Thank you to all who voted for the next film viewings. The results are in:
July 2024: IFG 52: Audrey Rose (Robert Wise, 1977)
August 2024: IFG 53: Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024)
September 2024: IFG 54: Triangle of Sadness (Ruben Östlund, 2022)
Please send your ratings by the end of each month.
The next poll to decide the films for the remainder of the year will be posted in August. No suggestions are required this time as we have five films to carry forward and a further five that were in the running before IFG came to a temporary standstill.
To celebrate the long and brilliant career of the great Donald Sutherland (1935-2024) vote for up to 10 of his films from the selection. Apologies if key films are missing.
REMINDER:
Please vote in the poll to decide the next three monthly films: IFG 52-54 Film SelectionThe deadline is today and results will be released ASAP
In their Summer 2024 Edition Sight and Sound critics produced a list of era defining films. One film from each year of the new century. They cite the choices as films that are “significant within our cinematic era – the kind of film that could be put in a time capsule for the cinephiles of the 22nd century and beyond to marvel at, a movie that is both representative and of a high watermark of the years 2000 to 2024.” (p.41)
BECAUSE it happens to be Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s final film, ”Querelle” has had imposed on it a terrible burden. Even the ads imply this, describing it with solemnity as ”Fassbinder’s last statement,” which it is, but only in terms of chronology. It’s as if we were meant to believe that Fassbinder knew he was going to die last June and prepared ”Querelle” as a summation of everything that had gone before. It’s not. Fassbinder had many talents, but soothsaying wasn’t one of them.
”Querelle” is a mess, and of value mostly for the ways in which it defines the particular strengths and limitations of the most important European film maker of his generation. In relation to the great films that mark his short but prolific career, ”Querelle” is a detour that leads to a dead end. In earlier days, Fassbinder would have simply moved on to the next project. That, unfortunately, is not now possible, and we are stuck, more or less, with this film as a coda, which Fassbinder never intended.
”Querelle,” which opens today at the Cinema Studio, the Manhattan and the Waverly Theaters, is one of the riskiest films Fassbinder ever made, the result of hundreds of bold choices, some of them intelligent, but almost all of them wrong.
To begin with, there was his decision to make a film based on ”Querelle de Brest,” the 1953 Jean Genet novel about an incredibly beautiful and depraved French sailor, who, in the way of Genet, finds salvation in the utter degradation by which he denies the real world to create a world of his own. ”Querelle de Brest” is the most conventionally coherent of Genet’s novels, of which ”Our Lady of the Flowers” is the masterpiece, but it isn’t easily adapted to the screen, especially by Fassbinder.
Fassbinder’s skepticism and his gifts as a social satirist have little to do with Genet, a poet and a believer whose devotion is expressed through a series of reversals of Christian dogma and rituals. Fassbinder, for all of his loudly proclaimed anarchist views, was always a true product of the bourgeoisie, a dutiful son to a fond mother, who frequently appeared in his films.
Genet, born illegitimate, raised in foster homes, went on to spend most of his earlier life in prisons. He is truly classless, essentially stateless, identifying – when he is able to identify with anyone outside himself – only with what the gentle folk call the dregs of society: stool pigeons, pimps, prostitutes, thieves and murderers.
Virtually the only bonds between Fassbinder and Genet are a willingness to shock and an aggressive lack of self-consciousness about their homosexuality. In almost every other way, they are not opposites but representatives of different dimensions of time and space.
Fassbinder seems to acknowledge their differences in the opening credits, in which it’s stated that ”Querelle” is ”about” the Genet novel, instead of being based on it. This doesn’t get him off the hook. It would have if Fassbinder had then gone on to make a Fassbinder film, but ”Querelle” is a hopeless, incoherent muddle of Genet’s novel and Fassbinder’s sensibility.
The film takes place in an unmistakably mythical port called Brest, represented by a smashingly spectacular, highly stylized unit set of the sort that works more often in the theater than in a film. The world of this film is theatrically dreamlike, which again has not much to do with Genet, whose fictional world is fantastic but filled with its own realistic sights, sounds, odors and sensations of heat and cold.
It’s also foreign territory to Fassbinder, whose gift was to be able to distill from reality not fantasy but a super-reality, always attached to specific time and place. Fassbinder has helped himself to Genet’s characters and to many of the novel’s situations and then used them, half-heartedly, to score his own points – sort of. The film is so chopped up and fey that it’s not possible to know exactly what its points are.
The film follows the descent into Hell of the young sailor Querelle, described by Genet as ”the Angel of the Apocalypse” but who, as played by Brad Davis, looks like a clean-cut American college boy dressed for a costume ball.
As Querelle moves through this dramatically lighted stage set called Brest, he murders one sailor, seeks ”execution” for his crime by allowing himself to be brutally sodomized, which he enjoys, and then finds his own salvation by becoming a stool pigeon. Querelle hands over to the police a friend, a simple-hearted Polish dockworker, who accepts responsibility for his own crimes as well as Querelle’s.
