ONE WORLD
CLOSER TO THE EDGE:
OUR FAVOURITE INTERNATIONAL MOVIES World cinema is a playground of diverse and exciting cinematic cultures that, regrettably, many never choose to experience. From Bergman to Bong, the landscape of films made outside of the Hollywood sphere can open your eyes to a range of fresh perspectives. So we at The Edge thought it appropriate to choose some of our favourite international flicks. Here’s what we came up with…
Persona (1966), dir. Ingmar Bergman Described as the ‘Mount Everest of Cinematic Analysis’ by many, Ingmar Bergman’s Persona is an enigmatic Swedish psychological drama about stage actress Elisabet (Liv Ullmann), who suddenly stops speaking and retreats to a seaside cottage with young nurse Alma (Bibi Andersson) in order to recover. The abstract opening sees a projector bursting into life, showing disconnected images such as an upsidedown, black-and-white cartoon and a man being chased into his bed by supernatural forces, before cutting to a boy waking up in a morgue and seeing a blurry image of two women’s faces. If that wasn’t weird enough, the film literally breaks down halfway through before snapping back into focus like it never happened. During a brief 84-minute runtime, Persona explores themes of duality and identity (as the title suggests) through its complex duel between the two central characters. Bergman never shows all his cards, which can make for a frustrating watch if you want easy answers. However, the film’s
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deliberate ambiguity is greatly rewarding if you allow it to be. This is one that demands multiple rewatches.
THEO SMITH
Dark Habits/Entre tinieblas (1983), dir. Pedro Almodóvar
One of the early films from the celebrated Spanish director, Dark Habits has Pedro Almodóvar written all over it. A drug-addicted Mother Superior of a dissolving convent, nuns writing erotica, a tiger living in the courtyard: these are just a few of the provocative subversions so typical of Almodóvar’s unique thematic interests. Released at the height of ‘La Movida Madrileña’, the counter-culture movement that took place in post-Franco Madrid, Dark Habits is an altogether surreal and confusing experience that needs to be seen to be believed. The film follows Yolanda, a cabaret singer on the run after her boyfriend’s overdose, taking refuge at the convent. The co-dependency that grows between Yolanda and the Mother Superior, to whom she confides, is a fascinating dynamic. We are left in the dark about how to interpret their relationship, which shows signs of an unhealthy parasocial connection between an entertainer and their crazed fan. As the nuns attempt to keep the convent alive through several unusual means, Almodóvar brings alive the saying ‘you never know what’s happening behind closed doors’. Intrigue and provocation lies within every scene.
ELIZABETH SORRELL
Image courtesy of AB Svensk Filmindustri
