No. 106 (2022) STARS AT NOON Dec. 22nd.

 

Film No. 106 (2022)  December  22nd.  4.10 PM   Cinema 8.  LUNA,  Leederville.

 

"I'm here on a charitable cause". (Daniel answers Trish's question about why he's in Nicaragua). 

Winner : Grand Prize of the Festival (Claire Denis); Cannes Film Festival 2022.

Classically arthouse in scene set-ups and mood, STARS AT NOON is at times mesmerising but generally laboured. Any film with a 138 minute run time needs to bring a bit more to the big screen than a cast of two and a mildly confusing storyline. Claire Denis (BOTH SIDES OF THE BLADE, LET THE SUN SHINE IN) will be remembered for better films.

But there is a lot to admire about the atmosphere Denis creates here. The star of NOON is Northern South America and the sense of place. An understanding of what it is like to be vulnerable in a hot, humid, corrupt country. I've never been to this region, I'm unlikely to ever visit, but any mention of this country from now on, and my mind is sure to go to the atmosphere that surrounded Trish (Margaret Qualley) and Daniel (Joe Alwyn) during the stressful days that formed the story told in this film.

Qualley (ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD) is particularly alluring here. She is our slightly erratic vehicle for trying to unpick STARS AT NOON. There is much to unpick. You won't solve all the puzzle that is laid out here. Trish says she is a journalist trapped in Nicaragua because of her profession. We are never convinced of that. Her meeting with Daniel, "an oil company representative" while laced with tension, (as two loners find the skin of one another irresistible) is infused with lies. But both have a common goal. They need to escape the country but have no resources to do so, except each other.

It's a tawdry tale, that has divided audiences. Too slow and needs another cut, say many, but mostly film lovers have enjoyed the challenge. Mainly because of STARS atmospheric intrigue. Denis, once again holds her audience in her hot, clammy hands, not allowing us to leave the cinema with a nicely packaged ending. No way!  9GUMS.