Querelle also has a sort of running, love-hate relationship with his brother, Robert (Hanno Poschl), a masochistic affair with Mario (Burkhard Driest), a police inspector who wears Hell’s Angels drag, and a somewhat less satisfactory relationship with Lysiane (Jeanne Moreau), the brothel madam who is Robert’s mistress. Watching all this, as if he were a peeping tom, is Lieutenant Seblon (Franco Nero), a naval officer on Querelle’s ship. Seblon, dressed in a uniform out of ”The Student Prince,” worships Querelle from afar, that is, from his closet, and dictates his longings into a handy tape recorder.
From time to time throughout the film, Fassbinder inserts title cards on which are printed patches of original Genet prose, as if the director were trying to establish connections between the film and the book, even as they are drifting aimlessly apart.
For something that might be called a Fassbinder-Genet joint venture, ”Querelle” is exceedingly discreet, resolutely unshocking and unprovocative. If it spoke with a single voice – it was apparently shot in English but is being released here with a German sound track – that voice would be a steady drone.
Except for some things that Miss Moreau does, ”Querelle” is not only humorless but also uncharacteristically witless. The actors aren’t called upon to act but to keep a straight face, which may sometimes be difficult for the audience. Mr. Davis, Mr. Nero and Miss Moreau do what they can, but they behave like people abandoned in a foreign country without money or passports.
Miss Moreau has more than her share of thankless lines, as well as one unintentionally hilarious song to sing. The music is by Fassbinder’s talented long-time collaborator, Peer Rabin, and the lyrics by Oscar Wilde: ”Each man kills the thing he loves … dahdee-dah-dee-dah.”
Like so many other things in ”Querelle,” they aren’t good enough.
Vincent Canby, The New York Times, April 29, 1983
Please click to enlarge.
Ed Sikov, Cinéaste, Vol. 13, No. 1 (1983), pp. 40-42
Below are the film selections for IFG 52 to 54 (the next three monthly IFG films). You have 10 to pick from and up to five votes to use. Please vote before the 21st June.
The top three will be selected as the monthly film and then those in 4th and 5th place will appear again in the next poll (so they have another chance at being selected).
The IFG will return. The first monthly film will be in June 2024. But first we need to pick the first selection of films. Previous regular participants will receive an email, but if you do not, or are new, please comment below.
Going forward there will be weekly articles, our monthly film rating and, of course, our almost yearly film poll.
The page for IFG 51: Querelle (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1982) will be created before June, so if you still wish to participate in that, then do send me your rating.
Cast: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O’Brien, Warren Oates, Jaime Sánchez, Ben Johnson, Emilio Fernández
Release Date: 18th June 1969
IMDb Rating: 7.9
Trailer:
What the critics said:
It’s a traumatic poem of violence, with imagery as ambivalent as Goya’s. By a supreme burst of filmmaking energy, Sam Peckinpah is able to convert chaotic romanticism into exaltation; the film is perched right on the edge of incoherence, yet it’s comparable in scale and sheer poetic force to Kurosawa’s “The Seven Samurai.” The movie, set in 1913, is about a band of killers who flee Texas for Mexico, and Peckinpah has very intricate, contradictory feelings about them. He got so wound up in the aesthetics of violence that what had begun as a realistic treatment—a deglamorization of warfare that would show how horribly gruesome killing really is—became instead an almost abstract fantasy about violence. The bloody deaths are voluptuous, frightening, beautiful. Pouring new wine into the bottle of the Western, Peckinpah explodes the bottle; his story is too simple for this imagist epic. And it’s no accident that you feel a sense of loss for each killer of the Bunch: Peckinpah has made them seem heroically, mythically alive on the screen.
Pauline Kael, The New Yorker, 1969
“The Wild Bunch”–not to be associated with Butch Cassidy and his Wyoming outlaw gang–is the type of action-western that meets with favorable b.o. reaction in regular as well as oater situations. William Holden and Ernest Borgnine are among draw-names that head the cast of the Phil Feldman production, loaded with exploitation ingredients.
Film at 145 minutes is far over-length, and should be tightened extensively, particularly in first half. After a bang-up and exciting opening, it appears that scripters lost sight of their narrative to drag in Mexican songs, dancing and way of life, plus an overage of dialog, to the detriment of action. Cuss-words crop up so often that frequently they drown out normal dialog, but they’re all in character and probably will get by despite some pretty salty language.
Plotwise, this WB-7A release is regulation stuff, focusing on a small band of outlaws headed by William Holden who hijack a U.S. ammunition train crossing the border into Mexico in 1913 to supply the revolutionary army of Pancho Villa, then fighting President Huerta. Actually, the story is two-pronged. Holden and his men go their way of outlawry and Robert Ryan, former member of Holden’s gang and temporarily-released convict, tracks down his former chief to ‘buy’ his freedom from jail.
Screenplay by Walon Green and Sam Peckinpah, based on a story by Green and Roy N. Sickner, builds suspensefully when action finally starts along about the middle of Technicolor film. Peckinpah’s forceful direction is a definite asset, particularly in later sequences in which Holden deals with a vicious Mexican general over the hijacked guns and ammo. There are numerous touches which add to overall realism, some of the killing done in slow-motion to give added emphasis to these scenes, and a spectacular sequence showing horses and men falling into the river after a bridge had been dynamited. It all adds up to much violence, especially in the finale.
