Like every year for almost 26 years, during Covid the editions were online and reduced, all 1is festival of the year in French-speaking Switzerland, takes place in January. This allowed me to discover a fairly effective novelty, a retrospective and an offbeat and original fiction.
In addition to cinematic exploration, for the 1re times since I covered the said event, I had the opportunity to go there, more precisely to the “Cinélux” cinema in Geneva. This, in order to see a rather surprising, daring and darkly humorous South American feature film from 2024.
«Simon of the Mountain»: Among his comrades, Simón gives the impression of being exactly like them and of thriving greatly. But his family feels lost. Because their son spends his days with… Friends in a school for the disabled who are absolutely not disabled and have no place in such an institution. If he seems to treat all this as a game, his dual involvement will take on an unexpected grandeur and many questions will arise. How far will Simón be prepared to go in his efforts? What if he had no choice but to suffer?
The new feature film by screenwriter and director Federico Luis surprises in many ways, from the first minutes of the plot. Better, it destabilizes a lot thanks to the main protagonist, rather anti-hero, played magnificently by the young Lorenzo Ferro.
His performance surprises and, above all, stands out in each of his scenes. It is the same with most of his colleagues in front of the cameras, the vast majority of whom are starting out in the South American film industry.
“Simón de la montaña” shakes through the intentions of “Simón”, which it is impossible to determine because he never stops navigating and changing between the 2 worlds. Effective, sometimes a little long, funny and intelligent, this fiction questions several societal subjects with accuracy and skill. You should also remember that scams can come from anyone…
« Black Harvest » : Somewhere in Africa in a dark and abandoned secret place, a man is torn to death in pain and screams. He is not the only one in bad shape. Around twenty people, women and men, remain locked up and gagged for obscure reasons. Except that they are not pink, but bloody… From a certain rebellion to espionage through a good dose of brutality, the heroes do not necessarily remain those supposed to be and betrayals will occur through moments, unpredictably.
If the “Nollywood” industry (Nigerian fiction often associated with sub-genres of “Z films”) proves relatively powerful compared to the rest of the African continent and the 7th Art industry in general, “Black Harvest » stands out positively from other achievements of the said country.
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Very careful, tackling sensitive social themes that are quite forgotten by the general Western public (consciously or not), with its degree of violence and its share of hemoglobin, the scenario of “Le Prlèvement Noir” (in French) handles all these rather well. aspects and subjects.
This, despite a few false connections, a slightly slow pace and less scathing dialogues in the middle of the plot. In fact, the new feature film by director James Amuta (invited to the “Black Movie” 2025 festival) remains intelligent and contains good surprises.
“Theeb”: In the middle of the Arabian desert, the tribe of Bedouins where young Theeb and his brother Hussein live, sees a foreign officer arrive. Theeb is amused by the visitor. However, he will quickly become disillusioned; Hussein will serve as a guide to the Englishman for a special mission. Rebel and seeing this departure more as a game, Theeb will follow them discreetly. But his shadowing will end abruptly and despite the small united team, they will not be able to avoid ambush and death. Only one person will survive. However, the worst is yet to come. Because you will have to join forces with a gangster in order to survive forever…
Filmed entirely on real locations, “Theeb” (“Lion” in French) turns out to be an incredible epic tinged with bravery and daring against a backdrop of westerns. Filmed near the legendary “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), Naji Abu Nowar’s production allows curious people to (re)see this fiction and immerse themselves in a culture and traditions that have almost disappeared, the Bedouins.
In terms of distribution, only the “English Officer” played by Jack Fox (“Johnny English Strikes Back”) was the professional actor. The other actors were chosen by the production in Jordan and selected from a large casting aimed at Bedouins and non-professionals. This remained a very good initiative and left room for more improvisation and efficiency.
Mainly aimed at a young audience, a little more than 10 years after its release in Swiss cinemas, “Theeb” retains its former freshness. Superbly filmed and performed, the landscapes and historical plots allow us to better remember the experiences of a population that is now almost extinct. Dynamic, sensible and not very violent, this production does not deserve to be forgotten and should be viewed with family and/or friends in order to fully enjoy the show.
