October 13th 2023

Shayda

The Crime is Mine

Lie With Me

A great week for new films. The aussie film Shayda, set in a woman's shelter, is timely and stunning, Ozon's latest French dramedy is a lot of fun, while Lie With Me poignantly examines past love. 

Shayda

Dir: Noora Niasari

Length: 117 mins

Trailer: https://www.madman.com.au/shayda/

© Madman - the mother daughter bond
up against a patriarchal Iranian father

Shayda (Zar Amir Ebrahimi) and her six-year-old daughter Mona (Selina Zahednia) are living in a woman's shelter. Since coming from Iran with her husband Hossein (Osamah Sami), Shayda has run from an increasingly violent marriage, as her husband tries to restrict her every move. When the court rules that Hossein has the right to see his daughter, Shayda becomes increasingly fearful. Things come to a head at a Persian New Year's celebration. With Cate Blanchett and her husband helming the production of this film, it already comes with fine creds, and has won several awards in international film festivals. In a nutshell, it is a near flawless film, that exudes compassion, as it examines a culture which we often tend to stereotype rather than look at in individual human detail. Much of the film is in the native Persian language, Farsi, and English is used only as required, such as by the other multi-racial women living in the shelter, and by social worker Joyce (Leah Purcell), who cares for the women. It's such a timely film, what with all the protests going on in Iran. The mood of the film alternates between hope, fear and love, all beautifully augmented by the score and the style of cinematography. The cast is pitch-perfect and the performance of young Zahednia will tear your heart-strings. 

4.5 - wholeheartedly recommended 

The Crime is Mine

Dir: Francois Ozon

Length: 102 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipeDYBawfec

© a trio to be reckoned with, as they give
the men a run for their money

Madeleine (Nadia Tereszkiewicz) is a very pretty but dirt poor aspiring actress living with her best friend Pauline (Rebecca Marder) in Paris in the early 1930s. When Madeleine visits a notable film director who is found dead soon after, she decides to confess to the crime, and stand trial, defended by Pauline, still a highly inexperienced lawyer. As a result, Madeleine's career blossoms, until famed silent-era actress Odette Chaumette (Isabelle Huppert) shows up, claiming that she killed the director. Ozon has long been one of my favorite French directors, and this film shows again the versatility of the genres he is able to helm. It is a mix of comedy, courtroom drama, farce and satire, all the while showing men up to be a bunch of total dimwits, while it is the women with the upper hand, even though the conservative society around them likes to think differently. There are plenty of sly film references for movie lovers, and the issue of sexual harrasment has obvious resonance for today. The three lead women are vivacious and funny (Huppert almost over the top), while strong support in the male department comes from the likes of Dany Boon, Fabrice Luchini and Andre Dussolier. While not my first choice of film genre, I found myself highly amused by the antics and charmed by the women.

3.5 - well recommended

Lie With Me

Dir: Olivier Peyon

Length: 98 mins

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8fdDDVffPg

© Pecadillo Pictures - sublime and deeply
emotional tale of coming to terms with the
past

Famed author Stephane Belcourt (Guillaume de Tonquedec) returns to his childhood hometown, renowned for cognac and celebrating its bicentennial. Stephane is now comfortably and openly gay, but memories come flooding back to him of Thomas (Julien De Saint Jean), his first love, who was unable to be open about the relationship the boys had when they were 17. Then Stephane meets Lucas (Viktor Belmondo), who turns out to be Thomas's son, desperate to find out about the father who had abandoned him as a child. Painfully, the two men try to work out exactly who Thomas was, what had motivated him, and what he meant to them both. The word nostalgia is almost too bland and easy for the complex and deep feelings this film deals with, and also evokes in the viewer. De Saint Jean and Jeremy Gillet (as the young Stephane) conjure up a chemistry that is emblematic of first crazy love, that everyone can relate to regardless of one's sexual orientation. The yearning, lust and magic of young love are palpable, as is the emotion of the adult Stephane's journey into his past. His sad bruised face says it all, while Lucas is sublime as the son trying to make sense of the loss of a father. Stunning cinematography and an exquisite score enhance the emotion. Interestingly the French title Arrete avec tes mensonges  (stop with your lies) underscores a whole other underlying narrative thread of what it means to be a writer; what is based upon truth and what is elaborated upon through the creative process. This is a gentle, quiet and deeply human story of coming to terms with one's past and who we are in the present.

4 - highly recommended