European cinema has its day, including the dog

Paul F. Agusta, Contributor, PFA0109@yahoo.com

The secret's out. European films can actually entertain. The recent screenings and public discussion of prizewinning European films at Teater Utan Kayu gave rise to the conclusion that current European cinema is worthy of a lot more attention than it has been getting.

In terms of both the artistic content European films are traditionally known for and solid entertainment value, 2003's European Film Award winners show that major new ground is being broken; attention must be paid.

Danish director Lars von Trier's Dogville, screened on the first evening, surprised, provoked, puzzled and intrigued the audience, including Panji Wibowo who led the discussion of the films on the last evening.

"Dogville spoke in unconventional cinematic terms," said Panji, citing von Trier's attempt to marry digital cinema and theatrical tradition.

Dogville broke almost every cinematic rule in the book, but you're glad it did because it not only provided an engrossing way to pass a couple hours, it also raised the question of whether cinema has any boundaries at all.

As Panji declared, "film no longer has limits, as long as the intended point is delivered, it has served its purpose."

The result of von Trier's experimentation with cutting out the modern trappings of cinema such as exotic locations, extensive set and production design and special effects was the ultimate in interactive art and entertainment. Dogville is a film with no set other than painted white lines on the floor, few props, shot on a single stage with brilliant actors of several generations (From Lauren Bacall to Nicole Kidman and Phillip Baker Hall to Paul Bettany). The result was a little like what Picasso said about artwork never being finished without the viewer.

"15 minutes into the film, we've built the sets in our minds. We depart from theater and enter the film in our heads" Panji said. "Even the dog gave a great performance, and he was just lines drawn on the floor."

"Take a simple story and once it's set up, you can do anything." Said Rayya Makarim, TUK's film curator. "Dogville started with Tom (Paul Bettany) attempting to teach acceptance to the townspeople, and once that simple story was clear, Lars von Trier was free to search for a format. A clear story allows you to be as visually creative as you want."

Characteristically European, Dogville, along with most of the other films shown, took a simple story and set out courageously to explore cinematic style and the human potential to expand on reality.

German director Wolfgang Becker's Goodbye Lenin!, although employing a massive set (all of Berlin), lots of props and production design, also took the simple premise of a family and a nation struggling with change (the fall of the Berlin wall), and explored its stylistic and storytelling potential.

"Goodbye Lenin! started with strong characters, and took off from there. The inherent social issues became apparent through the characters as the story unfolded. Because of this, the social issues never weighed the film down."

Two other films shown in which the thematic weight of the storyline was balanced out by the human element, were Michael Winterbottom's In This World and Isabel Coixet's My Life Without Me.

In This World is the story of two young boys journeying from an Afghan refugee camp to London with the hope of a better future. Told in a semi-documentary style and shot in DV (digital video) format, this film successfully explores the raw simplicity of the said format and used it to further the director's stylistic intentions.

My Life Without Me is the brilliantly subtle and heart-rending tale of Ann, a young mother who after being told she is dying, embarks on a mission to ensure her family's future happiness.

Although some discussants at the screenings felt that the characters in the story could have been better defined, it was the restraint that enhanced the intensity of the dilemma by both the dying and the surviving protagonists in this drama. It is also what keeps this film from plunging into the abyss of melodrama.

As in Goodbye Lenin! and In This World, the heavy theme did not detract from the essence of the characters' struggle with various aspects of human existence. In fact, the potential pitfalls of politics, social struggle and death were deftly avoided by treating them simply as what they actually are in terms of human existence, just something that people have to deal with the best way that they can.