Holden goes into character for his role and handles assignment expertly. Borgnine delivers his usual brand of acting as former’s aide and Ryan is dramatically efficient as Holden’s hunter. Edmond O’Brien also is a standout as an oldtimer-member of the gang and Jaime Sanchez is outstanding as the only Mexican gang member. Emilio Fernandez as the general, Warren Oates and Ben Johnson as other outlaws likewise appear colorful. Late Albert Dekker makes his final appearance as a railroad official who hold’s Ryan’s freedom in his hands.
Technically, the feature is of high quality, particularly color photography of Lucien Ballard, music by Jerry Fielding, art direction by Edward Carrere, special effects by Bud Hulburd. Louis Lombardo’s editing in second half also is commendable.
Whitney Williams, Variety, 18th June 1969
IFG Ratings:
Arpatilaos
Emma
Donnie
Dan
Robert
Morgan
Average IFG Rating: 7.08
REMINDERS:
Monthly IFG Film:IFG 51: Querelle (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1982) send your rating by 31st October 2023
IFG Film Selections: Please send your suggestions for the next poll to select IFG 52-54 ASAP
Welcome to the Annual IFG Film Poll. Participants listed their top 150 films of all time in an approximate order and points were assigned to their rankings (10 points to positions 1-15, nine points to 16-30 … and so on, down to one point for positions 136-150). Ten people took part: Dan, Dom, Emma, Evelyn, Katrina, Mellissa, Paul, Razvan, Robert (oasisoffear), and Sean.
The results are calculated using the same ‘special’ formula from previous years. As not everyone has seen each of the films, the calculations of the final positions need to take into consideration the points each film gets and the number of times they are voted for. Therefore, only films with two or more votes were considered and an average position was taken of the positions by points and the positions by number of votes. This reduces the number of ties compared to either of the individual rankings and hopefully gives a more accurate overall ranking.
With only ten people participating there are inevitably several ties within the rankings, but as the number of participants grows we can be more sure of more meaningful positions. With that in mind, do consider taking part next year!
299 films had at least two votes, so we have a clear top 150.
The results of the Top 150 (151) will be revealed, on this page, during the week (date TBC). But for now, why not take a look at the films that almost made it into the top 150:
Note that the format shows how many points the film received in total, how many people voted for the film, and the increase/decrease in ranking since last years’ results (shown in brackets).
IFG TOP 299 FILMS
Joint 296th
Force Majeure (Ruben Östlund, Sweden, 2014) with 2 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Showgirls (Paul Verhoeven, USA, 1995) with 2 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Graduate (Mike Nichols, USA, 1967) with 2 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Withnail & I (Bruce Robinson, UK, 1987) with 2 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joint 293rd
Antichrist (Lars von Trier, Denmark, 2009) with 3 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Everything Everywhere All at Once (Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, USA, 2022) with 3 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Ghost (Jerry Zucker, USA, 1990) with 3 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joint 286th
Gone Girl (David Fincher, USA, 2014) with 4 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, USA, 1939) with 4 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Gremlins (Joe Dante, USA, 1984) with 4 points and 2 votes (-175)
Naked (Mike Leigh, UK, 1993) with 4 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh, UK, 1996) with 4 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers, USA, 2019) with 4 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Truman Show (Peter Weir, USA, 1998) with 4 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joint 277th
Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, France, 2001) with 5 points and 2 votes (-111)
Duvidha (Mani Kaul, India, 1973) with 5 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Holy Motors (Leos Carax, France, 2012) with 5 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Inland Empire (David Lynch, USA, 2006) with 5 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Miloš Forman, USA, 1975) with 5 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (James Cameron, USA, 1991) with 5 points and 2 votes (-130)
The Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro, USA, 2017) with 5 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, USA, 1965) with 5 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer, USA, 1995) with 5 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joint 265th
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour, USA, 2014) with 6 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
A World Not Ours (Mahdi Fleifel, Lebanon, 2014) with 6 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Badlands (Terrence Malick, USA, 1973) with 6 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Fight Club (David Fincher, USA, 1999) with 6 points and 2 votes (-221)
Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson, USA, 1999) with 6 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
My Beautiful Laundrette (Stephen Frears, UK, 1985) with 6 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir, Australia, 1975) with 6 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Nice Guys (Shane Black, USA, 2016) with 6 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Titanic (James Cameron, USA, 1997) with 6 points and 2 votes (-68)
Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, USA, 1958) with 6 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Wait Until Dark (Terence Young, USA, 1967) with 6 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
What We Do in the Shadows (Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi, New Zealand, 2014) with 6 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joint 243rd
Annie Hall (Woody Allen, USA, 1977) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson, USA, 1997) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (Robert Altman, USA, 1982) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Matt Reeves, USA, 2014) with 7 points and 2 votes (-45)
Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, UK, 1964) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Endless Poetry (Alejandro Jodorowsky, Chile, 2016) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Floating Clouds (Mikio Naruse, Japan, 1955) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Memento (Christopher Nolan, USA, 2000) with 7 points and 2 votes (-174)
