MORNING LIST
Kidnapped African short films, a melancholy Japanese cartoon, a Basque political fable, a Russian look at Sovietism, a Parisian parable about convicts taking the stage, a courtly love story backwards in a student environment: a rainbow of experiences and sensations awaits you this week at the cinema.
“Atarrabi & Mikelats”: devilry in the Basque country
The film opens with an ungrateful landscape (the Basque coast populated by tourists) to move away from it and join the green nature – sacred and undoubtedly not eternal, suggests the pastoral image to us. With its menus special effects, the film transports us to a devil’s cave, like a DJ cellar.
Husband is the mother of two young boys, Atarrabi and Mikelats (Saia Hiriart and Lukas Hiriart, also brothers in life), fraternal twins resulting from a union with a mortal. Not having the maternal fiber, she decides to entrust their education to the devil – everything is shipped in a few seconds, and we will know nothing of the daily life of the children.
Having become young adults (with Pasolinian brown curls), the two brothers take opposite paths. Atarrabi leaves the den of the devil, but the latter steals his shadow, which prevents the young man from receiving the light (grace) and from being ordained a priest. Hell, Atarrabi tries to come to terms with his sad fate, but struggles to find meaning in his life. For his part, Mikelats makes a deal with the evil genius, who promises him immortality in exchange for his absolute loyalty.
Having conquered death, is Mikelats free? And is Atarrabi a prisoner of the devil, who prevents him from fulfilling his dearest wishes? Atarrabi & Mikelats little by little takes on the makings of a great political film, which a red cloak effect immediately prevents from sinking into pretension or predictable discourse. Clarisse Fabre
“Atarrabi & Mikelats”, French and Belgian film by Eugène Green. With Saia Hiriart, Lukas Hiriart, Ainara Leemans, Thierry Biscary (2 h 02).
“Dear comrades”: Stalinism in the rearview mirror
Andreï Kontchalovsky’s latest feature, Special Jury Prize at the 2020 Venice Film Festival, is one of the most beautiful recent proposals from the 84-spring veteran, with more than sixty years of career and more verbose than ever.
Dear friends dates back to 1962, a time which was also that of his beginnings alongside Andrei Tarkovsky, and evokes a sinister act of repression against a social movement that arose in a small town in the North Caucasus, long silenced but today ‘ hui known as the “Novocherkassk massacre”. State forces then opened fire on striking workers in a railway factory who were demonstrating against the fall in wages.
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