In the spirit of adventure, our resident cinephile, MR RENOIR, braves three of 2017’s most highly anticipated films showing at this year’s Leeds International Film Festival. 
I own a large film collection of over 1500 titles, and therefore watch a film most days [Check out @RenoirVulture on Twitter – Ed]. The vast majority were released before I was born in 1971, the earliest, dating back to 1915, is D W Griffith’s silent epic The Birth of a Nation. It is an important film, but cinema was to get much better over the years with the arrival of German Expressionism, French Poetic Realism, Italian Neo Realism and the many New Waves (French, British and Japanese). Even the Romanians have chipped in to establish cinema as an art form.
The reason for the brief history lesson is to make the point that it is much easier to find great films, even the life changing cinema that I seek, if you look back over a longer period of time. There is a heavy well on which to draw, particularly, if you are comfortable with both subtitles and B&W.
Whilst my monthly Sight & Sound magazine tries to tempts me with new releases, I’ll tend to wait for the small handful of Cannes winning films to be released on DVD. The majority of new releases simply disappoint me.
For LIFF2017, I took the day off work and selected three films from the festival’s Official Selection – subtitled ‘the most anticipated films of 2017’ – which just happened to be on that day. Such a tiny sample is not intended as an accurate health check on contemporary cinema, but let’s see if my low expectations can be raised…
Oh Lucy! (Atsuko Hirayanagi, 2017, US/Japan)
The first film of the day is a subtitled comedy about a 55 year old office worker in Tokyo who falls in love with her younger English teacher. This love, bordering on obsession, being one sided feels like a mid-life crisis. We see historic family emotions resurface which adds to the dark humour. Hirayanagi’s tale of transformation was originally released as a short in 2014 winning a number of awards. Unfortunately he really should have kept it short as I got bored just half an hour into this weak film.
There are some warm performances from the lead actors and ten very good minutes around Lucy’s attempted suicide, but these are the only highlights [Eek! -Ed] As a comedy there is a handful of amusing scenes, but the finished product feels like a wasted opportunity. The film starts and finishes in Japan, while most is set in America, but other than the changes in food options, you don’t feel Lucy is in either country.
Films like Lost in Translation successfully make you feel as if you are in Japan, but Oh Lucy! may as well have been filmed inside a studio. I had no affection for any of the characters or how the stories ended. The camera simply pointed at the characters and the director failed to add anything to how the story is told.
At least it proves my theory that you can still have a happy ending outside of Hollywood. It’s a relief when the credits come and the film is over. I’m delighted to leave my seat. Oh Lucy! is an instantly forgettable film which is a huge advantage. I needed a strong coffee after that!
☆ ☆ – – –
My Friend Dahmer (Marc Meyers, 2017, US)
Based on the true and, as quickly becomes apparent, haunting story of Jeffrey Dahmer, My Friend Dahmer follows Jeffrey through his teenage years as he struggles with a difficult home and school life, thanks to his parents’ separation. His fascination with dead bodies – which starts with collecting roadkill, but leads to killing his own prey – edges him closer to becoming the ‘Milwaukee Cannibal’. Our serial killer in the making is shy, awkward and struggles to fit in, but his alcoholism gives him renewed self confidence to meet friends. It is questionable whether he has friends or whether they are simply using him, something which backfires as Jeffrey becomes increasingly strange.
This film is an adaptation of John Backderf’s graphic novel of the same name, but unlike Oh Lucy! its director Marc Meyers makes the most of his opportunity. He immediately draws us into Jeffrey’s life and takes the viewers on an uncomfortable journey. The film becomes more and more disturbing which is a real compliment to the director’s talent. A scene in the local mall is superbly shot. This is a director who understands the power of the camera and how to create tension using sound.
The final scene at Jeffery’s house is as haunting as it is uncomfortable to watch. So many films on this subject would resort to continuing to make the viewer jump in their seats, but this Meyers has an imagination so does not resort to such tactics. He gets under our skin and inside our heads.
Jeffrey is a terrifying young man and the credits again come as a relief, but on this occasion to allow me to get back to my less scary life. My Friend Dahmer is a fascinating character study and an intelligent film.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ –
The Sower / le semeur (Marine Francen, 2017, Fr)
Marine Francen’s ‘seductive feature debut’ won the prestigious New Directors award at San Sebastián. Set in mid 19th century rural France, it is a film about what happens when all the men disappear from a remote village community following a coup by Napoleon III. After months of isolation for the women, necessitating an all-female harvest, a man does eventually turn up. To whom should this handsome gentleman belong to? An agreement to share him does not quite go to plan.
Reminiscent of the overrated The Beguiled, The Sower is ravishingly filmed in a boxy 4:3 format. The title of the film is from artist Jean-François Millet’s celebrated 1850 painting and the stunning landscapes are matched with the relentless beauty of every single shot.
Unfortunately, the film’s appearance papers over the cracks. What we have is a subtitled ‘wine o’clock’ Sunday night BBC drama to replace Call The Midwife, though it would have to be shown after 9pm to cater for the predictable romping, frilly knickers and bath tubs by a log fire scenes.
It is clearly a film with a Chicklit audience, but just feels lazy in following this overly familiar formula. It is far too predictable and there is no substance beyond the beautiful cinematography.
I maintain my principle of staying in my seat until the end which is no compliment as I did the same for the dreadful Independence Day. France, the greatest cinematic nation on earth, deserves to produce films better than this tripe. How it won an award I’ll never know.
☆ – – – –
I have really enjoyed my day at the festival, despite a very mixed bag of films. To buy a film is usually my way of an endorsement, but I’m afraid I won’t be purchasing any of these. To put this in perspective, to date I have only exchanged hard earned cash for one film from 2017 and that was the superb Manchester By The Sea. If I was to return to the festival tomorrow for another three films there is every possibility I would have a much better experience.
I do sometimes question whether the current century will produce even a fraction of the films produced in the last. Has it all been done before? Reassuringly there are films that challenge this doomsday view such Abbas Kiarostami’s Ten (2002). More recently films such as Winter Sleep (2014), Victoria (2015) and Carol (2016) have been the light at the end of the tunnel. It is healthy to try new things they say and even average films look better on the big screen.
Mr Renoir is the curator of a virtual underground private members cinema bringing auteurism to the masses. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter.