2024-07-11 14:00:14
He is more handsome than Oscar, said Daniel Brühl about the statuette he received from the president of the Karlovy Vary festival Jiří Bartoška. Similar statements from the mouths of world stars can be mere politeness. But the words about how the award helped the German actor overcome a midlife crisis sounded credible. This year, too, it was confirmed that the 58th year of the festival, which is ending, has a specific charge for many foreign celebrities.
All Friday, cinema-goers were accompanied by an atmospheric jingle in which, among others, Geoffrey Rush graced the red carpet leading to the Grand Hall of the Thermal Hotel, the largest cinema hall in the country. The Oscar-winning actor, who has come to the festival for the second time since 2022, is one example of how the local relaxed atmosphere has a positive effect on guests from abroad.
The Karlovy Vary festival belongs to the so-called category A, i.e. among about fifteen events of the greatest prestige, where – in contrast to smaller shows – films presented in world or international premieres compete. It doesn’t have the glitz of events like Cannes or Venice, but it has a much more relaxed atmosphere than Cannes, where practically only industry professionals and journalists get to see films. And for a few locals, peripheral cinemas play some selected films.
The annual laments about how difficult it is to get to films with regular audience accreditation certainly point to a certain insufficiency of the capacity of Karlovy Vary theaters. The festival does not have the same possibilities as other large world shows such as Rotterdam or Berlinale, which use the possibilities of the metropolis. Even so, it is necessary to remember that it is a large international event, which is also popular due to its accessibility.
After a period when there was criticism that Karlovy Vary would only reach the stars after their zenith or with some kind of setback in the form of various scandals, they are once again managing to invite relevant creators such as Viggo Mortensen or Steven Soderbergh.
In the main competition again this year, it was clear that, compared to the hits brought in from Cannes, Berlin, Venice or the American Sundance, the dramaturgs have limited room for maneuver. After all, everyone wants to compete and win in Cannes.
The film Na kordy tells the story of the relationship between two brothers and the illusions a person has about those closest to them. | Photo: Pilot Film
However, the people of Karlovy Vary do not necessarily take what is left. For example, there are rumors about one of the most successful competition films, Na kordy, that they wanted to have it in the competition in Venice in September, but the creators preferred Vary.
Other prominent titles in the competition this year included the Norwegian relationship drama Up to the ages, a detailed, well-acted, albeit sometimes very talky, psychological study of a marriage. And German-French Xoftex surprised with its originality, telling about refugees in a Greek camp using elements of fantasy or zombie horror.
In addition to the Karlovy Vary competitions, they allow you to get an overview of what resonated on the festival scene in the past year. And while films arriving with the reputation of big blockbusters – such as the French Substance – in the end, despite a strong concept or distinctive aesthetics, were rather disappointing, the biggest surprises were small, seemingly inconspicuous projects.
French coming-of-age drama You cow! takes place in the countryside, where slowly more tractors than cars pass on the road. A barely 20-year-old young man hangs around here with his friends on mopeds, drinks beer, seduces girls and fights with the sons of other farmers who raise cows here and produce the famous Comté cheese.
When the hero’s father dies tragically, the cycle of life suddenly changes significantly. The orphaned protagonist has to juggle parties and everything else in order to manage to take his sister to school – ideally so that she doesn’t go to school in her pyjamas, which doesn’t always work out. And he also has to make sure that both siblings have something to live on. With the artistry of his own, he decides to beat other experienced farmers precisely in the production of local mature cheese.
The hero of the movie You cow! he has to support not only himself but also his little sister. | Photo: Artcam
The directorial debut of Louise Courvoisier benefits from the fact that the author herself comes from a similar agricultural background. It introduces the audience to an authentic environment where traditions survive that the new generation is no longer interested in. At the same time, it is not an old-fashioned probe, but an almost spontaneous film in which the initially rather unsympathetic hero comes to life before our eyes as he tries to fight his way through life. And he can’t take napkins – for example, he doesn’t hesitate to repeatedly “borrow” milk from his neighbors without them knowing about it.
Image You cow! is not some kind of heavy social immersion on the fringes of society, it is sometimes gloomy, but at other times even joyful title drawing on the fact that the heroes, thanks to their age, can act carefree in almost any circumstances.
The Iranian film My Favorite Cake offers a similarly small but fascinating trip into the lives of two people. It tells the story of a retired woman who no longer has anything else to do in life than to get together with her peers once in a while, play cards and talk about the list of diseases that bother them.
But then something changes. The heroine goes to the city with the aim of doing something with her loneliness. In the canteen for the elderly, he encounters a sympathetic taxi driver, reminiscent of Karel Šíp with his mustache and occasional casual smiles. He decides to find out where his station is and get a ride home. And not only that.
The plot may sound like a dozen, but the creators Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha continue the best traditions of Iranian cinema, where for decades there has been a special ability to create something magical out of the most mundane situations, such as a car ride or the protagonists’ stay in the cramped quarters of an apartment.
The film My Favorite Cake is described by the festival organizers as a “blackish” romantic comedy about love that blooms at any age and under any regime. | Video: Totem Films
My Favorite Cake is a late-life romance, a tender and sweet, if at heart tragic, film that captivates the audience with acting performances, a careful script, a few moments of genuine, if restrained, comedy and a relaxed direction that, of course, worthy of the Iranian masters, makes use of the smallest details such as sipping wine or fixing the light and turns them into unforgettable situations.
Similar, at the core, ordinary narratives have recently been resonating at world festivals and could be an inspiration for domestic filmmakers as well. They remind us that sometimes it is enough to sit the heroes at the table to make it a work of global parameters.