Film No. 31 (2015) Partisan 16th May.

Film No. 31 (2015) May 16th.  10.45 AM LUNA Leederville. 

"It's important to cherish the things you love while you have them, protect them". (Gregori (Vincent Cassel) impressing upon Alexander another of his many philosophical notions).

 

Partisan

Remember the name Ariel Kleiman. This young man has a grasp of a type of film making which has a unique quality. Partisan is his first feature film. At the preview I attended we were treated to a viewing of his most recent short film Deeper Than Yesterday (Sundance Jury winner for short film). This 7 minute film gripped me from the first frame and held me in the same way Partisan did. 

In Partisan, Kleiman continues with the bleak but thoughtful ideas he has pursued in his short films. So far his films centre on one or two characters who have a strong sense of themselves. We meet Gregori (Vincent Cassel) as he gives young, desperate mothers hope in some form of post European apocalyptic city. In this case it's Susanna (Florence Mezzara) immediately after the birth of Alexander (later played by Jeremy Chabriel). Gregori takes them into his seemingly self sufficient world. A world he has meticulously created.

We skip forward 10 years to get to know the angelic Alexander who has learnt the ways of life in this safe but unnerving commune. I say unnerving because the mothers who abide in every way with Gregori's commands never seem totally relaxed in doing so. Gradually Kleinman expertly reveals the underbelly of the world they and their children live in. It is in Alexander however that we invest most of our emotional currency. We watch him come of age when a new inductee, a boy of his own age, arrives and rebels against the only world Alexander knows.

I've said too much already. I'm rejoicing in the fact a new young film maker has arrived who, like Gregori, has a clear view about what he aims to achieve. Every shot has a purpose and he captures his actors in such a way that we are riveted to their every glance, reaction and movement. I can't wait for his next effort. At age 30, his future in a fickle business looks bright. 10GUMS