THE 34th PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, DAY 2

"silent souls," russia, dir. aleksei fedorchenko

"silent souls" didn't especially pique my interest when i first read my program, but there wasn't anything else playing in the early friday evening time slot that i wanted to see. and luckily, too. it's only the second film i've seen at the festival, but fedorchenko's was a surprise standout. calling an art film meditative is, generally, not much more than a reduction to vague catch-all, but i feel more than justified in describing "silent souls" as such. not only is its narrative focused on the pursuit and preservation of rites and ritual amongst a small northeastern russian community of finnish descent (a scene depicting the tying of colored strings to a bride's pubic hair by her girlfriends in preparation for her wedding night on which her new husband will undo the knots and tie the strings to an alder tree is especially moving), but its droning soundtrack -- including a chanted choral number on local herbs and "the smell of summer" -- as well as the bleakness of its colors and its long, voiceovered shots help mantain a mystically contemplative and reverential mood throughout the film. near the beginning of "silent souls," the narrator, son of a local, self-taught poet, poses a question: "why are we like this and not something else?" the film doesn't, of course, offer a straightforward answer, but it certainly reinforces the importance of asking. and huh, it was based on a novel (the buntings by denis osokin).

"good morning to the world," japan, dir. hirohara satoru

i've been too close to the diaffectatedness of contemporary japanese youth to want to see it on screen for an hour and a half, but i appreciated the opportunity to nostalgize over having gone to a high school with classrooms, uniforms and hallway gossip almost exactly like the ones in this movie. its protagonist is a sixteen year old tokyo resident looking for a realer human experience than the one offered him in his daily routine. a final shot of him staring up at the retreating camera as he chases a rising hot air balloon is aggravatingly precious and only not out of place because its out of placeness wihtin the rest of the action is the lifeblood of a film like "good morning to the world." its disjointed plot aside, the film's slow frame digital photography does well to establish a very early 21st century post-industrial mood. "good morning to the world" may not make a particularly poignant statement on its subject, but it knows it well and depicts it effectively on the screen, even if i'd had enough before i started watching. what did i expect? i'm not sure i remember, but i sure did see it anyway.