Melisa Bakir takes a trip around the world, bringing us lowdown on this year’s Best International Independent Film nominees sponsored by Champagne Taittinger. This year’s selection of incredible international independent films hail from Belgium, South Korea, Norway and America.
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
USA 2023 Dir. Laura Poitras
Nan Goldin’s revolutionary photography and endless activism efforts are at the forefront of Laura Poitras’ documentary about the opioid epidemic in America. Part profile on Nan Goldin’s career as an influential photographer in the 80s New York queer scene, part exploration of family trauma relating to her sister’s suicide, the film is much more than just an expose on the Sackler family’s involvement in the opioid crisis. What follows is a groundbreaking documentary that uses perfectly placed slideshows by Nan Goldin next to horrifying accounts of the deadly consequences of opioid addiction. The film brilliantly combines these different elements and leaves viewers with Goldin’s images of intimacy, friendship and family in contrast to family members talking about loved ones they lost due to the opioid and AIDS epidemics. These two portrayals of family and love stand side by side in contrast to the Sackler family’s crimes. However, ultimately we are left with Goldin herself, who is still trying to understand her sister’s suicide, giving us an insight into her worldview, art and tireless activism.
Close
Belgium, France 2022 Dir. Lukas Dhont
Belgian writer/director Lukas Dhont first impressed audiences in 2018 with his BIFA-nominated debut feature Girl. The filmmaker is now back with his second film, Close, a coming-of-age tale about the intimate bond and friendship between 13-year-old Leo (Eden Dambrine) and Remi (Gustav De Waele). The film offers a subtle yet beautiful insight into the boys’ everyday lives and showcases a deep connection in their daily activities. When they get questioned by a classmate whether or not the two of them are a couple, Leo responds by saying they are just ‘close’ like brothers. After that day Léo starts pulling away from Remi, changing their relationship and friendship forever. The rest of the film delves into a devastating story that portrays the pain of heartbreak and growing up as a boy in a heteronormative world, with brutal honesty.
Decision to Leave
South Korea 2022 Dir. Park Chan-wook
Eleven feature films later, Park Chan-wook is still one of the industry’s most exciting and innovative filmmakers working today. His latest feature, Decision to Leave, is a meticulously crafted story following a detective who is investigating a murder case and ultimately falls for the victim’s wife, who happens to be the number one murder suspect. What begins as a multilayered murder mystery eventually becomes a seductive romance that evolves through small details of shared intimacy and affection. The beautifully clever cinematography introduces new and sharp ways to include modern technology, which helps elevate the story and is a feast for the eyes and mind. Between the crime mystery, romance, and the incredible performances by Tang Wei and Hae il Park, Decision to Leave is an exceptional film that proves once again that Park Chan-wook is a master of his craft.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
US 2022 Dir. Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
Six years after the success of Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert’s debut feature Swiss Army Man came the immediate hit Everything Everywhere All At Once. The sci-fi drama about a Chinese immigrant mother who works hard to keep her laundry shop and family afloat is challenged further when she enters a world of multiverses that she needs to save from the evil that intends to destroy them all. This existential film is full of twists, action-packed fight sequences and brilliant comedic moments. However, under all these things lies a simple story about how ridiculous life and human existence is and that happiness can only be found in our own little universe in the small things that make us happy with the people we love. As unlikely as it is to be in a multiverse where people have sausage fingers, it is also just as unusual to find a film that tackles nihilism, family, love, race, sexuality, and generational trauma with as much comedy, action, and depth as Everything Everywhere All At Once.
The Worst Person in the World
Norway 2021 Dir. Joachim Trier
Joachim Trier’s final film in his Oslo trilogy, co-written with his long-term writing partner Eskil Vogt, is a romantic comedy/drama that captures the millennial Zeitgeist like no other. Julie, portrayed by the incredible Renate Reinsve, is in her early 20s at the start of the film, and through small glimpses into her life, it quickly becomes apparent that she has countless ambitions and dreams, maybe too many for her own good. Trier’s film is a second kind of coming-of-age film which exists in contrast to the more common format about confident, headstrong teenagers who seem to know exactly who they want to be (e.g. 2017’s Lady Bird). Instead, this coming-of-age story shows the struggles of those ambitious teens once they grow up and realise they don’t know what they want or who they are. Julie’s love interests in the film show the different desires she seeks from her partners and how she tries to mirror elements of their personalities. Eventually, however, Julie can no longer hide behind her relationships or ever-changing career moves. Ultimately, she needs to make time and space for herself, whoever that may be and accept, through heartbreak and disappointment, that no one has figured it all out.
The 25th British Independent Film Awards took place on Sunday 4 December, hosted by Ben Bailey Smith. Head over to BIFA’s Instagram and Youtube for exclusive live red carpet moments and ceremony highlights.
