The Souvenir: Part II

Joanna Hogg's script constructs life at an eighties London film school, and captures the era to the T.

I was an actor working with Melbourne, Swinburne RMIT film students at that same time. The parallel's between Joanna's story here and the general, dystopian horror Swinburne film students operated under, are uncanny.

Despite myself, and as well made as this film is, I have to say it will probably only appeal to a niche audience. It is beautifully cast and executed, and worth watching for numerous reason, but overtly entertaining it isn't.

In me, it re-triggered a level of ire toward the hack and snake instructors who nested in eighties film schools. People whose creative instinct, if they ever had one, had long left their being, to be replaced by an unerring, subtle undermining of student confidence, and a bald faced, polite dishonesty they measured would ensure them the longest teaching tenure.

You'll see a bit of that in this film.

What I didn't see in ' The Souvenir' was any intimation of the effects of that long term poison on the development and wellbeing of would be film makers. It was nice to see Richard Ayoade on screen. He is sadly, accurately brilliant as the auteur from hell.

The good: this movie has got quite a weird mix of a few, short intermittent scenes that are quite mesmirizing to watch, BUT...

The bad: the largest part of this movie is quite tedious to watch. Played by unknowns, directed by an unknown, who didnt rock the boat in any sort of way.

Not any good? Tilda Swinton has a small supporting role, really small.

The film will be rated approximately the same as The Souvenir, you either really appreciate the approach, really don't, or find some valuable insights and merits.

I did not see the films back to back, so was immediately put off by the way it delved into the aftermath of Anthony's death without any background. If it were a TV series no problem, but this is supposed to be an independent film. However this actually worked in exploring the here-absent Anthony from a different perspective, as a presence the character must endure/overcome in different ways: emotionally, sexually, artistically. The latter leads to more "arty" discussions that will certainly put off those who don't appreciate the vibe.

The grief of the main character is more believable here in the absence of Anthony as the relationship never really was convincing in the previous film. And the way she sublimates it in her art was very interesting, leading to baffled comments from her co-workers, colleagues and professors. The lead, however, remains in my mind a miscasting, although clearly under a lot of pressure (as a stand in at different levels for, basically, two strong women). However, as in The Souvenir, Part 2 will make much more sense for those with references/context than to a naive audience. Film is not life and vice versa, as is often stated.

If you didn't like Part I, you won't like Part II, as not much has changed. The film has a slightly more vibrant and upbeat tone, but the style and essence of the film is very similar.

If you loved Part I, you'll most likely love Part II, as it carries on the story right where we left off and completes the emotional arc of Julie.

Ultimately these films aren't quite my cup of tea, but they are watchable and do have some interesting moments.

This is much more "enjoyable" than its predecessor, and it's not solely because it doesn't contain the toxic Anthony. I felt so disappointed by the flat direction in the first film, and I was delighted to see more chances taken in this one. There is more life and color in Part II, and some meta moments were really quite surprising.