FINAL FILMS & INSIGHTS FROM THE 60TH CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

“THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG” (IRAN, FRANCE, GERMANY) DIRECTOR, MOHAMMAD RASOULOF

“Never trust the obvious” resonates continuously from the supposed “guilty” to the obvious “innocent”; soaked in the restricted city, Tehran, hounded by paranoid rules, a family flounders in this positively frightening political drama, that dares to challenge viewers sensitivities until the spell-binding conclusion and the discovery of the “seed” of the sacred fig.  FOUR STARS!!!!

 

“DAHOMEY” (FRANCE, SENEGAL, BENIN)   DIRECTOR, MATI DIOP

An imaginary, fantastical reality of returned artifacts stolen (by France) from Benin from the viewpoint of lot “26”, this arbitrary decision by Diop is titillating, serene and intensely innovative. THREE & ½ STARS!!!

 

“THE BALLAD OF SUZANNE CESAIRE” (US)     DIRECTOR, MADELEINE HUNT-EHRLICH

Lusciously filmed, focusing on Suzanne Cesaire (1915-1966), born in Martinique, writer, anti-colonial, Surrealist (devotee of Andre Breton, its Founder) and feminine activist.  Unfortunately, referred to Google to “fill in the blanks”, which were copious. THREE STARS!!!

 

This was the Fest of all Fests, a feat of supreme magnitude, opening windows of wonderment to mysteries, mythologies, cultures, familiar and unfamiliar peoples; flaying prevailing prejudices, parameters, blocking edification, understanding; purification of the mind, psyche and soul, granted to all who partook in the 60th Chicago International Film Festival.

At its core, it is anchored by the prescience and brilliance of its Artistic Director Mimi Plauche, aided with equanimity, kindness and grit by Managing Director Vivian Teng.

Connective tissue streaming throughout the films, pulsating, throbbing was music; scores of recognition from the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, pop, jazz, gyrations  of the contemporary to opera; oh, the “sounds of music” that electrify the body, shouting that there “are shortcuts to happiness and dancing is one of them”; “it is the poetry of the foot” and is reflected in a myriad of films throughout the Festival.

Happiness is illusive, undefinable; contentment with oneself. For me it was 10 days of the purest form of entertainment, a genre that encompasses all artistic landscapes: art, music, history, ethnicities, civilizations, myths, lifestyles, societal mores; exiting my final film, tears welling, with keen awareness, I was happy.

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