No Country For Old Men (Joel & Ethan Coen, USA, 2007) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
No Time to Die (Cary Joji Fukunaga, UK, 2021) with 7 points and 2 votes (-45)
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Tom Tykwer, Germany, 2006) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Prometheus (Ridley Scott, UK, 2012) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Rushmore (Wes Anderson, USA, 1998) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (Karel Reisz, UK, 1960) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Se7en (David Fincher, USA, 1995) with 7 points and 2 votes (-183)
The Blood of a Poet (Jean Cocteau, France, 1932) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Breakfast Club (John Hughes, USA, 1985) with 7 points and 2 votes (-132)
The House Is Black (Forugh Farrokhzad, Iran, 1963) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Long Farewell (Kira Muratova, Soviet Union, 1987) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor, USA, 1940) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, USA, 2001) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Woman in the Dunes (Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japan, 1964) with 7 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joint 232nd
Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, USA, 1938) with 8 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore, Italy, 1988) with 8 points and 2 votes (-140)
Doctor Sleep (Mike Flanagan, USA, 2019) with 8 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, USA, 2004) with 8 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Female Trouble (John Waters, USA, 1974) with 8 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (Jim Jarmusch, USA, 1999) with 8 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Incendies (Denis Villeneuve, Canada, 2010) with 8 points and 2 votes (-66)
Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1951) with 8 points and 2 votes (-121)
The Imitation Game (Morten Tyldum, UK, 2014) with 8 points and 2 votes (-121)
The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, USA, 1939) with 8 points and 2 votes (-171)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh, USA, 2017) with 8 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joint 219th
A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang, Taiwan, 1991) with 9 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
American Movie (Chris Smith, USA, 1999) with 9 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Election (Alexander Payne, USA, 1999) with 9 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Five Easy Pieces (Bob Rafelson, USA, 1970) with 9 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman, USA, 1984) with 9 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
I Killed My Mother (Xavier Dolan, Canada, 2009) with 9 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Leon: The Professional (Luc Besson, France, 1994) with 9 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Sherlock, Jr. (Buster Keaton, USA, 1924) with 9 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Skyfall (Sam Mendes, UK, 2012) with 9 points and 2 votes (-176)
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (Dario Argento, Italy, 1970) with 9 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Brick and the Mirror (Ebrahim Golestan, Iran, 1964) with 9 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Departed (Martin Scorsese, USA, 2006) with 9 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
What Have I Done to Deserve This? (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 1984) with 9 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joint 217th
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, China, 2000) with 6 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (John Hughes, USA, 1986) with 6 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Joint 200th
An American in Paris (Vincente Minnelli, USA, 1951) with 10 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead (Sidney Lumet, USA, 2007) with 10 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Fargo (Joel Coen, USA, 1996) with 10 points and 2 votes (-69)
Girlfriends (Claudia Weill, USA, 1978) with 10 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Happy Go Lucky (Mike Leigh, UK, 2008) with 10 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Her (Spike Jonze, USA, 2013) with 10 points and 2 votes (-118)
Memories of Murder (Bong Joon-ho, South Korea, 2003) with 10 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesiner, USA, 1969) with 10 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell, USA, 2012) with 10 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Sophie Scholl (Marc Rothemund, Germany, 2005) with 10 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick, USA, 1957) with 10 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Stephan Elliott, Australia, 1994) with 10 points and 2 votes (-150)
The Worst Person in the World (Joachim Trier, Norway, 2021) with 10 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, USA, 2007) with 10 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Umberto D. (Vittorio De Sica, Italy, 1952) with 10 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Whiplash (Damien Chazelle, USA, 2014) with 10 points and 2 votes (-108)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Robert Zemeckis, USA, 1988) with 10 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joint 181st
12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, UK, 2013) with 11 points and 2 votes (-137)
A Touch of Zen (King Hu, Taiwan, 1971) with 11 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, Italy, 1948) with 11 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Birdman (Alejandro González Iñárritu, USA, 2014) with 11 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Boyz n the Hood (John Singleton, USA, 1991) with 11 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Breakfast at Tiffanys (Blake Edwards, USA, 1961) with 11 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Bushman (David Schickele, USA, 1971) with 11 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Deep Red (Dario Argento, Italy, 1975) with 11 points and 2 votes (+6)
Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, UK, 1987) with 11 points and 2 votes (+17)
Gosford Park (Robert Altman, UK, 2001) with 11 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Metropolis (Fritz Lang, Germany, 1927) with 11 points and 2 votes (-81)
Night River (Kōzaburō Yoshimura, Japan, 1956) with 11 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Nobody Knows (Hirokazu Kore-eda, Japan, 2004) with 11 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1959) with 11 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
One Week (Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline, USA, 1920) with 11 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, USA, 1998) with 11 points and 2 votes (-117)
