NYFF 64: “London” and “The Loneliest Man in Town” blur the line between fact, fiction and portraiture

by Cláudio Alves

When one’s engagement with cinema happens mostly through mainstream productions, it’s easy to fall into the false belief that narrative and documentary film are two strictly separated categories. However, almost since the medium's birth, the line between the two has been blurred, the barrier porous and permeable. One might go as far back as the Lumières’ artificial staging for their shorts, or perhaps relitigate the authenticity of Flaherty’s Nanook of the North for the millionth time since it hit theaters in 1922. Perchance we might reflect on the cinematic traditions of Portuguese post-revolution cinema, or the Iranian auteurs who kept pushing boundaries with their hybrid works in the 80s, 90s, and beyond. At the 64th New York Film Festival, many films fell between the binary of fact and fiction, with two doing so by appealing to the portrait as a cinematic model.

They’re both Austrian projects that vied for the Golden Berlin Bear earlier this year – Sebastian Brameshuber’s London and Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel’s The Loneliest Man in Town…

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NYFF '24: "bluish" paints post-COVID malaise in many shades

by Nick Taylor

A quick note of appreciation: I am so excited to have received press accreditation to digitally cover this year’s New York Film Festival. This is pretty amazing! Even if I’m sitting at home, nestling with my man and our cats for a good movie rather than sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Payal Kapadia and Mati Diop, this is a version of a dream fulfilled. Honestly, being able to appreciate a film festival without being separated from the kids might even be the preferable option? Much to consider.

But enough about me! Instead let’s talk about bluish, the very first film I watched as part of this NYFF coverage. Directed by Milena Czernovsky and Lilith Kraxner, bluish follows two unnamed young women played by Leonie Bramberger and Natasha Goncharova, navigating life in an Austrian metropolis that should feel more lively than it is. The city and the protagonists are stumbling through a post-lockdown balance of intimacy and isolation. There’s still noise and color and motion, but it all feels so fragile now, so much harder to participate in. bluish is a sad film, but it’s also one of the most evocative portraits of trying to reintegrate into society and full personhood in the wake of COVID (which is still happening, by the way!!) I’ve seen yet...

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