And we’re off! It might well be from home but it’s still the film festival. The first of a double bill to kick off the opening night and a test of the new set up. Let’s dive in.
Stray
Dir. Elizabeth Lo / Dur. 72 mins
Strand: Journey
In A Nutshell:- We follow the day to day travels of Zeytin, a stray dog on the streets of Istanbul and discover by proxy a bit more about the humans who populate those streets too.
The Good:- One of my favourite documentaries of recent years is Kedi, a film about the lives of stray cats in Istanbul, so I was interested to see this as a counterpoint to that film. First up, it looks great. The cinematography is eye-catching and the pace at which it unfolds allows you to get a feel for the animals, the people and the city itself. Most of the action is shot at dog eye-level, giving the film a sense of what it would be like to wander the streets as a stray. The film eschews any narration, opting instead to let the wanderings of the dogs, mainly Zeytin and later Kartal, drive the story forward. There is a human element as Zeytin is unofficially adopted by a group of homeless Syrian teenagers who become the other driver for the story. The film does a good job of evoking an emotional response at points with something a simple as a sustained shot of a tired and sickly looking puppy’s face.
The Bad:- There is a certain staginess to some of the sequences involving people, most notably a brief scene showing a couple having an unconvincing argument. It may be being overly harsh but it feels at times that certain sequences have been either set up or nudged in order to drive some sort of narrative for the film. For me, the least convincing part involved the teenagers planning otu and committing a theft. I realise that all documentary filmmaking is ultimately artificial but something about some sequences didn't ring true.
The Verdict:- A solid start to the fest with a beautiful looking (if very occasionally unconvincing) look at the life of strays (dogs and humans) on the streets of Istanbul. We’re definitely up and running.
The Venue/TechTalk:- So last year, you got a bit of commentary from me on the venue and any intros or Q&As. Obviously, that’s a non-starter this year as I am sat at home so the venue is very much to my own specifications. I’m trying to treat it as if I’m at the cinema - watch through from start to finish with no pausing and putting my phone on the other side of the room to avoid the temptation to look at it. I did have some trouble getting this one to play initially and, when it did play, I had some buffering issues (to the extent that I had to completely refresh and skim through at one point to get back to where I’d been) but fortunately this was all working in time for film number two. More on which next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment