AFI Diary #1: "The Worst Person in the World," and More

Christopher is covering the 2021 AFI Fest Film Festival. Follow along for his reviews.

The 2021 AFI Fest Film Festival began Wednesday, November 10th with the World Premiere of Netflix’s Tick, Tick... Boom! (which got raves from Nathaniel). My festival began on Thursday with three films: one documentary feature, one international Oscar contender and a romantic anthology that had a splashy Cannes debut. It already feels great to be back in-person at a film festival. AFI is doing a hybrid of in person and virtual screenings this year, offering a nice variety for festivalgoers.

Without further ado, the reviews:

The Worst Person In The World (Joachim Trier) - Norway's Official International Feature Film Oscar® Submission...

Over the course of a prologue, 12 chapters and an epilogue, director Joachim Trier takes us on the funniest, saddest and most human journey, warts and all. The film recalls Paul Mazursky in the way it is able to mine a woman’s deepest day-to-day fears and desires for maximal impact. What we're left with is a defining dramedy about turning 30 and facing the ultimate decision paralysis - who am I and have all my choices been a disaster?

Within five minutes, we have a fully formed, detailed portrait of Julie (Renate Reinsve), our protagonist of the film. She’s an overachiever who has run from every commitment in her life. Medical school rewarded her drive, but didn’t ignite her passion. Psychiatry seemed like an optimal course, until she was drawn off course. Flash forward some time and she works part-time in a bookstore while she pursues a career in photography. This is all setup. Julie is more than her vocation, precisely because she spends so much time doubting whatever path she’s on. This goes for her love life too. Though she lives with a much older boyfriend, Aksel (Anders Danielsen Lie), it’s not often clear whether she resents him or loves him. After crashing a party, a new potential flame emerges in the mysterious Elvind (Herbert Nordrum).

Revealing more about the film would ruin the many happy and sad surprises that come up over the course of two hours. Trier’s script, co-written with Eskil Vogt, perfectly portrays the ups and downs of simply living in the world. Comedy and tragedy happen side-by-side at every waking moment and we’re meant to make a bevy of life decisions in the meantime. They are both big decisions, like what profession to have, and small decisions, like whether the ingredients in our dinner are sustainably sourced. Juile resembles a Frances Ha type arrested development. She’s experienced the world and cultivated many skills, but still has not quite figured out what cog she is in life. 

As esoteric as this may sound, it bears repeating that the film is gut-busting level hilarious. Yes, it does go for the cheap laughs in the most perfect of ways - I haven’t laughed that hard at a fart joke or squealed so much at a period joke in a while. Even more impressive, Reinsve proves herself to be an expert comedienne and straight woman alike. She has a unique ability to use Julie’s faults to make the audience fall more in love with her. Reinsve possesses the “coolness” of Dakota Johnson mixed with the vulnerable relatableness of Lena Dunham during the early seasons of Girls. While this may be a showcase performance, the entire cast excels at their roles. Anders Danielsen Lie performs a highwire act as Aksel, making us love, hate and adore him all within the same breath. Being in a relationship means exposing your full self to a person, and for better or worse Aksel lets his guard down fully. Meanwhile, Herbert Nordrum also illustrates that there’s more to his handsome escape hatch than meets the eye. Even though each character takes turns being “the worst person in the world,” the script loves them all - flaws and all.

So what makes someone the worst person ever? The hyperbolic title perfectly captures Julie not because she is the worst person ever, or even a bad person. This film is one of the strongest, funniest portrayals of self loathing committed to film (see, I can be hyperbolic too). Someone can be the worst person ever for cheating (or thinking about it), drawing a sexist comic, not playing with kids, wanting kids, not wanting kids, or even by buying plastic while running errands. It’s so easy to find “grievous” faults in ourselves or others. So why can’t we exist in the joy we see in Julie in the poster image - the world frozen around her while she feels a moment of uncritical joy? The Worst Person In the World might just earn an equally lofty superlative  - the best movie of the year. A

The Worst Person In The World opens in theaters on February 4th, 2022 for a limited theatrical engagement.

Paris, 13th District (Les Olympiades, Paris 13E) (Jacques Audiard)

A mix of established French power players and talented newcomers collide in the sexy new romance, Paris 13th District. Based on three short stories by American cartoonist Adrian Tomine, the story can feel disjointed or contrived, cobbling together through some like-minded themes. Luckily, Jacques Audiard’s assured direction sands over the rough edges and keeps the audience engaged throughout. The black and white cinematography from Paul Guilhaume makes the romantic conflicts seem grand and luminous, recalling the photography of Manhattan at times. 

