Around The World in 7 Hours – Part 3
Italy, Korea and Mexico too, we’re back with a few more foreign films for you… Poetics and lyrical ability have never been a strong suit for me (Martin), but luckily, none of us are here for that. We gather here today instead to prattle on about film, something that Clara and I are quite comfortable doing.
Over the last two entries, we’ve jotted our thoughts on a few foreign gems from our cinematic odyssey and, whilst we were happy with our selection, there were a number of films that we didn’t get round to but couldn’t finish our journey without. As a fan of director’s cuts, be it Blade Runner, Heat, or, most recently, the Snyder Cut (Clara vehemently disagrees with me on this last one), it seems fitting that we circle back round to throw in a few very honourable mentions that didn’t quite make our theatrical cut. So, without further ado, here is our final section.
China – Hero
In many ways, Hero is what Snyder’s 300 could have been, if he’d thrown in a bit more colour, perspective and clothing. Hero follows Jet Li’s ‘Nameless’, an assassin of assassins who has come to court to converse with the King. Laying down the arms belonging to the assassins’ whose lives he has claimed, he regales the King with tales of how he came to slay his enemies. However, all is not as it seems…
With a script of a little over three thousand words, the vast majority of the storytelling in Hero comes from its visuals, and what vibrant visuals they are. There is scarcely a shot in the film that doesn’t utilise some form of movement. The way in which Zhang Yimou uses water and wind gives the film an ethereal like quality, the likes of which work hand in hand with its Wuxia genre.
Wuxia (meaning ‘martial heroes’) films tend to defy gravity and most other laws of physics, resulting in the fight scenes, the lake scene in particular, resembling something closer to dance, rather than the combat seen in martial arts films such as Fists of Fury or the Rush Hour trilogy. I think the closest the West has come to producing a wuxia style film is that of The Matrix trilogy, though these come with a knee-high level of dystopian grit that the likes of Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon dare not sully themselves with. Wuxia films are usually steeped in ancient lore and fantasy and, as such, find their settings in times long since passed.
As a final note, Mr Blood-Bags himself (Quentin Tarantino) pushed for Miramax to release the film to American audiences and, to the tune of 53 million dollars, I’m sure they’re glad they took his advice. Between its romanticised combat, composition and its use of colourful thematic hues concerning the fight for peace, this film is nothing short of a visual masterpiece. If film is art, Hero is a painting.
Speaking of paintings, the final stretch of our journey has been handpicked by Clara and is dominated by stories brought to life through animation.
France – I Lost My Body (J'ai Perdu Mon Corps)
This film is a quick layover to the main and final destination, but one I thought worth mentioning as it was also unique and surprisingly poignant in its storytelling. As apparently all my favourite films are, this film is also animated but, once again, this seems to only add to the immersion of the journey; that is the journey of a hand trying to get across town and back to its body, belonging to Moroccan French immigrant, Naoufel.
I am quite squeamish and easily startled so, whilst I Lost My Body is not intended to be an action film, nor a horror, I had plenty of moments where my stomach tensed and I held my breath whilst I watched a dismembered hand climb buildings, dig itself out of compacted waste and fight back rats with fire. I was heavily invested in its journey and hopeful for a happy ending.
It was easy to forget between Naufel’s passing comments on the matter in one scene and the dangers the hands tries to dodge that, at its core, I Lost My Body is a debate between free will versus determinism, and the hand’s journey is an experiment on which one will prevail.
My final comment on this film is that whilst I don’t think it was particularly obvious nor necessarily the main take away from the film, I found that the story flipped the westernised narrative of European cities being the ideal and African countries being the opposite to that. Naoufel’s memories of his childhood in Morrocco are warm and depict images of a culturally rich experience, as he is seen living comfortably with his parents, who often attend lavish events such as cello concerts. Present day Paris however, is not the dreamland it is typically depicted to be and Naoufel struggles as a Pizza delivery boy, despite his obvious intelligence and worldly aspirations from his youth.
Apart from Naoufel being a little creepy in his well intentions (watch the film to find out what I mean), the film is beautiful in its storytelling and a thoroughly enjoyable watch. The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2019 Oscars and received heavy praise at the Cannes Film Festival, being the first animated film ever to win the Nespresso Grand Prize.
