Pilátus

I saw this as the very opening film of the Satisfied Eye International Film Festival and what an opener it was. Quietly, compellingly, utterly devastatingly beautiful storytelling on screen. Lingering and so full of sub-text, Pilate is an absolute bravura piece of filmmaking where every moment and every silence is laced with meaning and heartache. So much is left unsaid, so many things left unfinished. And that is the whole point. A brutally honest rumination on old age and grief and family dysfunction, the lead actress is wonderful, ably supported by the cast around her. The score and cinematography are beautiful. I honestly couldn't stop watching it. I wanted to take in every second of what the camera was capturing for me, like admiring a great work of art in a museum.

The dynamics is very real, but the tone is too formal, even for a doctor's family. Coldness is one thing, but you can't get that distant, no matter the level of dysfunctionality. I remember calling my mother by her last name when I was a teenager, but I never went to her room with the newspaper and asked: "What type of news would you like to hear, mother?" Also, the story is a bit one-sided and doesn't go very deep: behind such clashes usually there are reasons bigger than the mere generational conflict, or a "misunderstood love" as it goes in the description. All in all, a very polite attempt on a primal topic, but for what it is, it's very well executed.