Whilst I’ve only been able to attend two screenings so far - In Our Name & Les mains en l'air [Hands Up] - they have both been fine pieces even if the former was perhaps better suited to television given its subject and scale. However, it is possible my expectations have been severely lowered after being subjected to the latest Julia Roberts vehicle, Eat Pray Love which easily rivals The Last Airbender for the title of Most Reprehensible Film of 2010.
So, my festival began with Brian Welsh's In Our Name, a British drama concerning a wife and mother recently returned from Iraq who, confronted with civilian life, begins to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. This slow descent into crippling mania leads to being coerced into a horrifically violent act, her increasingly erratic behaviour putting her and her family's life at risk.
Despite the pertinence of its subject matter and some fine performances, In Our Name feels like it belongs on television where it would undoubtedly get the audience it deserves. It highlights the severe negligence of British soldiers returning from hellish conflicts and brushes on the racism the War On Terrorism has generated in English towns. Before the film’s end credits roll a dedication reads: “To the thousands of servicemen and women incarcerated after attempting to return to civilian life”. It’s a message that demands to be heard beyond the limited release that the film would otherwise inevitably be granted and should serve as a bracing wake up call to complacent politicians who are happy to send men and women into war but are less concerned with their well-being when they return.
Les mains en l’air [Hands Up] is a charming film about 10 year old Milana, a Chechnyan immigrant illegally living in France who, when threatened with deportation, hatches a plan to run away with her gang of friends, inadvertently sparking a national debate across France regarding the wisdom of President Sarkozy and his administration's immigration policy.
Apart from brilliantly capturing the essence and frivolity of childhood, Hands Up is also a moving piece about companionship, early romantic love and the often painful effects of memory. Most impressively, it manages to tackle the political and humanitarian quagmire of immgration whilst wearing its Left leaning principles on its sleeve without becoming a partisan propoganda piece. Directed by Romain Goupil - a one-time assistant director to Jean-Luc Godard and Chantal Akerman - his background as both a filmmaker and a political activist balance nicely to produce an enchanting narrative and a powerful message that in the wake of the removal of "the jungle" could not have arrived at a better time.
