October 2017 media review part 3

FILMS, CONTINUED

UNDER THE SHADOW (2016) D- Babak Anvari
A young woman and her child live in an apartment in Tehran, in the depths of the Iran/Iraq war of the 1980s. Her husband, who is working away from the city, wants them to move, especially since the Iraqis have announced their intention to start attacking it with guided missiles. Then a missile does indeed strike their block, though fortunately without exploding. But then strange, supernatural things start happening which have nothing to do with the Sunni/Shia conflict.
           A neighbour is convinced a “Djinn” is at work in their apartment block, a kind of evil spirit which is given authenticity by being mentioned in the Koran. But our heroine builds her life on logic, not superstition, and she refuses to buy it. Until, that is, she starts seeing things that threaten to demolish her entire belief system...
           A joint British/Iranian production, this film was highly praised on its release, with its high professional standards and powerful depictions of the horror lying beneath the highly ordered veneer of Iranian society. Gripping stuff, and be warned, very scary.

LOVING VINCENT (2017) W/D- Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman
A young man is given the task of delivering one of the last letters Vincent Van Gogh wrote before his untimely death. Initially reluctant to carry out this onerous task (he’d rather get pissed on absinthe and screw around), eventually he becomes absorbed in the story of the late scribe. Did he really kill himself, was it a tragic accident or even... murder? The young man takes it upon himself to investigate further...
           Using a revolutionary animation technique involving 115 animators (mostly Polish) working on 65,000 separate images, the whole film resemble the Great one’s paintings. Consequently, this film is visually stunning. For someone like me, for whom the work of Van Gogh is very close to their hearts, some scenes are moving to the point of tears. That said, the film is ultimately disappointing. The plot has various holes, and the “acting” if that is the word, leaves something to be desired. Despite this, the images linger long in the memory.
           In conclusion, I think I have to say that if, like me, you love Vincent, you will want to see this.