Today, I had the opportunity to watch "Open Heart", which won the Queer Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival last year, online at the Sundance Film Festival. The director is Mona Fastold, who directed "Sleepwalker", and the photographer is André Chemetoff, shot on 16mm film. An interesting point is that in recent years at major film festivals, younger directors have begun to favor film shooting, and many independent films have begun to return to 35mm and 16mm film, which is a pleasant surprise.
After reading "Opening the Heart World", I found that there are many places that can be extended and discussed. Perhaps the most intuitive is photography. Although the story takes place in upstate New York in the 19th century, the actual shooting was completed in Bucharest, Romania. The freezing background and 16mm film fit together perfectly, making the film grain on the screen (Film Grain) , the snowstorm in the background is so beautiful and pleasing to the eye. The crew also controlled the light just right, so that the images on the screen were so beautiful.
From the perspective of the script, the film "Open Heart World" is adapted from the short story "Open Heart World" of the same name by American writer Jim Shepard (included in the short story collection "Open Heart World"), and he himself participated in the adaptation of the film. . On this basis, "Open Heart World" has a strong textuality. Almost the entire film is driven by the narration of the diary written by the protagonist Abigail to promote the development of time and plot. The overall effect is still good, with strong textuality and The story and the background of the story come together just right. Jim Shepard's short stories like to carry history and the unfortunate events that happened in history - such as the disease diphtheria mentioned many times in this film, which broke out in Europe and the United States in the late 19th century.
In terms of structure, the protagonist's diary narration is used to connect the time points. In my opinion, the overall concept does not focus on the love between women, but focuses on depicting the time background (the end of the 19th century), women are affected by marriage, Family, husband, and social oppression, as well as moral pressure. In fact, throughout the whole film, you can find many details and foreshadowings "buried" by the director: for example, when Abigail and Tully had their first intimate scene, a small movement at the door can make Abigail scare a lot. Jumping--because she was afraid her husband had come home; in the woods, a distant sound startled them both. These buried details all reflect that at the end of the 19th century, women were deeply constrained by their husbands (male power) and had difficulty choosing to live the life they really aspired to.
In fact, many excellent lesbian-themed films have appeared in recent years, and many of them have also shined at the three major film festivals: "Carol", "Portrait of a Burning Woman", "Ammonite" and so on. What impresses me about "Open Heart World" is not how it depicts the spark of love between two people in the cold and desolate plain, but how the creator allows the characters in the 19th century to "personally" ask feminist questions. How can people support each other in such a thin gap to endure an unhappy but irreversible marriage.
Of course, "Open Heart World" is not a perfect film. If the slow rhythm in the second half is not a disadvantage, then the emotional line between the protagonists Abigail and Tully can be further depicted and rendered. In addition to the oppression of marriage, it is also good to highlight the emotional line a little bit. choose. The two leading ladies, Kathryn Waterston and Vanessa Kirby, performed very well, especially Kathryn Waterston (because of the heavier role), Vanessa Kirby in last year's The Venice Film Festival won the Best Actress award for another film, Fragments of a Woman. Director Mona Fastold is only 35 years old this year, and the future is promising.
If you're looking forward to seeing a female film shot on film, Open Heart is a great choice!
02/02/21
Written in Chicago
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