The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan, USA, 2012) with 11 points and 2 votes (-1)
Warrior (Gavin O’Connor, USA, 2011) with 11 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Watership Down (Martin Rosen, UK, 1978) with 11 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joint 179th
Giant (George Stevens, USA, 1956) with 9 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
The Elephant Man (David Lynch, UK, 1980) with 9 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Joint 167th
American History X (Tony Kaye, USA, 1998) with 12 points and 2 votes (-117)
An American Werewolf in London (John Landis, UK, 1981) with 12 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Betty Blue (Jean-Jacques Beineix, France, 1986) with 12 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Drive My Car (Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Japan, 2021) with 12 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joker (Todd Phillips, USA, 2019) with 12 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, UK, 1962) with 12 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Pina (Wim Wenders, Germany, 2011) with 12 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Matrix (Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski, USA, 1999) with 12 points and 2 votes (-130)
The Mother and the Whore (Jean Eustache, France, 1973) with 12 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, UK, 1973) with 12 points and 2 votes (-36)
Training Day (Antoine Fuqua, USA, 2001) with 12 points and 2 votes (-20)
Witness for the Prosecution (Billy Wilder, USA, 1957) with 12 points and 2 votes (-133)
166th
Kill Bill Vol. 1 (Quentin Tarantino, USA, 2003) with 10 points and 3 votes (-84)
Joint 152nd
Black Christmas (Bob Clark, Canada, 1974) with 13 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Come and See (Elem Klimov , Soviet Union, 1985) with 13 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Gravity (Alfonso Cuarón, USA, 2013) with 13 points and 2 votes (+3)
I Was Born, But… (Yasujirō Ozu, Japan, 1932) with 13 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Little Dieter Needs to Fly (Werner Herzog, Germany, 1997) with 13 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Once upon a time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, USA, 2019) with 13 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, USA, 1955) with 13 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Shock Corridor (Samuel Fuller, USA, 1963) with 13 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Ascent (Larisa Shepitko, Soviet Union, 1977) with 13 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, USA, 2008) with 13 points and 2 votes (-88)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher, USA, 2011) with 13 points and 2 votes (+3)
The Godfather: Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, USA, 1974) with 13 points and 2 votes (-115)
The Great Dictator (Charlie Chaplin, USA, 1940) with 13 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, USA, 1955) with 13 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
To be continued…
IFG TOP 151 FILMS OF ALL TIME
Joint 140th
Black Girl (Ousmane Sembène, France, 1966) with 14 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Bohemian Rhapsody (Bryan Singer, UK, 2018) with 14 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Clue (Jonathan Lynn, USA, 1985) with 14 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino, USA, 1997) with 14 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, Australia, 2015) with 14 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson, USA, 2017) with 14 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Ran (Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1985) with 14 points and 2 votes (-101)
The Prestige (Christopher Nolan, USA, 2006) with 14 points and 2 votes (-100)
The Tin Drum (Volker Schlöndorff, Germany, 1979) with 14 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, USA, 1948) with 14 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Woody Allen, Spain, 2008) with 14 points and 2 votes (+47)
Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, Germany, 1987) with 14 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joint 138th
Only Yesterday (Isao Takahata, Japan, 1991) with 11 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
The Lady Vanishes (Alfred Hitchcock, UK, 1938) with 11 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Joint 128th
A Short Film About Killing (Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland, 1988) with 15 points and 2 votes (-17)
All About My Mother (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 1999) with 15 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Barbie (Greta Gerwig, USA, 2023) with 15 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Inception (Christopher Nolan, USA, 2010) with 15 points and 2 votes (-59)
Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Sidney Lumet, USA, 1963) with 15 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Misery (Rob Reiner, USA, 1990) with 15 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (F.W. Murnau, USA, 1927) with 15 points and 2 votes (+3)
The General (Clyde Bruckman & Buster Keaton, USA, 1926) with 15 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Idiots (Lars von Trier, Denmark, 1998) with 15 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Pianist (Roman Polanski, UK, 2002) with 15 points and 2 votes (-36)
Joint 125th
Another Year (Mike Leigh, UK, 2010) with 12 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Quentin Tarantino, USA, 2004) with 12 points and 3 votes (-23)
Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, Germany, 1984) with 12 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Joint 114th
Black Narcissus (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, UK, 1947) with 16 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, USA, 2017) with 16 points and 2 votes (-98)
Brief Encounter (David Lean, UK, 1945) with 16 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, USA, 1990) with 16 points and 2 votes (-32)
My Neighbor Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1988) with 16 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, France, 2019) with 16 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Shoah (Claude Lanzmann, France, 1985) with 16 points and 2 votes (-3)
The 39 Steps (Alfred Hitchcock, UK, 1935) with 16 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Crying Game (Neil Jordan, UK, 1992) with 16 points and 2 votes (-32)
The Trial (Orson Welles, France, 1962) with 16 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
This is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, USA, 1984) with 16 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joint 111th
Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier, Denmark, 2000) with 13 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, USA, 1994) with 13 points and 3 votes (+35)