As it is on Netflix, the film, which is originally in French, can be watched in multiple languages. Also originally written in French is that of our last film, and one that is very far from least…
Iran – Persepolis
Persepolis holds a special place in my heart. The film is based off of Franco Iranian Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical book, which follows Marji and her coming-of-age story against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution. The film is also illustrated in animated cartoon style and is 99% of the time in black and white, following the comic style of the original book.
I stand by firmly in animation’s capacity to capture feelings just as well, if not in some cases better than real life actors and CGI can. The simplicity of the characters, colour scheme and scenes, make the message behind the image all the more impactful when depicting everything from the realities of war to Marji’s imagination.
Using comic style artistry felt like an apt way of depicting such dark events in a child-like manner. Martin noted that, if the film were a live action, it would necessitate an older age rating, but instead the film is a 12A. The art style doesn’t for a moment compromise the story and instead makes these difficult topics more accessible. In doing so, it sparks curiosity for us as viewers into Iranian history and international politics, not least Britain’s “involvement” and lasting impact in the region.
This feeling certainly ran true for me too and reminded me of when my teacher was giving me feedback on my UCAS Personal Statement. She asked me what inspired me to choose Politics for University, and I remember answering ‘art’, to which she sternly responded, “you should definitely not write that.” I silently resented this because it was true, and it was the film Persepolis that came to mind when I thought of my answer.
I was eleven when I first watched Persepolis and it’s the kind of film I feel like I’ve aged with, with Marji even, and every year I feel like I understand the whole story more. Whilst the film addresses experiences I gratefully have no comparison to (I have never had to flee war and I’ve never had to go to the black market to buy a Bee-Gee’s CD if I wanted one), it was hard for me, and Martin too, not to relate to Marji.
Whilst the film covers dark topics - on war, death, religion, oppression and depression - it is just as much the story of a girl trying to understand herself and her place in the world – something we can all relate to. Marji’s self-awareness and inner conflict makes for topics on class, culture and religion personable and accessible. Whilst Marji herself comes from a comfortable (if not for the war) middle-class family with a live-in maid, and is considered rebellious and spirited in comparison to her Iranian peers, she often encounters friction against her ‘enlightened’ liberal western peers and their ‘poser’ ideals.
Her voices of consciousness and learning - God, Marx and her Grandma, had me equally in tears as much as laughter as it reminded me of my own relationships. Having been raised Catholic, I remember my own one-sided conversations with the big-bearded man who lived in the sky and I remember listening closely when my own Nonna taught me lessons on ‘right from wrong’. Whilst most films naturally fall into one genre or another, this story manages to capture many moods and themes all in one.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, I love this film and I’m so glad Martin did too. It has some brilliant scenes, like when God and Marx compare facial hair, accompanied with some poster worthy lines like “love is a petty bourgeois emotion” after a bad break up. I could go on -
And on.
Out of the 8 films that we have covered, we’ve agreed this film is the best one and, if much of the point of travelling isn’t to quite literally expand your horizons, to experience joy (maybe even a little cry) and to leave wanting to learn more about a country’s people, history and culture, then I think we’ve had a very satisfying ‘trip’ to Iran (and France and Vienna all in one). We couldn’t recommend it enough.
Epilogue
As borders and travel corridors begin to open up in real life, our journey around the world comes to an end. However, if you’ve taken the time to read this three-part series, we would welcome any suggestions on what films from around the world or from your home country you would recommend to us. We will welcome them gladly and plan our next trip from the comfort of our sofa accordingly.
Written by Clara Martinelli and Martin O'Malley
Clara Martinelli
Hi, I’m Clara. I’m an International Relations and Politics graduate currently doing volunteer work in London and looking to make my corner of the world a better place one step at a time. When I’m taking a break from being existential you can find me on the sofa watching police dramas and eating stupid amounts of pasta.
Martin O'Malley
Martin is a London based English graduate, currently working as a tutor. His claim to fame is that he won the Daily Mail Harry Potter lookalike competition in 2001, a feat he is yet to top. In his down time, if he’s not losing the battle against his ever-growing watchlist, he’ll be reading one King book or another.