Elle: The New “Basic Instinct” with a “French Twist”

By José Alberto Hermosillo

“Elle” is a sophisticated, twisted erotic-psychological thriller charged with a high voltage of anxiety, desire, and animosity. It will stick with you right under the skin for a long time.

Director Paul Verhoeven returns to his European roots with a high content of sexual deviations, perversions, and obsessions - constantly pushing in his films the boundary-line beyond the imaginable.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ©2016 SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

The role of “Elle” is custom-made for Isabelle Huppert (“Things to Come,” “Amour,” “The Piano Teacher”), who perfectly portrays Michele LeBlanc, an upper-class, high-ranking French executive and producer of violent video games charged with bloody erotic sequences that alter the subconscious. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF ©2016 SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

Mrs. LeBlanc’s responsibilities have made her an uptight, snooty, hard-hitting woman.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ©2016 SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

After a freak home invasion and rape, her mind is obsessed with the assault, and she can’t stop thinking about it. 

The event repeats itself, over and over, inside her head and in constant incursions.

“What if…” she could defend herself and counter-attack the burglar.

“What if…” she would be in control and get pleasure out of it.

“What if...” she could take revenge against her attacker...

The thoughts of being a woman in power (not only in her job but in her sexuality) create a high level of instability, anxiety, and cravings in her mind and body.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ©2016 CINE MATE

Mrs. LeBlanc would like to know who attacked her. She suspects everyone, but she has no evidence of who he could be. 

She has many haters, starting with her ex-husband and her closest collaborators.

Some of her detractors are her daughter-in-law, her confused and immature son, and her mad and sophisticated mother, who has a relationship with a much younger man.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ©2016 SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

The mother wants her daughter to heal herself and become more “normal” by visiting and forgiving her incarcerated father, a “monster” serving a life sentence for committing a horrendous crime that Michele witnessed when she was a teenager.  

ISABELLE HUPPERT. PHOTO JOSÉ A HERMOSILLO ©2017 FESTIVAL IN LA

“Oh…” is the original name of the novel by the French-Armenian writer Philippe Djian, which David Birke outstandingly adapted to the screen.

PAUL VERHOEVEN, PHOTO JOSÉ A HERMOSILLO ©2017 FESTIVAL IN LA

Director Paul Verhoeven really knows his craft. In “Elle,” he places every element in a suitable space and time. When he became famous in Hollywood with the Cult Classics such as “RoboCop,” “Basic Instinct,” “Total Recall,” and “Show Girls,” he already had a long trajectory in Europe.

PAUL VERHOEVEN, PHOTO JOSÉ A HERMOSILLO ©2017 FESTIVAL IN LA

In the Netherlands, his homeland, he made his most controversial works, “Turkish Delight,” “Diary of a Hooker,” “Katie Tippel,” “Soldier of Orange,” and “The 4th Man.” 

Verhoeven continues to make films with the same quality and freedom in Europe and Hollywood.

Many directors have successfully explored this genre with sex, violence, and fetishism, such as Vicente Aranda’s “Amantes/Lovers: A True Story,” Bigas Luna’s “The Chambermaid on the Titanic,” Luis Buñuel’s “Susana” and “Belle de Jour,” and François Ozon’s “Criminal Lovers” and “Young & Beautiful.”

“Elle” is the official French submission for the Academy Awards 2017 in the Foreign Language Film category. Isabelle Huppert won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture—Drama.

Verhoeven’s experience in Hollywood makes “Elle” unfold with perfect cinematography, fast-paced editing, and elongated moments that elevate the actors’ performances to a whole new level.

In “Elle,” every actor is impeccable. Isabelle Huppert est magnifique !

PHOTO COURTESY OF ©2016 AFI FEST

Michele’s anger and obsessions make her unconscious of her own reality. At one point, she must figure out how to get out of this sickening situation in one piece and regain control of herself, but her environment drags her down into deeper waters.

As the sexual assaults become more frequent, the structure of “Elle” could be interpreted as “Jesus descending into hell.”

The technical achievement of “Elle” makes it seem like a non-traditional French movie, but because of its sexual content, we can say “Elle” is a very French movie. If you dare to see this film, you will know what I mean.

Paul Verhoeven, Elle. Film Critic José Alberto Hermosillo www.festivalinla.com 

‘Elle’ (Cannes 2016) trailer (English subtitles)

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Ixcanul: Pursuits Guatemala’s First Oscar Nomination

By José Alberto Hermosillo 

A timeless epic with a superior “joie de vivre.” Powerful, evocative, unforgettable.

 

It is a living poem, featuring breathtaking cinematography and well-crafted magical realism. 

The Guatemalan Oscar submission in the best foreign-language film category, “Ixcanul,” is a daring coming-of-age story about a young teenager living in an isolated Mayan community who begins to discover her sexuality and emotions while grappling with the personal conflicts of her challenging reality.

Italian Poster

“Ixcanul” is the Mayan word for “Volcano.” The character-driven story centers on Maria (Maria Mercedes Croy) and her brutal working family, who live in a small coffee community on the volcano’s slopes. The hot weather and rich soil produce some of the world’s best coffee. They are the Kakchiquels.

Although Maria is only seventeen and should be preparing for her “Quinceañera,” she is preparing for an arranged marriage. 

In many countries, it is acceptable for a young girl to marry a mature, wealthy man: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China are examples where honor is valued more than love, choice, or freedom.

