A hit since its first edition in 2016, the BORN OF WOMAN block has thrilled and engaged both Fantasia audiences in Montreal and those internationally as it toured across the globe. Fantasia’s annual showcase of personal auteur genre visions returns to celebrate the unconventional gaze, with nine extraordinary works from eight countries that will take your breath away.
So, let's take a look at this special group of entries:
The Gaze (2018)
Directed By: Ida Jogler
This first effort, about an assistant at a research facility who wakes up the night after a drunken rendezvous with a colleague and begins discussing the incident with her roommate, is an overall topical and enlightening piece. After starting out like a typical drunken night out, the themes of sexual harrasment and abuse is raised and becomes a fine backbone for the real horrors to spring out afterward when another potentially horrific situation presents itself at a party. As things take a turn for the worse at the end, this becomes quite a powerful statement on the dangers of being a man attempting to take advantage of the wrong person solely throuh their position and sense of power. It may take a while to get going, but this is still a solid and gripping effort that has a lot to say about how people view themselves in modern society.
Petite Avarie (2018)
Directed By: Manon Allirol and Leo Hardt
The second short, about a woman going through the worst day of her life and her boyfriends' attempt to deal with the situation only to have the tables turned on him in an even more profound manner, offers a strikingly intense and powerful message about relationships and their impact in modern society. It's rather difficult to get into this one due to the initial manner in which everything gets dumped onto her which is so utterly unrealistic that it initially seems to be a parody of sorts with the way it plays out, but the fiery and intoxicating sequence at the bar is a sight to behold and truly makes this a special watch. A playful gag at the end seals the deal with this being a truly rousing and worthwhile segment.
Lucy's Tale (2018)
Directed By: Chelsea Lupkin
This effort, about an awkward teen's quest to keep an embarrassing secret hidden from her peers that could potentially ruin her experience in school, offers quite an enjoyable if somewhat hackneyed tale. Despite hitting nearly every beat expected here in the awkward, socially rejected misfit in high school replete with all the usual tropes expected of such storytelling, the inclusion of the secret she features that could potentially ruin her social life when it all comes spilling out in the twist at the end manages to really give this some heart in the end.
Nose Nose Nose EYES! (2017)
Directed By: Moon Ji-won
Troubled by strange dreams, a young girl tries to put on a brave face as their family struggles to keep themselves afloat. Once she sees what her mother's been doing in the meantime, it threatens to tear them apart. This was an extremely effective and creepy effort. The titular game played here is quite chilling and the scenes of the girl and the ghostly figure engaging in together which soon takes on a far more disturbing and sinister connotation with the actual reveal done in the finale. It's quite shocking and really gives this an extra dimension that's quite chilling and really sells this one nicely.
Voyager (2018)
Directed By: Kjersti Helen Rasmussen
This sci-fi tinged effort, featuring what would happen if a worker at the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway came across a strange visitor with eerie powers, is a rather fun effort that has plenty to like here with the strange concept of these invaders coming to this remote location and their behavior which would've been an amazing opening to a longer film as the setup here is glorious. Being a little on the shorter side as well makes it perfect for that as well and makes it a fun entry.
Catcalls (2018)
Directed By: Kate Dolan
An Irish entry, about a man who makes lewd comments to the wrong woman while out driving, is a rather fun segment which does seem a bit too long with the initial setup of the guy being set up to look deserving of his fate. However, there's plenty of good fun to be had once the creatures are unleashed and the tie-in with the creature legend that serves as their backstory. Overall, this was a pretty enjoyable piece.
Puppet Master (2018)
Directed By: Hanna Bergholm
This effort, about a woman who meets a mysterious stranger and follows him only to come across his obsessive collection of puppets and the sinister method he uses to creates his works of art, should be a lot more fun than it is where this one really manages to survive on the creepiness of the visuals and the concept as there really isn't much else here. The process is skipped over to focus on the chilling idea of the doll moving around and being manipulated, but with no context and no idea what's going on it's a bit of a disappointment no matter how striking the visuals are. The last half is fun and really enjoyable, which would've made the effort even better.
Who's Who in Mycology (2016)
Directed By: Marie Dvorakova
This penultimate effort, featuring a man tasked with taking a drunk party guest back to their apartment only to encounter a series of elaborate physical obstacles as he tries to ensure her safety, is a suitably gutbusting and hilarious piece of slapstick that contains a strong series of physical comedy and completely ludicrous situations that make for a rather fun time. The talking heads in the books are hilarious, the touch of spreading mold over the ceiling is a great suspenseful touch the final twist is quite nice and while it really has no connection to the title serves as a truly engaging piece in the end overall.
The Old Woman Who Hid Her Fear Under the Stairs (2017)
Directed By: Faye Jackson
The final piece in this block, about a woman who's tired of living in fear who undergoes a drastic process to help live her life easier and fear-free only to find her new life to be completely unexpected and dangerous, serves as a novel concept but it's mainly a one-note joke that goes on way too long. Again, the concept here is what wins out for the most part as ths idea of how to counteract the feeling and how she acts once it's finished are quite enjoyable and give the segment a fun energy. It's a bit too overlong with the finale twist coming into play, but otherwise this was a nice conclusion to this block of films.
This ran as part of our coverage of the 2018 Fantasia Festival series of reviews.
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