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Begotten (1989)
Bizarre world owes no explanations
I read many interesting interpretations on the tale of death and rebirth of Gods and I enjoyed the movie under this perspective. But I think there's more to Begotten than that.
It is a nightmarish world were behaviors, habits and rituals have their own inner logic and the Gods or Humans in it (or the movie itself for that matter) are not obliged to explain to the viewers what's going on. All this repetition, the monotonous ambient music, the slow progression of events is at the service of arguing that this inner logic exists.
The very credits of the film may focus solely on the first 15 minutes (God kills himself, Mother Earth fertilizes herself, Flesh on Bone is born), but in my humble opinion the "story" begins right after that. Because the "story" for me is: this is a bizarre world, it's full of violence and incomprehensible behaviors. (this is the truth for our world anyway. I don't think any external viewer of this world would make sense out of it, nor would they find it less violent if seen in a great scale, space-wise and time-wise)
I particularly loved the direction of photography. It plays with space, perspective, contrast and forms very efficiently to create the landscapes and the rituals. In addition, the grainy effect works for the creation of a certain atmosphere.
Most important, it is a solid piece of art, it works as a whole. I can't find a dissonance, something in the film, whether it be a scene or a choice in the "art" part, that doesn't match the rest.
Moonlight (2016)
Excellent narrative and important story
Three things make this film worthy of the award and the attention it got.
1. The story. It's not (only) a story about bullying. It's not only about hard growing up. It's not that favorite Hollywood cliché of children becoming friends with adults. It's not a gay love story. It's not a story of (un)fulfillment.
Rather, it's a story of all difficulties of growing up, coping with one's sexuality, surviving in a hard neighborhood, treating children like adults. About how all this is intertwined.
Paula, Chiron's mother is a drug user and cannot bring her child up properly. A better-put couple starts taking care of him (irony, she buys from them), she feels threatened, but cannot stop the alienation, can't help but treat her son awfully. Years later, she tells her son that he is not obliged to love her, only to know she loves him.
Juan, the drug dealer and his girlfriend Teresa gain Chiron's trust day by day. The price they have to pay is the burden of telling him all the harsh truths; why do the other children in the school call him a faggot, what (or who) is responsible for his mother's situation.
Kevin seems to not lack self esteem like his childhood friend, he helps Chiron stand up to the bullies, he helps his way out of the closet. Yet his confidence collapses like a house of cards when the bullies decide to turn one victim against the other.
Chiron's got only one moment in his childhood and adolescence that things seem to make sense: the moment with Kevin. And that's where I think the whole movie makes sense. It's the link between all the past humiliation with the betrayal of the next day. It's the moment where all the harshness of Chiron's life comes to a reconciliation, only to return once the moment passes. It's the moment that becomes such a burden that it prevents Chiron from connecting to any other human being for the next 10 years.
It's exactly nothing more than a fragile moment, and I think the movie has done a great job in depicting it as such. Chiron crying « you don't even know » to the teacher concentrates the immense desperation coming from all this injustice.
He decides to serve justice all alone, since the lawful means his teacher suggests will not punish the actual bully nor does he want his emotions for Kevin get in the way.
The second moment that binds the movie altogether is Chiron crushing a chair onto the bully's head. His determination to not let the bully get away with what he's done and to not indulge in this « victim vs victim » little thing the bullies launched is shown in just a few seconds, and leads to a change of paramount importance ; Chiron changes environment, starts a new life we know very few about, starts to build himself tough (a metaphor of this are the body building scenes).
Chiron builds himself but not in the way capitalist individualism wants us to ; he is shaped by the events of his life, until he decides to have a word in this procedure in order to survive. Violence too, doesn't come from some obscure drug mafia, it is shaped by an everyday life full of difficulties and the indifference (or incapacity) of teachers/authority, then takes its turn reshaping everyday life.
And this tough guy Chiron has become in the third chapter lets us know that there are unresolved contradictions following him. In fact, this whole story ends as an unresolved contradiction ; Kevin, confident in the past, ends up saying that nothing he does is what he wants to do. Yet mentioning his child makes him genuinely happy. Laura says she loves her son, but admits she has done little to prove it. Chiron depends on no-one anymore and doesn't let people touch him, but drives all the way back to see Kevin.
Even though it seems this has some kind of redemption (too easy one could say), some kind of happy end, the contradictions lying underneath make sure that the final scene is no end at all.
2. No superficial drama. I particularly admired the direction and the acting for building the drama from within.
The film did not need a dramatic scene for Juan's death for example. His absence is enough.
Laura's abuse is shown in a mere 3-4 short scenes, one for the drugs, one for sending him sleep elsewhere, one for the money, one for the terrible realization that she hasn't shown enough love.
The two emotional scenes between Kevin and Chiron (one as adolescents, one 10 years later) are built on the tension, that this is a hard situation and we all know it. No blabbering about how hard life has been or whatever.
The teacher sees what's going on with all the bullying, yet carries on with the day's lesson. When it's too late, a teacher suggests lawful means to a nose-bleeding, crying Chiron.
Most scenes are short and contribute to the story and to the characters. The dialogues too.
Not that I don't like films with emotional outbursts, but this film has got many balls in the air (poverty, drugs, bullying, homophobia). I find amazing the way it handles all of them without resorting to « appeal to emotion » or ending up too loaded. Yet it produces a lot of emotions.
3. Music and art direction. Very interesting choice of music links from one scene to the other. Adds to the tension accumulating throughout the film.
The story behind the title is connected to the contrast of the colors ; bright, blue, green, yellow during the day, dark and warm during the night plus the color of Chiron's skin in the final scene under the moonlight.