This is one of my favorite times of the year. You have football, the leaves are turning, and one of the best cultural events Chicago has to offer – the Chicago International Film Festival. I try to go and see at least one film every year.
Chicago International Film Festival
This year marks the 55th time the festival has been held right here in Chicago. The films are screened at the AMC River East theater in the Streeterville area just east of Michigan Avenue. It runs from October 16th through 27th this year – always in mid-October. The festival brings audiences a variety of genres including documentaries, foreign language films, shorts, and cutting edge new films that have not been released to the general public yet. If you haven’t attended a film festival before, one of the cool things is that several screenings will include discussions after the screening with actors, directors and producers of the film, which makes the experience more intimate than just going to the movies. For more information, here is the website: https://www.chicagofilmfestival.com
Film Reviews
Clemency – Directed by Chinonye Chukwu – Starring Alfre Woodard and Aldis Hodge
I screened Clemency on Saturday night at the festival with a friend. Clemency is about a hardened prison warden (Alfre Woodard) who’s job is to perform lethal injections for the prison. After an issue with an execution, Woodard’s life begins to spiral and question her profession, life and moral understanding in the next execution up on the schedule (Aldis Hodge).
Originally, I was drawn to the movie in reading about the director. Chukwu is a Nigerian born woman (Igbo, like my ex-wife) who had an acclaimed movie called Alaskaland – a more autobiographical film about growing up in Alaska with her brother. Chukwu’s next project is on the Black Panther leader, Elaine Brown’s memoir, A Taste of Power. At Sundance, Clemency won the Grand Jury prize, which is the highest honor there, making Chukwu the first black woman to win this award. So, I really wanted to see this film before Chukwu becomes a household name.
The film itself is very intense. The opening scene is that first execution, which in and of itself would be enough to make any audience uncomfortable. There is a mistake in the procedure making it extremely difficult to watch, and that mistake gives all the prison staff pause in their jobs. In the talkback after the screening, Chukwu discussed first how she became involved in several Clemency cases after a notable execution. She has volunteered on several Clemency cases herself and has become an advocate against the death penalty, even moving to a death penalty state. In interviewing staff, visiting prisons, and I would guess possibly witnessing an execution, the authenticity of the scene really hit home.
Woodard’s character, Bernadine Williams, is the center of the film. I think most people have seen Woodard on screen before, but perhaps never at the very center of a film. I thought her performance was excellent, as her character arc moves from rather stoic warden to challenged and vulnerable person. Chukwu has brought together an incredibly strong cast around Woodard with Aldis Hodge (Anthony Woods, the next on death row), Richard Schiff (Woods’s attorney), Wendall Pierece (Bernadine’s husband), and Richard Gunn (the Deputy Warden). The film gives great depth to the characters, and I appreciated the focus on the marriage of a professional black couple.
Clemency makes you stare directly into the light of morality of the death penalty. Chukwu takes Bernadine on a journey that includes facing Woods’s hopes at Clemency and the disappointment of family support. The stark difference of light in the scenes in the prison versus Bernadine’s private life was a notable contrast. Plus, as the movie progresses, Bernadine transforms from cold, dark character to an enlightened, feeling woman in both actions and presentation.
I recommend seeing Clemency. It is not for the feint of heart. However, Chukwu has created a beautiful film backed by strong performances for us all to think about the humanity or lack there of in our nation’s use of capital punishment.
Clemency will be released in limited theaters December 27th and wide release in January. I would guess some Oscar noms will follow.
Les Miserables – Directed by Ladj Ly – Starring Damian Bonnard
So, one of the cool things about the Film Festival is that you can see foreign films. In this case, I got lucky. I was going to see a film on Monday, and in doing research, I was drawn to Les Miserables from the title, of course. After all, I studied French in high school, I’ve seen the musical, and in reading the description, I was very interested. This Les Miserables is a French police procedural that follows the Special Crimes Unit team of Paris in a housing project that sits on the same area Victor Hugo wrote about in Les Miserables in the 1800s. The area has not improved all that much, as the slums are now high rises still in extreme poverty leading to a variety of organized crime and hardened youth. The difference now is the people are mostly from African descent and Muslim.
Les Miserables won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival this year. So, I knew it had to be pretty good. In fact, before the screening, the volunteer told us that this film has been submitted to the Academy for Oscar consideration as the French film in the Best International Feature Film category. The director, Ladj Ly, is a Mali born actor, writer and director raised in Paris. This is Ly’s feature film debut after his short known as The Pitiful.
For our US audiences, the film is Training Day meets The Wire. Damian Bonnard plays, Stephane Ruiz or Pento (Greaser), as his first day in the SCU alongside seasoned veterans, Chris aka the Pink Pig (played by Alexis Manenti) and Gwada (Djibril Zonga) who are above the simple serve and protect mission of the police. When, the SCU has to track down a stolen lion cub to prevent certain turf war, things go sideways.
Beyond the SCU cast, the younger actors – Issa Perica (playing Issa) and Al-Hassan Ly (Buzz) steal the show. The opening scene follows Issa and his friends during a French soccer match in the streets of Paris. Issa is a troubled youth, but he has the support of his fellow Miserables, which proves essential to the storyline. Meanwhile, Buzz is a nerdy kid who has a drone used mainly to peep on Miserables teen girls, but his role in the action becomes central to the film’s plot.
Ly’s film is a tightly paced drama that will have you on the edge of your seat. I thought the realism the film portrayed of life in the projects of Paris gave it great credibility. Plus, the way he gave depth to each and every character shooting the actors’ faces so beautifully struck me. I left the film charged with adrenaline.
Les Miserables is a must see. I think that anyone who enjoys well filmed crime dramas will be immediately drawn to the film. However, Les Miserables is more than just an action film. It is a morality play that leaves the audience questioning which side of the conflict you should support and if poverty, religion and oppression will lead to violence. I would not be surprised if this movie wins the Oscar.
There is still time to catch the festival, as it ends on Sunday. Go to the website and buy your tickets today. Most feature films are $18 or you can still buy passes to see multiple films. Don’t miss out.
Wegs