Day 5. The Official Section of La Mostra opened the day yesterday with The Announcement (Advertisement, in its original title), film that takes us to Türkiye, at the beginning of the years 60, time of political instability in which, in fiction, a group of soldiers has organized a coup d'état. Clandestinely, A small number of them try to reach the public radio station Radio Istanbul to take it over and inform the population of the new order of things.. But these military, despite his dark intentions, They are a bit clumsy. With these wickers, the director Mahmut Fazil Coskun creates a parody that, for his way of presenting events, It reminds us of a mix of Aki Kaurismäki's films due to the way it appeals to humor based on dry and somewhat distant interpretations., seasoned with some of the work of Roy Andersson in his division of the narrative into small, almost static paintings in which silence plays a main role.
To present the film we have, on this occasion, Con la presencia de Şencan Güleryüz, one of the actors in the cast. Nothing better to reveal the keys to a shoot than, as Güleryüz recalled at a press conference, had its difficulties. “It is a somewhat dark film and the filming took place at night. We were shooting for seven weeks. We started at seven in the afternoon and finished at seven in the morning, which made this movie much harder than what we usually see”, commented. That darkness that colors each of the planes of the film (even when we are indoors) gave the film the desired tone. “It's an extremely claustrophobic movie., but the truth is that there is a direct relationship between that feeling of claustrophobia in the film and the personality of the director. The director is a slightly claustrophobic person. (laughter), a man of few words. We have tried to reflect on the screen what he wanted us to do.. “This type of acting is extremely difficult because it seems like there is always a frame within the very frame that we see in the film.”.
It is that cold and dark tone that the film manages to convey in relation to the events it narrates., which presents it as an anomaly within Turkish cinematography, and especially, as a link to that Mediterranean culture that, a priori, could represent. “This type of comedies cannot be considered Turkish.. This is a tragicomedy more typical of northern European countries., with that kind of rather cold humor, very far from what Turkish humor is”, explicaba el actor Şencan Güleryüz. However, It will be precisely that particular way of approaching comedy that has made it well received around the world by all types of audiences and, very especially, in those festivals in which he has participated. “The first time we showed it was in Venice where we had a room with more than 1.300 personas. And the truth is that the reactions we see are always the same, regardless of the country we are in. That's why we can say that this movie is not a local movie, but it has a rather global type of humor.”, dice smiling. "At the same time, there is something that makes us very happy, because I have been working on this film for almost a year and we have received a large number of awards. We could say that, in fact, “It is the Turkish film that has received the most awards throughout the year.”
Coral dye ribbon, Its greatest quality focuses on the management of the internal tempo of certain sequences marked, as we said, for the silences, that determine the rhythm, the cadence of that comedy. “This film required a lot of preparation.. Many tests were done and, by repeating, we knew what the director really wanted from us. On the other hand, We are a group of actors who have known each other for a long time and that is the reason we share a language on the screen.. In that sense, It is curious that we have received awards at festivals as a group of actors, not as independent actors, both in Türkiye and abroad. That shows that throughout this film there has been great teamwork.”
But where the controversy arises is when the events recounted in Mahmut Fazil Coskun's film are analyzed.. Is it possible to make humor with an event as delicate and sensitive as an attempted coup d'état?? “This movie is a military movie, but he doesn't have a certain ideology. What the director tries to show is not only the military part, but the personal part”, Güleryüz responded to questions from the room. “The director has tried to make an apolitical film. The film at no time positions itself either for or against the coups d'état nor does it pretend that this is comical.. The comic appearance is given by the personal portrait that is made of the characters. What the director tries to do is put the characters on the scene and let each one draw their own conclusions.. And what links this idea with the film is that we see that the people who carry out the coup d'état are not successful., and that gives it a comical look.” The very fact that this question is raised would immediately lead to a current debate, that of the limits or borders to which humor must be subjected. “I believe that this issue will depend on what the director thinks because he is the one who makes the final decision on the topics that a film will address.. And everything will depend on what you consider what is a comedy and what is humor because that is a quite personal idea.. From my point of view, Art must be independent and films must be able to be made on all possible topics.. At the same time, we see that drama and comedy are always very close, There is a very fine line that separates one from the other.. Therefore, It's like life itself. The tragicomedy demonstrates quite well what life is like. Finally, I believe that it is possible to make this type of film with any subject.”; concluded the Turkish actor.