The Third Man (Carol Reed, UK, 1949) with 13 points and 3 votes (+76)
Joint 99th
Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater, USA, 1995) with 17 points and 2 votes (+3)
Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1990) with 17 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Don’t Look Now (Nicolas Roeg, UK, 1973) with 17 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alain Resnais, France, 1959) with 17 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Kikujiro (Takeshi Kitano, Japan, 1999) with 17 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
M (Fritz Lang, Germany, 1931) with 17 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen, USA, 2011) with 17 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (Paul Schrader, USA, 1985) with 17 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, USA, 1968) with 17 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Satantango (Béla Tarr, Hungary, 1994) with 17 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Sonatine (Takeshi Kitano, Japan, 1993) with 17 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola, USA, 1999) with 17 points and 2 votes (+3)
Joint 93rd
A Place in the Sun (George Stevens, USA, 1951) with 18 points and 2 votes (-32)
Bound (Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski, USA, 1996) with 18 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Catch Me If You Can (Steven Spielberg, USA, 2002) with 18 points and 2 votes (-77)
Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky, Soviet Union, 1979) with 18 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Exorcist (William Friedkin, USA, 1973) with 18 points and 2 votes (-44)
The Thing (John Carpenter, USA, 1982) with 18 points and 2 votes (-67)
Joint 90th
Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku, Japan, 2000) with 14 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Indiana Jones and The Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, USA, 1981) with 14 points and 3 votes (-46)
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, USA, 1980) with 14 points and 3 votes (-50)
Joint 85th
Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, UK, 2006) with 19 points and 2 votes (-32)
Chungking Express (Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong, 1994) with 19 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Contempt (Jean-Luc Godard, France, 1963) with 19 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, USA, 1959) with 19 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1963) with 19 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joint 81st
Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, Spain, 2006) with 15 points and 3 votes (-55)
Perfect Blue (Satoshi Kon, Japan, 1997) with 15 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
The Blair Witch Project (Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez, USA, 1999) with 15 points and 3 votes (+106)
Joint 79th
La La Land (Damien Chazelle, USA, 2019) with 20 points and 2 votes (-23)
Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren & Alexandr Hackenschmied, USA, 1943) with 20 points and 2 votes (New Entry)
Joint 77th
Rashômon (Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1950) with 16 points and 3 votes (-8)
Stand by Me (Rob Reiner, USA, 1982) with 16 points and 3 votes (-8)
Joint 74th
Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, UK, 2009) with 17 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Muriel’s Wedding (P.J. Hogan, Australia, 1994) with 17 points and 3 votes (-58)
Sicario (Denis Villeneuve, USA, 2015) with 17 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
73rd
Suspiria (Dario Argento, Italy, 1977) with 15 points and 4 votes (+38)
Joint 71st
Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, Soviet Union, 1925) with 18 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, USA, 1942) with 18 points and 3 votes (-65)
Joint 65th
Happiness (Todd Solondz, USA, 1998) with 19 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1946) with 19 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Promising Young Woman (Emerald Fennell, UK, 2020) with 19 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, USA, 1993) with 19 points and 3 votes (-1)
Scream (Wes Craven, USA, 1996) with 19 points and 3 votes (-33)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, USA, 1974) with 19 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Joint 58th
American Beauty (Sam Mendes, USA, 1999) with 20 points and 3 votes (-47)
Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, USA, 1982) with 20 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, USA, 1982) with 20 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, USA, 1946) with 20 points and 3 votes (+122)
The Cranes Are Flying (Mikhail Kalatozov, Russia, 1957) with 20 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
The Spirit of the Beehive (Víctor Erice, Spain, 1973) with 20 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Tokyo Story (Yasujirō Ozu, Japan, 1953) with 20 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Joint 53rd
Live Flesh (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 1997) with 21 points and 3 votes (+113)
Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay, UK, 2002) with 21 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, USA, 2002) with 21 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Halloween (John Carpenter, USA, 1978) with 18 points and 4 votes (New Entry)
52nd
The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, USA, 1991) with 23 points and 3 votes (+48)
Joint 50th
All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, USA, 1950) with 25 points and 3 votes (-38)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, USA, 2009) with 25 points and 3 votes (-41)
48th
All That Heaven Allows (Douglas Sirk, USA, 1955) with 26 points and 3 votes (+20)
Joint 47th
The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, France, 1928) with 27 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, USA, 1966) with 27 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
46th
The 400 Blows (François Truffaut, France, 1959) with 28 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
45th
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (Robert Aldrich, USA, 1962) with 20 points and 4 votes (+102)
Joint 43rd
Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, Russia, 1966) with 29 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1952) with 29 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
42nd
Good Morning (Yasujirō Ozu, Japan, 1959) with 30 points and 3 votes (New Entry)
Joint 39th
12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, USA, 1957) with 21 points and 4 votes (-5)
Onibaba (Kaneto Shindō, Japan, 1964) with 21 points and 4 votes (New Entry)
