di  Anna BIELAK

The Last Time I was in a Woman I was Visiting the Statue of Liberty

The Women Cinema at The 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

For years the world-wide literature seems to minimize the amount of spellbinding women characters in our culture. Does this year’s film rewards may be quite unexpected field of women activity inside the patriarchal society? At the 44th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival turned up an absorbing set of movies declining to connotation women with intimate act of creation one selves and superior scheme of the world. By trials end errors, following attempts to understanding women’s nature were usually call into question by a trivial escape into madness or extreme introversion. Unfortunately, the movies, awarded at this year’s film festivals rather than discover novelty, are point of reference to mature form of exploitation well-known paths.

Let’s call it - insanity

Even passionately discussed Antichrist directed by Lars von Trier, showed at Karlovy Vary Film Festival in the Open Eyes section is classically filled in feminine’s solidarity with nature (mentioned at the very last by Margaret Atwood in her novel Surfacing published in 70’). So to say, the women point of view determined by passion and mode Freud’s psychosis should not be a matter of argument in Trier movie. The criticize issue is much less “the Trier like” intensification of all movie’s components. Crossing all the frontiers he entailed impossibility to perform the initial stage of psyche’s puzzles. Yet, decontrol woman from the cultural regime of behavior, bears fruit to Charlotte Gainsburg, Best Actress during last Cannes Film Festival.

The experience of solitude and extreme emotions was seen also in Mario Bernard’s movie The Other One, awarded in Venice by Volpi Cup Prize for Dominique Blanc. The connection between love and violence lead to withdrawal into schizophrenic world, impossibly to analyze. The living space around Anne-Marie was rapidly changing during her arising mental disease and put on view comparably to Robert Altman’s movie Images (1972).

Manifest the art, hide the artist

Into the prize-winner’s group of actress in Karlovy Vary entered also Paprika Steen, the Danish artist, awarded for the movie Applause by Martin Pieter Zandvliett; well known from Festen (1998) or The Idiots (1998) – both directed by Lars von Trier. As a strong candidate to Crystal Globe, the movie is a story about an actress addicted to alcohol. It brought up a problem of women, who cannot handle with roles imposed by the society. Therefore, as a mother – she is playing a part in some strange spectacle. As an actress – she is performing her secretive fears and anxious. Yet, only the iron scenario rules, protect her against unsteady gait into the future. Furthermore, the feminine escape into art world is the main issue in Martin Provost Séraphine with Yolande Moreau in the leading role, awarded by seven French Cesar Awards.

To watch over solitude

The escape into own, intimate world is also the theme of one of the most unappreciated movies – Villa Amalia directed by Benoit Jacquot with Isabelle Huppert. Actress, awarded at Karlovy Vary for the insignificant artistic contribution for the world cinema, once again after leading role in Michael Haneke’s The Piano Teacher (2001), became a talented pianist. Yet, this time – she decided to leave her past live and took a long lonely journey, which seems to be connected with second initiation into spiritual adulthood. The main issue of the movie is still the road, which introduce the identity problems and became the bridge between the end and the beginning, the background for sensitive romance with silence and solitude. Unfortunately, Jacquot’s movie was probably to quiet to compete with images using more perceptible emotions.

Give rise to womanhood

The initiation issue is taken up also by Andrea Arnold and her story Fish Tank – compared with independent Dardenne Brothers’ movies or Ken Loach’s films. The teenage Mia from British suburbs is entering the adolescence by unusual relation with her addicted to alcohol mother’s lover. The girl’s innocence and man maturity, generate extremely powerful sexual tension. Yet, the anticipated initiation brought up only a certainty that life could sometimes be filled only with soreness and disappointment.

Painful adolescence is also the subject of Valeria Gai Germanika’s film Everybody dies but me. Movie is a story about three girl friends, who during couple of days are crossing over almost every cruel experiences offered by a young life. Yet, the Russian director seems to use too much simplifications, which seethe the sense of reality.

Back and forth or escape from oneself

The dissimilar issue took the Claudia Llosa’s movie Milk of Sorrow, Golden Bear’s awarded. The storytelling about young girl’s fear of adolescence and independence is focused over the young, great actress Magaly Solier; well known after her leading role in Madeinusa (2006). The Spanish director tries to prove that only acceptance of death may lead to life affirmation. The girl’s attitude, bring to mind also reminiscence of Sebastian Silva outstanding debut The Maid – awarded by Jury during this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The black comedy about the maid, is a story about women adolescence to fulfill her life with real emotions and rejection of constant, safe routine. The willing of changes showed also one of the best films screened at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival – an Iranian movie About Elly directed by Asghar Fargadi, Silver Bear awarded in Berlinale 2008. An extraordinary story, in scraps of it we are looking for obscure truth.

However, there is not obvious answer for the question, where the truth lies? Despite of some certain truth, the pattern’s repetitions, there is no confidence that recollections will be put in order, decisions would not be called – the matter of circumstances and stories about complicated feminine psyche would not became only literary fiction. It is hard to go truth the women’s fantasies about themselves or men’s attempt to unravel their secret’s behavior. Unfortunately, they usually need to admit after Woody Allen that “the last time they were in a woman they were visiting the Statue of Liberty….”

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