The second screening of the day brought us closer to Portugal, country of production Herdade, first long solo work by director Tiago Guedes, an ambitious painting lasting almost three hours in which he aims to show the last forty years of the social and political life of his country. Start this tape at the beginning of the years 70 from the last century. In this context, a rich landowner, João, He tries to survive the constant pressures to which the military dictatorship subjects him to position himself in its favor.. Later, The Carnation Revolution would arrive and, with that, democracy. Our protagonist will survive all these movements and will manage to maintain his possessions and businesses.. But what seemed like a success story, little by little it will fall apart, especially on a personal level. Despite your efforts, João, a rude and intolerant man, He will gradually lose his family in a portrait that takes us back to film classics such as Gigante by George Stevens or With him came the scandal De Vincente Minnelli.
Tiago Guedes has built a fresco that is divided into two distinct parts. A first part in which, to personal events, brings together a portrait of the country's political evolution and its consequences, and a second part in which this political analysis remains in the background to take on more melodramatic overtones., focusing exclusive attention on the conflicts that affect the characters. “The main reason why this change occurs is because I wanted to talk about inheritance, not only from the inheritance of a family, but of the heritage of a country. And how that inheritance and history interferes within what happens in the family. For me the most important thing was to show how this implosion occurs, That's why we went from a very broad story to an increasingly concentrated story.", commented to the media.
Despite the particularity of the argument, the project came to the Portuguese director from the hands of its producer. “This was a very old story that the producer had, And what I did was analyze the character because I wanted to tell the story of this person within the time and how inheritance affects people and the country.. The importance of what we receive and what we give. for that, It was very useful to know how the context is transforming people and the country, how the country is transformed and how the person is transformed at the same time.” Despite having a long career in both film and theater, This was the first time that Guedes tackled directing duties alone.. “It was a natural process because the person I co-directed with started producing. At a certain moment, I decide to enter the theater, and when I return from the theater I start directing my own films. First it was a short, and now I am directing these types of films.” A tape that, as we mentioned, It is based on a very classical vision, both the staging and the conception of the plot. “The director of photography is a person I have known for a long time and when we thought about making this film I thought of him to make it.”. It is a film in which the photography is very classic because it is related to the type of films that I saw when I was little.. “This type of film is also reflected in the result we see on the screen.”, The director commented.
But if for something it seems to stand out Herdade It is because of that cyclical tone that permeates the story. a story, Jo'são, in which everything begins and ends and, at the same time, has its continuity in subsequent generations. a figure, the one in the circle, which undoubtedly raises many questions that the Portuguese director prefers not to answer. “About the concept of the circle in life, I did not want to resolve the question. In fact, It is no coincidence that the song we hear at the end of the film is titled An answer question (something like an answer-question). One of the things I tried to achieve with the film and when I work in the theater, is not giving the viewer a forced perspective of what they are seeing. When I read books I like to construct the stories myself and I always try to give this same ambiguity to the viewer.. I like when that spectator has to participate in the construction of silences, For example. Sometimes there are people who get, there is another one that doesn't, But that's my goal.", Guedes commented. “The first time we saw the movie in Toronto, One of the questions raised was why does the wife stay with the man for so long?. And this was a good question for me because I don't have the answer., but, however, I know many people would stay. It was exactly what I wanted to get.. We know that there are people who would stay in a bad relationship forever.. This is the question. Questions arise, but we solve them in different ways. I have my own answer, But I don't want to condition the response of others.".
Regarding his time at different festivals, Tiago Guedes left us this final reflection: “This whole experience is very new for me.. But the most important thing is what I can contribute to the film. We have been to Venice, in toronto, now the race for the oscars, also the selection for the Goya, etc. Everything is important for the movie. But, for me, The fundamental thing is that people go to the movie theater. I support participating in these types of festivals, But it is also important to me that people buy their tickets and go into the theaters to see my films because that way it will reach many more people.”