In the Oscar-nominated “Water,” Deepa Mehta illustrates how young girls are forced into marriage with older men in India — the beauty of this Canadian production makes us forget the horrors those young women endure. 

In Atiq Rahimi’s “The Patient Stone,” a young Afghan woman tells the truth to her older, decrepit husband as a form of catharsis against oppression.

In “Ixcanul,” Maria’s issues and decisions mirror those faced by millions of women, even in developed countries: anxiety, first-time sex, unwanted pregnancy, abortion, single motherhood, postpartum depression, and so on.

In the movie “Grandma,” by Paul Weitz (“About a Boy” and “American Pie”), in California, Lily Tomlin’s granddaughter is experiencing the same situation as Maria in Guatemala. The only difference is that the American film is viewed as a comedy, while the one from Central America is viewed as a drama.  

The Bride’s mother is Juana, excellently played by Maria Telón. She is teaching her daughter how to be a good wife. 

Manuel, the father, played by Manuel Antún, is hard-working, righteous, and honest.

French Poster

Living as in John Huston’s “Under the Volcano,” mother and daughter participate in an ancient Mayan ceremony.

Some of those rituals are reminiscent of the epic Hollywood movies set in the Pacific Islands, Hawaii, Africa, and South America, where the spectacular landscapes and human tragedy blend with captivating, hypnotic imagery that conveys deep emotions.

The groom is Ignacio, “El Capataz” (the person in charge of the fields), and actor Justo Lorenzo portrays him as a low-essential character who, without raising his voice, takes advantage of the starving farmers, the girl, and her family. He represents a continuation of a classicist system that oppresses vulnerable people in Guatemala. 

Human exploitation has persisted for centuries, not only in Mayan communities but also in other isolated parts of the world. Under such conditions, it is hard to have dreams — there is no dreaming in this town when the world is against you. 

The little money they earn from harvesting coffee is spent on food and on getting drunk. People struggle to survive in this environment — reaching for dreams is not an option. 

 

Maria’s dream is to go to the big city and follow El Pepe (Marvin Coroy) to the United States, but destiny and her status as a Mayan woman will significantly affect her dreams.

El Pepe is a young boy who likes Maria, enjoys the moment, and takes advantage of any situation. He is the only one who has lived in the United States and longs to return.

 

Maria sarcastically tells Pepe (in Mayan): “You’d better start learning Spanish before learning English.”

 

In “Ixcanul,” the sub-theme is migration. In Guatemala, young people want to emigrate to the United States for a better future and sometimes to save their lives, while older people stay.

This is not a movie about migration, but it has a strong connection to other great films on the subject: “La Jaula de Oro,” “El Norte,” “Sin Nombre,” “Buen Día, Ramón,” “Bread and Roses,” “A Better Life,” “Frozen River,” “Journey of Hope,” “In This World,” “Al otro lado,” “Under the Same Moon-La misma luna,” and this year’s Cannes Palm d’Or winner, Jacques Audiard’s “Dheepan.”

When their lives are at risk, the language barrier leaves them “Lost in Translation.”

 

In their community, everyone speaks Mayan, but in the big city, no one else does. Ignacio is the only bilingual person, translating only what suits him, betraying his own people.

 

The transcendence of “Ixcanul” further connects community, family values, hard-working people, traditions, emotions, and beliefs. 

“Ixcanul” reflects the Guatemalan people’s hunger for justice. Maria and her Maya community deserve to be treated fairly.

 

It also depicts the poverty and oppression faced by indigenous communities, who are victims of abuse of authority by their own government. 

 

They deserve justice and respect from the rest of the world.

First-time writer/director Jayro Bustamante can maintain the same narrative style throughout the film, masterfully, without regret leaving out the melodramatic moments. 

Jayro Bustamante, director of Ixcanul, Guatemala. Photo by Jose A Hermosillo, Copyrights 2015 

Jayro does not portray Maria as a victim or a heroine—she is an intelligent girl who follows her instincts and tries to overcome adversity by believing in the value of life and, above all, in the truth, even though the price she pays for this valuable lesson is exceptionally high.

Jayro Bustamante, director of Ixcanul, Guatemala. Film critic Jose A Hermosillo, Copyrights 2015

An underlying biblical reference is evident: Maria is the Virgin Mary, El Pepe is a nickname for Jose or Joseph, Ignacio becomes Judas, and baby Jesus still needs to be found. 

The film also reflects, on a minor scale, the recent political turmoil in Guatemala, which has escalated rapidly to an unprecedented level in an effort to bring down the corrupt government. 

The Guatemala/France co-production won the Silver Bear in Berlin, the Blue Angel in Slovakia, the Best Ibero-American Film, and Best Director at the Guadalajara International Film Festival. More awards, including Oscar® and Golden Globe nominations, are expected, making “Ixcanul” the most awarded film in Guatemala’s history. 

 

“Ixcanul” is an impeccable work of art, marked by exceptional craft, extraordinary beauty, and an enduring story. 

 

The terrific performances make “Ixcanul” a strong contender among the five nominated films for Best Foreign Language this year.

 

“Ixcanul” was the best film at the Guadalajara International Film Festival in Los Angeles (FICG in LA). The beauty of this Guatemalan film kept us talking for a while after we saw it.

Ixcanul/Volcano, trailer

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