The only thing more dramatic than love is real estate. Camille (Makita Samba) moves into the apartment of Emile (Lucie Zhang) and the two immediately move from roommates to lovers. Emile is determined to underachieve at nearly all parts of her life. She despises her call center job, thinking her degree should’ve taken her further. However, her real drive is to just get by, rather than thrive. This includes her love life - she would rather Camille be an uncomplicated boy toy rather than an actual romantic prospect that could make her angry or jealous. Once Camile realizes that Emile is living rent free and making a profit, their strained relationship fractures. While gorgeous (and filled with many sex scenes), it doesn’t become apparent how this relationship will have enough meat to sustain a feature length film. Thankfully, the movie throws us a curveball.

Enter Nora, played by the incredible Noémie Merlant of Portrait of a Lady on Fire fame. She’s a bright university student who soon becomes ostracized due to her resemblance to a famous cam-girl, Amber Sweet (Jehnny Beth). In a quest to take back her life, Nora searches and finds Amber on the web. The adversarial introduction soon turns into an online friendship, with each of the women opening up about their lives to one another. Merlant in particular is stunning. She possesses a rare quality to light up the screen immediately. The camera hangs on every movement of her face, as she’s able to telegraph Nora’s complicated journey of desire and shame.

So how does this story of a woman and her sex worker doppelgänger factor into the first story? Well, a chance encounter thrusts Nora and Camille together. Soon, the two begin a sexual relationship, though Emile still is very much in the picture. A complicated four-way anthology becomes entangled over the course of Paris 13th District. When firing on all cylinders, Paris 13th District is a saucy delight. However, it lacks the passion of Rust and Bone, the rawness of A Prophet or even the fun of The Sisters Brothers. Even as a minor work it is a beautiful, fun time in the lives of confused, lovestruck young adults. While Merlant’s performance suggests a more robust film, Paris 13th District feels all too generic and slight to make an impression. B-

Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism In America (Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler)

The concept of a tipping point is prominently explored throughout the presentation by ACLU attorney Jeffery Robinson at the center of Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism In America. There have been so many moments where racial activists have reached a tipping point where it looked like equality could be achieved. Yet, with each major change - the abolishment of slavery, the civil rights act - there was a backlash that pushed the boulder back down the hill. It would take decades again for another tipping point and another opportunity to come. What keeps us from true progress? The documentary uses primary sources, laws and a critique of our education system to effectively argue that America was founded on white slavery.

While Emily and Sarah Kunstler’s documentary lacks the filmmaking panache and scale of Ava DuVernay’s The 13th, it is similarly affecting and enraging. As The 13th, All In and many recent documentaries have illustrated, Americans (primarily white Americans) are fundamentally unaware of the racist systems set forth in this country’s founding that still persist in our world today.

So what separates this movie from a lecture? Truthfully, it often feels like we are watching a filmed version of Robinson’s 2018 Juneteenth speech. Is this just another example of preaching to the choir? Luckily, these concerns are side-stepped due Robinson as a subject and his empathetic and thorough presentation. When discussing the Civil War, he cites the Constitution and direct quotes from Andrew Johnson and other prominent lawmakers to demonstrate how central slavery was to the country’s founding. This lays the groundwork for incredibly emotional interviews with mothers of black men killed by police, a survivor of the Tulsa massacre and friends and family of his recounting incidents from his childhood. One of the solutions presented in the documentary is education. Not educating Americans on the practice of redlining, the Tulsa Massacre (which undersells the massive violence done on the area) and on law enforcement’s involvement in lynching keeps us in the dark ages. Scenes where Robinson visits a Charleston museum on the slave trade help illustrate how history can come alive and show us a way to deal with the past and move forward. The pains of slavery are alive and well in American culture because of our willed ignorance. One might say, it’s who we are. B+

Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism In America will be released on January 14th, 2022.

Which of these films are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments below.

Comments

[eurocheese]

Loved the first half of The Worst Person in the World, but the ending didn't work for me. Still, there are some incredible sequences and a Screenplay nod would be absolutely deserved. The scene in the picture above is my favorite from the film, and the wedding and "out of body" sequences were also pure delight.

[NATHANIEL R]

eurocheese -- agree that the scene pictured is the film's highlight. but i loved the whole thing from start to finish

chris -- loved this review.

[Christopher James]

Thanks Nathaniel & Eurocheese :-)