By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS
IN the movie “La Famille Bélier,” which is one of the featured movies in the ongoing 20th French Film Festival, there’s an election campaign because the father of the main character was running against the incumbent mayor.
Filipinos, who love election campaigns, should be able to identify with the movie especially when the mayor was trying to look down on his opponent who was a deaf dairy farmer.
The mayor condescendingly asked Paula, the farmer’s 16-year old daughter who can hear and speak, if they really think anyone will vote for a deaf person for mayor. The young girl replied: “Well, they did vote for an asshole.”
That was a good one.
The movie centered on the dilemma of Paula when she was discovered by the music teacher to have the potential for a singing career which required her to go to Paris. Since she was the only hearing and speaking person in the family (her mother and brother are also deaf), she does a lot of translation for them as well as dealing with customers and suppliers.
She was torn between leaving the family in rural Normandy and going to Paris to study. It didn’t help that her parents were caught off-balance by the prospect of life without her.
The audition scene was so touching. After the movie, there were not a few moist eyes in the audience.
This is the kind of movies that make the French Film Festival a much awaited event for those who love good movies.
Credit should go to the one in charge of choosing the kind of movies to be shown during the festival. Is it Audiovisual Attaché Martin Macalintal?
Ambassador Gilles Garachon said, “French films tell everyday stories inspired by human experiences and relationships –stories that anybody can easily relate to.”
He said the movies they bring for the festival are “by some of the most revered film directors and brought to life by exceptional actors and actresses.”
As a special feature, Brillante Mendoza’s Taklub starring Nora Aunor was also shown during the opening day last Wedsday.
Taklub, which was made through the efforts of Sen. Loren Legarda and supported by the Communications Operations Office-Philippine Information Agency (PCOO-PIA), tells of how survivors of typhoon Yolanda “survive” post –tragedy challenges.
Legarda said, “You will see the creative genius of an artist mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction and climate change adaptation in a feature film. The way the story was told was not direct. There’s so much symbolism and it is very touching.”
Taklub is the kind of movie that you need a few moments to recover at the end of the film. It would not be easy to get it out of your mind.
And yes, it is something that enriches one’s soul.
Taklub received special citation from the 2015 Ecumenical Jury at the recent 68th Cannes Film Festival.
There are two or three more that I’d like to watch: Saint Laurent, a biopic of the famous French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent; “Diplomatie,” that centers on a Swiss diplomat during the WWII; and “Timbuktu,” and “Timbuktu,” a movie about the effect of foreign occupation of a country.
Participating theaters in the festival are Greenbelt and Bonifacio High Street. It ends on Tuesday, June 9.