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Hit The Road
Dir. Panah Panahi / Dur. 93 mins
Strand:- Official Competition
In A Nutshell:- We follow a family on a road trip for reasons that become clear as the film unfolds…
The Good:- It’s a funny and touching film helped along by performers who all bring different energy to their roles. I’ve never been the biggest fan of a lot of child actors - it’s a fine line between cute and obnoxious after all - but Rayan Sarlak is good fun here as the noisy and slightly weird youngest child. The slow burn reveal of the reason for the family’s trip and the cost upon them as a unit works well, drawing you into their dynamic. The cinematography is incredible with a broad range of Iranian vistas throughout. Although I wasnl;t familiar with any of the music myself, the use of 70s Iranian pop music throughout almost figures as an additional member of the family on the trip and makes for moments that manage to be both funny and heart-wrenching.
The Bad:- On this one, nothing in particular springs to mind.
The Verdict:- A funny and moving road movie with some nice fantastical touches to accompany the gorgeous vistas on display.
No Q&A for this screening.
Encounter
Dir. Michael Pearce / Dur. 108 mins
Strand:- Thrill
In A Nutshell:- A father races to save his sons in what appears to be an impending invasion by microscopic alien organisms.
The Good:- It’s a tricky one to say too much about without revealing more than you should know going in but the opening sequences of the aliens arriving via meteorite and attacking people’s insides along with Riz Ahmed’s desperate race to get his sons and get them to safety do sweep you along and into the story. As seems to be the theme this year, the film featured performances by two child actors that I didn’t hate.
The Bad:- It wasn’t the film I was expecting it to be - deliberately so but that was disappointing given what I’d hoped I was going to be watching. The ending was fine but became something more pedestrian than I was hoping it would be. I also have to say that I found Riz Ahmed’s American accent to be pretty unconvincing and it was distracting me a lot of the time.
The Verdict:- This one started promisingly but turned into a more lacklustre film than I was hoping for. The premise was interesting but, for me, the execution didn't quite live up to it.
No Q&A for this screening.
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