The Talented Mr Ripley (Anthony Minghella, USA, 1999) with 21 points and 4 votes (-13)
38th
Carrie (Brian De Palma, USA, 1976) with 22 points and 4 votes (+92)
37th
Aftersun (Charlotte Wells, UK, 2022) with 20 points and 5 votes (New Entry)
33rd
Aliens (James Cameron, USA, 1986) with 23 points and 4 votes (-11)
Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, USA, 1990) with 23 points and 4 votes (+122)
Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, USA, 1950) with 23 points and 4 votes (-30)
Zodiac (David Fincher, USA, 2007) with 23 points and 4 votes (+98)
32nd
Get Out (Jordan Peele, USA, 2017) with 24 points and 4 votes (-10)
31st
Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, USA, 2001) with 26 points and 4 votes (-28)
Joint 29th
Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, USA, 1989) with 27 points and 4 votes (New Entry)
Eraserhead (David Lynch, USA, 1977) with 27 points and 4 votes (New Entry)
Joint 26th
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Germany, 1974) with 28 points and 4 votes (New Entry)
Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, USA, 1944) with 28 points and 4 votes (New Entry)
Parasite (Joon-ho Bong, South Korea, 2019) with 25 points and 5 votes (+24)
Joint 24th
Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, USA, 1976) with 29 points and 4 votes (New Entry)
West Side Story (Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, USA, 1961) with 29 points and 4 votes (+2)
Joint 21st
Cleo from 5 to 7 (Agnès Varda, France, 1962) with 30 points and 4 votes (New Entry)
Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, USA, 1959) with 30 points and 4 votes (+13)
Rebecca (Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1940) with 27 points and 5 votes (-14)
Joint 19th
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1958) with 31 points and 4 votes (-10)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain, 1988) with 31 points and 4 votes (+128)
Joint 16th
Beau Travail (Claire Denis, France, 1999) with 38 points and 4 votes (New Entry)
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, USA, 1941) with 38 points and 4 votes (New Entry)
The Red Shoes (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, UK, 1948) with 37 points and 4 votes (New Entry)
15th
The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, USA, 1972) with 33 points and 5 votes (-3)
14th
Paris Is Burning (Jennie Livingston, USA, 1990) with 34 points and 5 votes (New Entry)
13th
In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, Hong kong, 2000) with 39 points and 4 votes (+48)
12th
2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, UK, 1968) with 40 points and 4 votes (+0)
Joint 9th
Daisies (Věra Chytilová, Czechia, 1966) with 35 points and 5 votes (New Entry)
Grey Gardens (Albert & David Maysles, USA, 1975) with 35 points and 5 votes (New Entry)
It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, USA, 1946) with 35 points and 5 votes (-2)
8th
The Apartment (Billy Wilder, USA, 1960) with 36 points and 6 votes (+24)
7th
Jaws (Steven Spielberg, USA, 1975) with 39 points and 5 votes (New Entry)
6th
The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, UK, 1980) with 44 points and 5 votes (+16)
Joint 4th
Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, USA, 1979) with 39 points and 6 votes (+18)
Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen, USA, 1952) with 39 points and 6 votes (+16)
Joint 2nd
Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1954) with 45 points and 6 votes (-1)
Alien (Ridley Scott, UK, 1979) with 42 points and 7 votes (+3)
1st
Our Collective Favourite Film Of All Time
Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1960) with 57 points and 7 votes (+1)
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Hilmir Snær Guðnason, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson.
Original Title: (Icelandic: Dýrið, lit. ’The animal’)
Release Date: 13th July 2021 (Cannes)
IMDb Rating: 6.3
Trailer:
Hilmir Snær Guðnason and Noomi Rapace in ‘Lamb’
What the critics said:
Icelandic director Valdimar Jóhannsson makes a coolly outrageous feature debut with this jawdropping horror-comedy of loneliness, co-written by Jóhannsson with the lyricist and Björk collaborator Sigurjón Birgir Sigurðsson, or Sjón. It is performed with unflinching commitment by its executive producer-star Noomi Rapace, who is first among equals in a great cast of humans, animals and various prosthetic and digital creature effects.
Maria (Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snaer Guðnason) are an unhappy couple with a remote farm in Iceland: it gradually becomes clear they have lost their only child. The drama begins with a strange spirit-visitation in the barn that scares the animals: a ewe becomes pregnant with a bizarre animal-human hybrid and poor, stricken Maria (her name’s importance is left for us to digest) conceives a passionate attachment to this precious being, naming it Ada after her dead human daughter.
As this sweet woolly little thing gets bigger and dressed up in the children’s clothes that this couple appear to have bought in advance for their lost human child, their situation as Iceland’s Unholy Family becomes ever more macabre, and even more so considering the complete calm and naturalness of their behaviour. It comes to a crisis of sorts when Ingvar’s dodgy brother Pétur (a failed pop star with some shady friends) shows up needing a place to stay, and the couple’s new houseguest is extremely freaked out by his hosts’ spawn of unnature. Intending some tough love, Pétur takes a rifle and leads trusting Ada by the hand out into the hills. But the ovine side of Ada’s family might have something to say about all this.
We have to wait to get a good look at Ada and confront the full, horrible truth about what she represents, but Jóhannsson cleverly converts our horror into a stupefied comic bewilderment from the outset. We are not supposed to be scared. What is required of us is compassion and respect for Maria’s strange dignity and strength. It’s a great performance from Rapace.
Peter Bradshaw, “Lamb review – Noomi Rapace outstanding in wild horror-comedy of Icelandic loneliness”, The Guardian, 7th December, 2021.
The horror-proximate fantasy “Lamb,” which opens Friday in theatres, is the first feature by the Icelandic director Valdimar Jóhannsson (who co-wrote the script with the musician and novelist Sjón), and it plays more like a calling card, a display of professionalism, than an experience. There are only about twenty minutes of its one-and-three-quarter-hour running time that sustain any interest, thanks to a late-breaking twist of industrial-strength cleverness. The narrative trickery that sets up the story—and the sense of a setup is palpable throughout—results in a grossly oversimplified tale that reeks of cynicism. “Lamb” preens and strains to be admired even as it reduces its characters to pieces on a game board and its actors to puppets.
