Since Feeling is First

The difference between films made in the United States and those made in Europe is probably as deep as the historical differences between the so called Old and New worlds. American films will probably never shake themselves completely of the view that this is a land where anything is possible and achievable; one that immigrants have come to for years in search of a fresh start, a break from oppression by class, religious and political structures, and one marked (and, quite frankly, somewhat marred) by the prominent “pursuit of happiness” which Americans take as a mandate.

So no matter how “dark” an American movie is in terms of subject matter, or how much it tries to be “realistic”, there is always the proclivity to the “happy ending” that has characterized Hollywood films for decades; the uplifting message, the triumph of good over evil, or something of the sort that basically signifies a break with reality. Movies are a form of escapism from what life’s really all about. In Europe, they are a reflection on life.

Mind you, I am simply stating an observation, not choosing one type of film over another, though I admit to being influenced by the country I live in much more than I wish I was. But I count among my favorite directors Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke, the Italian masters Visconti, de Sica, German directors Murnau, Herzog… the list is long and wonderful! And all of this is but a preamble to my writing about two recent European films that I add to my long list of favorites: Jagten (The Hunt) by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, and The Broken Circle Breakdown by Belgium director Felix van Groeningen. Two remarkable and poignant films which I highly recommend.

La Grande Belleza

Both films were nominated for Academy Awards this year under the Best Foreign Film category. Not surprisingly, the Italian film La Grande Belleza (The Great Beauty) directed by Paolo Sorrentino won over both, although it is far from the superior one of the three. The members of the Academy, quite an elite by any standards, probably related to the plight of Jep Gambardella, the protagonist of La Grande Belleza, a writer at the center of Rome's decadent upper class, one who has traded in his art as a writer for the seductive yet banal life of the rich and pseudo artists. It’s not a bad movie and Felliniesque to the point of including midgets and wild masquerades, but it is not a film deserving of the award, not when compared to the other two.

Jagten

The Hunt is a movie about a school teacher in a small town, an everyday person in a town like millions of others, whose life is turned inside out by a rather innocent lie. But it’s really about relationships, about friendship, trust, loyalty and, ultimately, forgiveness. The film stars an actor I love to see in movies, Mads Mikkelsen. Mikkelsen, who is a tremendously well-known star in Denmark for his mastery as an actor for such movies as A Royal Affair, After the Wedding or The Pusher, is probably best known in the United States as James Bond’s rival Le Chiffre in Casino Royale or, more recently, as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in the TV series by the first name. Mads speaks with his eyes in this movie, and what pain and betrayal he tells with his gaze!  Very deservedly, Mikkelsen won the Cannes Film Festival Best Actor award for this movie.

Mads Mikkelsen in The Hunt

Thomas Vinterberg, The Hunt’s director, is co-founder, with Lars von Trier, of the Dogma movement in cinema, which strove for a minimalist aesthetic to filmmaking. Every shot in this film is well thought out, but to ensure that we become engulfed in the story and are not paying attention to the camera, the music or the set design (like in The Great Beauty). It is a beautiful narrative style, plain and simple, but deep and moving. As the director has stated: “I wanted this film to be as naked and truthful as possible, because this was a film about truth and lies.” This is a movie that makes you reflect about how quick we are to judge, how close to the surface darkness lies in human beings, waiting to make aggressors out of friends and neighbors. This is basically a movie about a modern day witch hunt.

Johan Heldenbergh and Veerle Baetens in The Broken Circle Breakdown

The Broken Circle Breakdown is a love story, a beautiful love story wrapped in misery. But there really isn’t an ounce of exaggeration or melodrama in this movie. It’s hard to watch simply because it is so real. The lovers in this film are Didier, a bluegrass musician in love with this American musical genre and the hopeful pragmatism it represents to him, and Elise, a tattoo artist whose life and past romances are impressed into her skin and heart. Their passionate love is encircled by the wonderful score of bluegrass music that plays throughout the film. We are carried away by both the music and their passion.

Everything about the film feels real. Johan Heldenbergh, who plays Didier, is the author of the play on which the movie is based, and Veerle Baetens, who plays Elise, won Best Actress in the European Film awards. They are both so true in their love and despair. The band of musicians, which are Didier and Elise’s friends, are almost like the chorus in Greek tragedies, a loving chorus of Cowboys.

 These are not flawless human beings and when life hits them, like it does everyone at one point or another, we are witness to their desperation and their search for understanding. Because life and feelings are not linear, the narrative in this film isn’t either. The movie moves back and forth in time and touches on different themes. It is not just the complexity of relationships, but also the conflict between faith and pragmatic realism. How we are able to cope or not with the seemingly insurmountable trials we are given.

Art isn’t always about enjoyment. I think this is the bottom line. The artist shares his or her feelings, experiences and thoughts and they aren’t always feelings of happiness and contentment. But then, neither is life. In America we are steeped in a culture that holds happiness as the ultimate prize in this race called life, undercutting so many other feelings in the process. We wrongly –as the experts in the field are telling us- make our children aspire to constant happiness and enjoyment, only to have them later be unable to cope with the disillusions and challenges that come with life and living.  These films make us look into ourselves, they haunt us with their realism, but ultimately they make us feel deeply. And that’s what life is all about.