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Last day at the festival

Gebo and the Shadow,

by Manoel de Oliveira

(1.30 pm, Vox 5)

There are master filmmakers, and then there is Manoel de Oliveira. The cinema’s senior auteur – he is 103 years young – here directs a riveting French-language incarnation of a 1923 play by Portuguese modernist Raul Brandão. Starring venerable performers Claudia Cardinale (who was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s festival), Michael Lonsdale and Jeanne Moreau, Gebo and the Shadow explores bourgeois disillusionment and the secrets that hide in the dark corners of family homes.

Petty accountant Gebo (Lonsdale) lives in an austere house with his wife, Doroteia (Cardinale) and daughter-in-law, Sofia. While aged Gebo wearily provides a subsistence income for the household, Doroteia longs to see her son, João, who has been missing from the scene for eight long years. Gebo and Sofia know the reality, but 
Doroteia is so heartsick that they cannot bring themselves to reveal that João is a ne’er-do-well they would all be wise to forget.

Meanwhile in Mamelodi, documentary by Benjamin 
Kahlmeyer

(1.45 pm, Vox 6)

In South Africa’s Mamelodi, near Pretoria, the excitement about the 2010 FIFA World Cup has captivated the entire township. Yet, despite the geographical proximity and their passion, the impoverished people of Mamelodi have been reduced to watching the games on TV, stuck in a parallel existence where basic amenities such as paved roads, electricity or running water are absent.

Haute Cuisine,

by Christian Vincent

(4 pm, Vox 1)

Former French President François Mitterrand may have been a fervent advocate of the European Union, but when it came to food, he had no doubts about the supremacy of French cuisine. In this charming foodie fantasy, Mitterrand appoints Hortense Laborie, a renowned chef from Périgord, as his personal cook at the Élysée Palace in Paris in order to savour the best recipes of his country. Based upon her real experiences in the French government, award-winning screenwriter Etienne Comar and director Christian Vincent have whipped up delectably quick-witted comedy chock-a-block with political infighting and delightful plot twists between courses.

The Suicide Shop,

animation by Patrice Leconte

(6.15 pm, Vox 2)

In a grey, grey Paris, where public suicide is forbidden but for many seems the only option, Mishima and Lucrezia Tuvache cater to the needs of the desperate at their suicide shop. They cheerfully outline the vast array of options available and pass no judgment on your choice. Their only rule is that you pay before you go: “You want to cash in,” says Monsieur Tuvache, “but we must cash out.” To those who query their prices: “No pockets in a shroud!”

When Alan, an irrepressibly happy child, is born into the Tuvache family, he drives them to distraction. His constant smiling and laughter give people hope. Monsieur Tuvache even resorts to encouraging his son to smoke in the hope of destroying his good humour. But Alan and his friends cook up a scheme to make the adults cast aside their gloom and embrace the colourful side of life.

—silvia@khaleejtimes.com

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