The subject of “Lamb” is a fantasy that’s planted with meticulous yet narrow attention to a realistic context. María (Noomi Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snær Guðnason) are a young couple on a farm in a remote part of Iceland. They grow crops (most prominently, potatoes) and they raise a few dozen sheep, which live in a barn a short walk across sloping fields from their comfortable and casual little farmhouse. Their workdays involve driving a tractor, leading the sheep through fields, schlepping hay for the sheep to eat, preparing meals, helping sheep give birth, tagging and logging the new arrivals. But their regular routine is disturbed by the barking of their dog near the barn; the couple go in to see what’s up with the sheep, and, looking surprised, note that one of the sheep has given birth without help. Taking the newborn in her arms, María brings it back to the farmhouse, where, wrapped in a blanket, it lives in a metal washtub. They feed it milk with a baby bottle and raise it in the house, dragging a crib from a storage area to a space next to their own bed, where the swaddled lamb will live.
Despite glimpses of the grand, mountainous Icelandic locale and of activities in the house and on the farm, “Lamb” offers virtually no characterization, no inner life, no substance. There’s nothing wrong with a mystery filmed from the outside, in which only observation of the characters elicits clues. But “Lamb” constructs its characters solely as clue generators; their identity is limited to their function. The gap between what the characters know (or, for that matter, who they are) and what they’re shown doing is blatant and frustrating; it makes the movie resemble pages of redacted testimony on which there are more stripes of black ink than legible text. It is, for instance, only a third of the way through the film that the lamb in question is revealed to be actually a hybrid of lamb and human—her head is that of a lamb, and her right arm is a lamb’s furry foreleg, but the rest of her body is humanoid. This fact, known instantly by the couple and weighing on them like some sort of grave matter, is kept a secret from viewers.
María and Ingvar name the ovine girl Ada (pronounced “ahda”), dress her in sweaters and pants, and raise her as their daughter. A few years pass. Ada is now a calm toddler, who walks upright; she doesn’t speak, but she understands what María and Ingvar say. Then the family gets a visitor—Ingvar’s ne’er-do-well brother Pétur (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson), a former rock musician, who is rudely dumped from the trunk of a car onto their property by a trio of people whom María and Ingvar assume are his creditors. María and Ingvar are surprised that Pétur has returned, which is to say that he used to live or visit there; it’s never made clear, but this is in any case the first time he’s been there in years, and thus the first time that he meets Ada. His skepticism about the couple’s decision to raise her takes on an especially bitter and menacing edge, for reasons that are only very belatedly and very thinly suggested to the viewer (but are instantly obvious to all three adults). María and Ingvar fear that Pétur is going to do something to harm Ada or otherwise get rid of her, and this air of fear and menace—combined with Pétur’s efforts to spark an affair with María—drives the drama.
There is nothing anywhere in the film to suggest what María and Ingvar are thinking. For the first ten minutes, they don’t say a word. When they’re shown reading or writing, the substance is neither seen nor heard. When they finally do speak to each other, it’s to exchange banalities. They say nothing of substance about their daily lives or immediate concerns—for instance, not a word to each other about Ada’s unusual form, about any practicalities that it entails, about the significance to them of her presence. Something has been out of whack in the household (hint: the crib in the storage room) but, much as it’s in the forefront of the couple’s minds, even in their activities, the information isn’t dropped in the film until very late, and then only as a virtual onscreen Post-it. (In a prime example of the director’s cagey, shticky way with information, even the protagonists’ names are dropped late into the story.)
Physical labor is dispatched in similarly emblematic ways. Do María and Ingvar sell the sheep? Butcher the sheep? It’s never shown, or even suggested. Their isolation—do they have any friends, any other relatives, any visitors who might also register surprise at Ada’s unusual form? None that are seen, and the story appears to span about five years. Pétur’s skepticism regarding the couple’s raising of Ada is similarly dispatched in a hollow sentence or two. The silences that follow the scant, merely informative dialogue are stupefying silences in which characters are conspicuously turned empty, as if by directorial fiat. Even the movie’s images are stultifyingly retentive, offering information in serenely decorative form and even cutting the best elements—its rare closeups of Ada and of sheep—to merely indicative snippets.
In part, the frustration that “Lamb” elicits is a function of the craft that obviously went into its making. The problem is that all of the evident thought was channelled narrowly into making sure that the story sticks its landing. Far from considering the implications and possibilities opened by its story, the film’s careful organization stifles them. Without any loose ends—and without any conceptual or stylistic audacity behind its sparseness—“Lamb” appears cut off not only from its characters’ inner lives but from the inner life of its creators. Films of humanoid hybrids are having a moment: Julia Ducournau’s “Titane” is also currently in theatres, and the director follows the implications of its fantasy premise to wild extremes; what it lacks in the overt voicing of its characters’ subjectivity it furiously and splendidly makes up for with the director’s own teeming inner worlds and visionary imaginings. “Lamb” reduces fantasy to an excuse and imagination to a product. To my surprise, it won the Prize of Originality in the “Un Certain Regard” section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. This, and its over-all acclaim, offer a grim view of the state of the art house. If awards it must get, give its twenty twisty minutes an Oscar for Best Live Action Short and be done with it.
Richard Brody, ““Lamb,” Reviewed: A Horror Film Where Cleverness Is the Problem”, The New Yorker, 8th October, 2021.
IFG Ratings:
Morgan
Donnie
Arpatilaos
Michael N.
Sean
Robert M.
Average IFG Rating: 5.83
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Oasis of Fear 