THE MAINE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
2005 DIARY
By Laurie Meunier Graves
DAY 8
Clif and I have entered the phase known as “film festival fatigue.” Because
we have been pacing ourselves by not going to every movie slot, it came
later this year, at the end of the week rather than midweek. But, it has
come, and not all of it is because of movies. We have a young, energetic
puppy who thinks that when the sun rises, it’s time to start yipping at
various noises he hears. When late nights are combined with our puppy’s
thoughtful wakeup calls, the results are bleary eyes.
Still, troopers that we are, on to Waterville we go. Surely the car should
be able to find its own way by now. We arrive at the Opera House in plenty
of time to get a good seat and to chat with some of the festivalgoers. Last
minute adjustments, based on recommendations, are still being made to
schedules. Do we want to add Yuva, this year’s bollywood selection,
to our list? The reviews have been mixed, and Yuva is a three-hour
movie. However, where else will we get to see a bollywood movie? And so it
will go until the last movie of the festival.
OVERLORD
United Kingdom, 1975; 85 minutes; 35mm; in English
This has been an outstanding film festival. When we watched Bearing
Witness, we thought, this is as good as it gets. Then came A Sidewalk
Astronomer, one of the most delightful documentaries we have ever seen.
Finally, there was The Beat That My Heart Skipped with the
outstanding young actor Roman Duris. I was sure that this last movie would
be my pick for best of the festival.
But this is before we see Overlord, a beautiful poetic film that is
unlike any movie I have ever watched. The movie combines actual war footage
from World War II with a fictional narrative that follows a British soldier
with the appropriate name of Tom Beddoes. We see Tom, played by the luminous
Brian Stirner, take leave of his parents, travel to training camp, fall in
love, and learn to become a soldier. Seamlessly woven into his story is the
war footage. Bombs drop, buildings are destroyed, and the English prepare
for war. It all moves forward to D-Day, to the shores of France, and we are
struck by the horror and the waste of war. Yet what choice did England have?
What choice did the Allies have? Hitler was not one to negotiate and not one
to surrender easily. War seemed to be the only answer, but somehow, this
lack of choice just makes Tom’s story even sadder. He and all the other
soldiers know that their sacrifice is necessary, but that doesn’t make the
dread and the terror any less as they crouch in their ship, waiting to storm
the beaches.
The archival footage, of course, was in black and white, and cinematographer
John Alcott, one of Stanley Kubrick’s favorites, shot Tommy’s story in black
and white as well. While this was necessary to incorporate the footage with
the story, the black and white also serves to bring a dreamlike quality to
the film and to further emphasize the poetic feel. The melding of new and
old is so skillfully done and the quality of the archival footage is so good
that, at times, it’s difficult to tell which is new and which is old.
After watching Overlord, we decide to call it quits for the day. We
have a busy weekend ahead of us, but, more important, we don’t want to break
the spell that Overlord casts on us. To paraphrase the late, great
Canadian writer Robertson Davies, with Overlord there is alchemy on
the screen, and that is a rare thing to find in a film.
Day 9 - >>
