«Black level» and modern solitude

Fribourg International Film Festival - Jonas Follonier

A Ukrainian man finds himself in the midst of a mid-life crisis: his girlfriend leaves him and his father becomes paralyzed following a stroke. The man in question is a photographer, and the film opens with a still shot of a photo session with women in wedding dresses. The symptoms of a sick society are already present on screen, with each of the characters taking a selfie. The film will be silent, as if to denounce society's current lack of human contact.

A realistic film, perhaps too realistic

Valentyn Vasyanovych's film leaves us with mixed feelings: while the idea remains interesting - we'll remember the success of the sequence of thirty-five scenes without a word - the result is hard to appreciate. In its desire to be realistic, the film is too realistic. Typically, the love scene in a car, which is the same length - not very long - as the act itself, i.e. one minute, struggles to show anything captivating.

What's special about this film is that it doesn't shy away from the repetitive, boring and uninteresting nature of everyday reality. Of particular interest is the symbolism of the infernal cycle, expressed in car descents into filthy parking lots, repetitive climbing sessions and the wheels of the wheelchair on which the paralyzed father is condemned to end his life.

Read also: Faute d'amour, a film that speaks volumes about the ills of our times

Just like Faute d'amour, the film points the finger at what may well be a malaise too difficult to face head-on. After all, what an unbearable experience to watch the protagonist delete from his computer all the photographs he had taken of his beloved after she left him. The ability to erase memories at the click of a button, with repercussions for our psychology. And so.., Black level, Or is our reality too gray? Audiences can have their say by seeing this film, in the running for the Prix du Public at the Fribourg International Film Festival.

Write to the author : jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: © Riven chornoho