FILM REVIEWS:
ANIMALE (France/Belgium/Saudi Arabia 2024) ***
Directed by Emma Benestan
In the Camargue region of the South of France, there remains an infamous, long-standing tradition of bullfighting. Local youths participate in the elegant yet dangerous challenge, practicing a modernized version of the sport that seeks not to kill the animals but rather to showcase agility and dominance. Among them is Nejma, an intrepid twenty-two-year-old with dreams of one day winning the annual competition. The only woman working on the cattle ranch, she trains tirelessly to prove herself equal among the men, both in and outside of the arena. The ranchers share a deep respect for the bulls, though when a loose bull threatens the community of riders and young men begin turning up dead, a hunt to find and kill the creature begins. Nejma fears for the bull, beginning a dark, mysterious transformation of her own. The sophomore feature of French filmmaker Emma Benestan, ANIMALE is “a brutal disorienting horror fable burning with feminine anger.
The bullfighting scenes in the rink are exciting and marvellous to watch. It must not only be dangerous for the actors but also for the camera crew to get such candid shots as well as close-ups at the bus charging at the bull experts as well as they dodging the bull. The bull carries two white tassels and if a tassel is removed, there is a huge prize money involved. But the bull can also be injured as in one scene where Thunder (the name of the bull)is hurt and has to br brought back to the pen.
The film is shot in the Southern French coastal region, the Camargue, which is where the director grew up and was raised. The course camarguaise, the form of bull running seen in the film, originates from there and is practised in many villages. It is different from what the world knows as the other type of bullfighting, known as the corrida, in which the bull is killed.
The director is female and stresses the male-oriented nature of the sport seen on the screen.
The characterization of Nejma comes with a few problems. The story obviously should’ve had the audience rooting for her, for her female stance and the love of the bulls. But as she acts crazy, the audience does not end up rooting for a crazy person, and reacts opposite to how the story should feel.
The rogue bull attacking humans and the demand of the public to shut down the shows and restaurants feels something right about Steven Spielberg’s 1975 JAWS. But the audience is on the other side of JAWS; the audience wants the shows and restaurants opened, despite the rogue bull having to be found and killed. This is one of the problems of the film - the conflicted emotions of how the audience should feel and react.
The story plays with myth, horror and reality. The transformation of a human into an animal is the type seen before in werewolf films and in CAT PEOPLE. The credibility does not always work as the film plays more in reality than in mythical mystery.
ANIMALE is available Digital/DOD August 8th.
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RUSSIANS AT WAR (Canada/France 2024) ***
Directed by Anastasia Trofimova
Russian Canadian filmmaker Anastasia Trofimova’s gripping first-person documentary takes the audience beyond the headlines to join Russian soldiers, actually mainly medics, as they place themselves in a battle for reasons that become only more obscure with each gruelling day, each confusing command, each gut-wrenching casualty. On a more personal note, the film follows a Ukrainian named Ilya, who is about to leave his family and go to war for Russia. Trofimova, though lacking permission, joins Ilya and his supply unit as they make their harrowing journey to the front line. Many soldiers fighting alongside Ilya are very young. Some believe they’re going to vanquish Ukrainian Naziism. If one wants answers to the reason for the fighting, the film provides none. Rather, the film emphasizes the futility of war. In a war, no one wins. And in the doc, all the soldiers want to go home. Unfortunately, some don’t, and others return home wounded. It is still an emotional doc, with one audience screaming during the premiere screening at the Toronto International Film Festival last year that the film is all propaganda. Whether it is or not, it is up to the individual to decide, as the director takes no sides. The film was pulled out of TIFF following the incident, but the film finally opens directly to audiences on August 12.
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SOULEYMANE’S STORY (L’HISTOIRE DE SOULEYMANE ) (France 2024) ****
Directed by Boris Lojkine
SOULEYMANE’S STORY follows Souleymane, a recent Guinean immigrant, through the streets of Paris as he prepares for his asylum application interview while working for a meal delivery service on his e-bike.
Racing through the streets of Paris, making food deliveries on his bicycle, Guinean immigrant Souleymane (Abou Sangare) is struggling to stay afloat. In two days, he has to report for an asylum application interview, where he must plead his case to an immigration officer (Nina Meurisse) who will determine his future in France. As he rides, he repeats his story. But Souleymane is not ready.
At times, the film feels like an updated modern version of Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves, as Souleymane relies 100% on his e-bike to survive. The audience winces at the point when the bike might be stolen. However, the director steers away from this cliché of the bike being stolen, instead having Souleymane encounter a bike accident. But the bike still works after a few adjustments anyway.
The film plays like Murphy's Law taking effect on the poor protagonist, Souleymane. Everything seems to be going wrong for him. His deliveries are difficult, and if the customers are not giving him a hard time (like the lady with the complaint of the crushed bag) or the restaurateurs (Souleymane is told to wait for his turn, thus missing other deliveries). He encounters an accident on his bike. His delivery account gets cancelled due to complaints. He keeps almost missing his last bus back to his lodging, while actually missing one. He is harassed by the police. He has trouble with renting his bike and setting up his delivery account. To add fuel to the fire, there is trouble back home. His mother is still ill and not improving. His girlfriend, who still loves him, is about to give up on him. The question on the audience’s mind is whether anything else can get worse? And this is one flaw of the film, as it appears that the film attempts to manipulate the audience too much to feel the trials and tribulations of poor Souleymane. The flaw is lightened with a few acts of kindness in the story. A restaurateur gives Souleymane a bonbon. It is a small but kind and effective measure. Souleymane’s girlfriend ends up being sympathetic.
The themes revolve around the exploitation of the 'sans papiers' (without papers) often by fellow Africans - one a fellow immigrant from northern Guinea who lazily coaches asylum applicants to recite false stories of political persecution at their hearings in return for payment, and another who lends Souleymane a food delivery account but then takes half of his earnings every week. The film largely avoids depictions of racism, but equally, there are few acts of kindness in the film.
The cameraman follows the actor on his e-bike as the filming takes place in and around Paris, demonstrating the urgency and desperation of Souleymane’s situation.
The cast is nothing short of excellent, as can be observed in the last 10 minutes of the film’s climax and conclusion of the film. Abou Sangaré is phenomenal as Souleymane and is
Nina Meurisse as the OFPRA agent. Camerawork and editing deserve credit for the last 10 minutes of the film.
The film opens in theatres on August 8th. The film is also the winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize and Un Certain Regard Best Actor Prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
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