and vengeful dad – make for a surprisingly black comedy of manners, almost as sharp in its dissection of the male psyche as Nuri Bilge Ceylan's forthcoming release 'Climates'.

An odd comparison, I confess; but the most exciting thing I saw in Thessaloniki was the exhibition of the young-ish Turk's extraordinary photos, accompanying a retro of the brilliant if brief career of the writer-cameraman-director-editor-producer of 'Uzak' ('Distant'). This man is most certainly the business, and just as his films have a rare photographic beauty, so his 'Scope photos of Turkey feel like paintings. Why a mention here? If all goes to plan, they'll be in London in February when 'Climates' opens. Watch this space… and prepare to be amazed.

• 
•