A cinema of ideology: QCinema '14, pt. 4

Some films make us think, tend to provoke or prompt us into action. That can be said of the last set of foreign-language films that I was able to see in the still ongoing QCinema International Film Festival. 

• "Leviathan" (2014, Russia, 140 mins), dir.: Andrei Zvyagintsev

"Leviathan" is a fearless and lethal film. It doesn't hold back in taking a stride against the corruption and manipulation of the powers that be, both in the government and the bureaucracy. No wonder that the film isn't on "friendly terms" with the Russian government, despite having been awarded in this year's Cannes Film Festival and earning raves left and right from international film critics. "Leviathan" isn't so subtle in naming its targets directly: President Vladimir Putin's unsmiling portrait hangs conspicuously in the manipulative mayor's office and frames of past Russian leaders are being used as targets for an outdoor shooting. Sugarcoating and pandering are nowhere to be found in the filmmaker's lexicon. That's why I love the film. It's the bravest work that I've seen in an international film festival this year so far. But more than this, "Leviathan" is another shining example of a film wherein it feels like you're reading one good classic novel - so rich in profound insights and meanings. Layers of truth and wisdom about human faith and nature are inherent in the film that a single viewing might not be enough for us to be able to grasp them. A wellspring of ideology simply runs through the film. 

That it takes its title from the giant sea monster mentioned in the Bible's Book of Job and that the tragic life of its main character, Kolya (portrayed by Alexei Serebryakov), is patterned after that of Job aren't merely vanity fair. There are even hints of "subversion" in that while miracle, grace and hope lifted Job from his pit of despair and misfortune, such forms of absolution are nowhere in sight for Kolya. All is just lost for him. To tell honestly, I'm still digesting "Leviathan" deep within my being, days after I watched it in the above-mentioned festival. That's why I'm afraid that I couldn't write further about the film. Let me just savor for now some of the film's evocative and astounding imagery: the giant carcass of a whale while a young boy is crying in front of it;the head statue of Christ in the priest's house;a partially hidden whale swimming in the vast sea;the glass portrait of Christ inside the church as the priest delivers his sermon;a cathedral in ruins being lit up by a bonfire;pigs feeding vigorously on swill;Kolya's house being ferociously demolished;Kolya's wife, Lilya, washing her hands in the river;the above-mentioned picture frames;the "L'Eclisse"-like montage of the sea, mountains, skyline, etc by the end of the film. Ah, "Leviathan" is truly unforgettable. 

• "Two Days, One Night" (2014, Belgium, 95 mins), dir.: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne 

The Dardenne brothers' Marxist ideology was prominent in their 1999 Palme d'Or-winning film "Rosetta". Work is what constitutes man's essence as an economic being and to be unemployed, to lose one's source of income, to be in a state of inactivity is to lose one's essence, to suffer the "dark night of the modern soul". The brothers may even be "subverting" the ideology in that while Marx argues that alienation is a consequence of labor, for the filmmakers losing one's job can equally subject an individual to despair. In their latest work "Two Days, One Night", more than a decade after "Rosetta", such a school of thought becomes prominent once again. A young mother, Sandra (excellently portrayed by French actress Marion Cotillard, which marks the first time the auteur siblings are working with an A-list star), who has just recovered from a debilitating nervous breakdown, has received the unpleasant news that she's been voted by her co-factory workers to be laid off in exchange for a 1,000-euro bonus. The reason: she's considered one too many for the job and that her fragile emotional state makes her not fit to work. This naturally causes for Sandra to be in a state of panic and alarm, especially that her husband doesn't earn enough as a waiter and they have a mortgage to pay and children to feed. Thankfully, her superior gives her a chance to hold on to her dear job: that is, if she can convince majority of her fellow workers to give up their bonuses and vote in her favor in a ballot to be held by Monday, then she can go back to the factory. And this, Sandra has to do over the course of a weekend (hence, the title). 

It's a mark of profound irony that while a Marxist strain runs through the film, as we can see Sandra's foremost efforts to keep her job, her odyssey of going from one co-worker to another captured by the Dardenne brothers' hand-held camera in long takes, a Christian concept of charity (of "helping thy neighbor") is also being extolled. Sandra's encounter with her fellow workers covers a spectrum of emotions: some are simply moved to pity that they willingly forego their bonuses (no matter how much they need such) in exchange for Sandra's job;while some sincerely explain to her how much they need the bonus for one economic reason or another;while there are some that are even antagonistic towards her plea. There even comes a point that Sandra feels like a "beggar" in what she's doing, but then how can she help it when having a job is of the essence here to keep her and her family's being. Thus, Sandra's "journey" becomes likewise a moving tale. Admirable in all of these, aside of course from the profound austerity and simplicity of the brothers' filmmaking, is the totally self-effacing performance of the lead actress. 

Completely unglamorized in her unmade-up mien, pale built and slightly-bent posture, Cotillard simply becomes just a face among the crowd, immersing herself fully in the working-class milieu. And yet, the range of emotions that she utilizes just radiates off the screen: her joy when a fellow worker votes for her stay in the factory, her sadness when another does otherwise, her anger and frustration when she's on the verge of breaking down and giving up. From the face of this ordinary working individual and from the Dardenne brothers' ordinary working-class environment, a profundity arises. 

(Andrei Zvyagintsev's "Leviathan": A film rich in profound insights and meanings.)