ON STOICS
- Aleksandr Kiselev
- Mar 5, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 23, 2023

Berlinale 2023
The Berlinale Documentary Award went to Tatiana Huezo for El Eco (The Echo), the epitome of a documentary novel (hello, Faulkner, steeped in rich colors of local landscapes). The intrigue of growing up, the drama of aging, the misadventures of gender, the sunsets and shadows, and horses, and cacti — it could have been too proper and altogether dull. But Tatiana Huezo’s clear and well-toned cinematic language makes a welcome concession to traditionalism — athwart Berlinale’s general tendency to break artistic boundaries (after a calm breakfast).

About freedom. «Sur L'Adamant» by Nicolas Philibert should be named the best film of the festival – and it is: Golden Bear! «L'Adamant» is a multi-deck barge moored on the banks of the Seine in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. With the help of psychiatrists-enthusiasts, a day "sanatorium" was opened there for, so to speak, sufferers in the heads - so that they could take a break from their clinics, doctors, orderlies, relatives (who have ones). And, most importantly, from the impossible pressure of reality.

And here, on deck, everything is optional - coffee, chatter, a peaceful community, amateur music performances, a film club: in general - a sanatorium. Genre - comedy. Although, probably due to the life circumstances of the characters, it should be called a tragicomedy. Approximately: "... I consider myself Sartre only when I forget to take my pills ...". The characters are enchantingly beautiful in their "natural" absurdity, and this absurdity is "naturally" filled with infinitely deep psychologism and bottomless dramaturgy. The finesse of Nicolas Philibert's direction is well known, but this film is just over the top. Not only the nuances are wonderful, but also the strategy: we, the audience, will practically never know which of the characters are psychologists - who, by invisible efforts, keep this ship afloat. But closer to the final, a psychiatrist joins the community of patients - and the locals greet her with applause.
And at the beginning of the film, one of the characters perform French hit of 1970s “La bombe humaine”:
… You hold the human bomb in your hand
The trigger is right next to your heart…
La bombe humaine, tu la tiens dans ta main Tu as l'détonateur juste à côté do cœur La bombe humaine, see'est toi elle t'appartient Si tu laisses quelqu'un prendre en main ton destin See'est la fin, la fin…
Superpower by Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman, shown at the Berlinale Special Gala, was an absolute success. For all the ambition and seriousness of the idea (and its result), what we see (to put it cynically) is the stoicism of an alcoholic facing the fear of potential collapse of Europe. Sean Penn in Kyiv in January-February 2022; he is stoic; he grips a glass (of whiskey) like a staff, a lifeline, a railing or a parachute ring — unstoppably trying to figure out the tragic events in Ukraine. Concurrently, perhaps, he deems himself playing a role of someone like Hemingway — intrepid, drunk, astute. He takes one interview after another — and all the interviews, oddly enough, turn out passionate and deep. Well, it’s to be expected: Penn is a fabulous actor, who flawlessly creates Shakespearian motifs. Moreover, the reality itself is a Shakespearian conundrum, where, paradoxically, Penn channels the macabre with amazingly constructive energy. From a cinematic point of view, this is truly a renewal of the genre — as much as a hangover from a film like Touch of Evil or Orson Welles’ own sad militancy in that famous whiskey advertisement.

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