The 54th Chicago International Film Festival runs from October 10th to October 23rd. All screenings are at the AMC River East theaters at 322 E. Illinois St. in downtown Chicago.
Stepan Devonin in “Core Of The World.”
The original Russian title of Core Of The World (Russia/Lithuania, 2018) is Serdtse Mira, which could also translate to ‘Heart Of The World’ or ‘Center Of The World.’ Here it refers to a remote rural farm where our protagonist, Egor (Stepan Devonin), serves as veterinarian and caretaker to a facility for dogs being trained as hunting dogs. The farm’s been run by Dmitriy (Dmitriy Podnozov) for years, along with his wife Nina and single-mom daughter Dasha – Ivan, her son, is around 8 or 9. Egor does well for himself with the family, is seriously devoted to the work and sincerely loves the menagerie of dogs, foxes, reindeer, badgers and the seldom-seen skunk in his care. One of their favorite younger dogs has been mauled by dogs he never should have gone near – the businesslike Dmitriy wants to just put it down, but Egor takes the seemingly hopeless Belka as an ardent rehab project. The farm also starts receiving occasional visits – from animal-rights activists / vandals, from their hard-drinking neighborhood sheriff steering Dmitriy into trouble, and from Egor’s aunt, bringing news of his mother’s death. We slowly settle in to the fact that Egor is doing exactly what he wants where he wants, and has no real intention of going anywhere else, returning to his past or creating relationships that might remind him of it. Is Egor disturbed, damaged somehow, or has he made his best possible life? Will he be just fine, despite his revisiting demons?
This is director Natalya Meshchaninova’s second feature – her first, The Hope Factory (Russia, 2014) appears to explore some of the same hard-wrought psychological questions as this does. There are a few dashes of dark humor here and there, but it’s an extraordinarily serious-minded film over its 2 hours – perhaps a bit too grim. But the film is beautifully shot by Evgeniy Tsvetkov, and Dasha Danilova’s editing maintains a compelling slow urgency without ever bogging down. There are a few tough scenes of rough animal treatment, but none of it is deliberately cruel. Your own views on hunting in general may disqualify this film, and that’s OK, but, like Monte Hellman’s 1974 Cockfighter, the thoughtfully-presented human elements push the darker subject matter far to the side. The film is a superb character-study short-story, and I thought it was very good. I recommend it.
“Core Of The World” will be shown on Sunday, October 14th at 7:15 pm and Monday the 15th at 8:45 pm.
Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Luisa Ranieri in “Naples In Veils.” credit: repubblica.it
Ferzan Özpetek is a prolific director of smart and entertaining mainstream-ish films; his comedies are grounded by a good sense of dramatic credibility, and his dramas are leavened with healthy but unobtrusive doses of humor. Turkish by descent, he lives in Italy and sets most of his films there. His latest, Naples In Veils (Napoli Velata) (Italy, 2017) is a splendid, sexy pastiche of Fellini and Hitchcock, with a dash of Shakespearean family intrigue and some 90s Cinemax late-night heavy romance. Adriana’s family is a well-off collection of artistic and theatrically-minded performers, patrons and promoters – Adriana herself (the always terrific Giovanna Mezzogiorno) somehow gravitated to becoming one of the Naples’ police medical examiners. At one of her Aunt Adele’s salon/performances, she encounters the younger, handsome Andrea (Alessandro Borghi) – one thing leads to another and there’s a lovely long evening at her place. They set a date for the next day, but he stands her up. Disturbingly, she discovers why on her next medical shift – Andrea has been murdered. The ongoing investigation, where she’s an obvious but unlikely suspect, reveals to the police Andrea’s pretty chequered criminal art-heisting past. The family has their fun with Adriana’s little sex-and-crime scandal, both affectionately and maliciously, and her fellow police investigators keep her apprised. But only Adriana has met Luca, Andrea’s twin brother separated at birth through adoption, who arrived a few days after the crime, and she’s keeping him for herself while she pieces together her own whole picture.
Ozpetek gives us clever visual clues that Adriana is popping down rabbit holes, entering a twilight zone or two and entering some pretty rigorous psychological terrain as her pursuit of the truth progresses – or does it, really? I really enjoyed this movie – it’s smart, genuinely mysterious, and filled with real love for Napoli and the surrounding characters thereof. But the milieu blends artfully with Ozpetek, Gianni Romoli and Valia Santella well-executed narrative conceits, and the surprises at the conclusion are unpredictable and well-earned. Ozpetek’s films don’t get great distribution over here (with, perhaps, the exception of Ozpetek and Mezzogiorno’s Facing Windows in 2003). You’ll be glad you caught these festival screenings – it’s another lovely European Grown-Up movie about Grown-Ups for Grown-Ups that somehow doesn’t get made very often here, or doesn’t do much business when the few attempts are made. Treat yourself.
“Naples In Veils will be shown on Friday, October 19th at 3:00 pm (an $8.00 matinee) and Sunday, October 21st at 8:15 pm.
Periscope In The Bathtub 