Weekly round-up

Absurdist austerity and an
auto rickshaw adventure

by MALCOLM FRASER
and MARK SLUTSKY

La Maison jaune
Algerian writer-director Amor Hakkar stars as a rural potato farmer who gets word that his son, a policeman in a nearby city, was killed on duty. In the first part of the film, he drives his tractor-trailer into the city to pick up the body, a poignant journey punctuated by unexpected comic moments.

He then discovers a videotape that his son made, and the second half is devoted to his efforts to screen the tape for his despondent wife (Tounés Ait-Ali) and three young daughters. Since they live in a stone hut with no electricity, this proves even more difficult than his first task.

SATISFYING SIMPLICITY:
La Maison jaune

Hakkar, a native of the film’s Aurés region who moved to France as a kid, based the script on his experiences returning to his homeland to bury his father. He and his cast perform in a naturalistic acting style, and as a filmmaker he has a gift for simplicity; both the narrative and the cinematic style are stripped down to the essentials. The minimal approach and touches of dark absurdist humour recall Jim Jarmusch and Aki Kaurismäki, while the patient attention to the details of everyday life are reminiscent of recent Iranian cinema.

The austerity is lightened somewhat by a great soundtrack composed of various Arabic and African folk songs. It’s a fascinating glimpse into a little-known corner of the world, though the extremely slow pace and decidedly understated dramatic style make it off-limits for anyone with a short attention span. (MF)

Amal
A sweet-natured film from Canadian director Richie Mehta set and shot in the bustling streets of New Delhi. Amal (Rupinder Nagra) is an auto rickshaw driver with an almost saintly bearing; he’s unfailingly courteous and kind, and refuses to even accept tips.

One day his path crosses with that of G.K. Jayaram (Bollywood star Naseeruddin Shah, who’s perhaps most famous here for playing Captain Nemo in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), an eccentric and feisty old man who just happens to be extremely wealthy.

In fairy-tale fashion, the older man, impressed by Amal’s humanity, bequeaths his wealth to the unknowing driver, causing all sorts of calamity when his children, one of whom is deeply in debt to a local mobster, try to get their hands on his cash.

Amal has an old-fashioned feel to it, with its billionaires disguised as paupers, princely cab drivers, sickly orphans, genteel but threatening mobsters and squabbling heirs. It’s definitely a little corny. But its sweetness works for it as well, as does the ground-level portrait of New Delhi, which is portrayed with realistic, clear-eyed cinematography. Not essential viewing, and cynics may have trouble with its essential sappiness, but Amal is a hard film to not like at least a little. (MS)

Both films open this
Friday, Aug. 8

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