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| Agnieska Holland's latest film Spoor (2017) combines magical mystery with cinematic joy |
Fantasia just announced its winners of the festival's prizes, and best film goes to one of the best, if not the best, film I saw at Fantasia this year, Agnieska's Holland's gorgeous and thoughtful
Spoor (2017). I'm struggling a bit trying to convey my enthusiasm for this film in words, but I'll do my best without spoiling its mysteries or gushing overmuch.
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| Spoor is anchored by
Agnieszka Mandat-Grabka's luminous performance as the vivid and incomparable Duszejko |
Spoor is set in a truly magnificent but rather bleak area of the Polish countryside, where mists roll over the hills, and the mottled gray of a pack of deer, only their antlers showing,blends seamlessly with the desolate decor. Within these challenging environs thrives Duszejko, a dog owner, animal lover, English teacher, and a woman who is much smarter and sexier than anyone else in the film. By the way, she's in her 60s; this kind of casting would be unheard of in a Hollywood film, unless Meryl Streep starred (Oh No, Hollywood, you cannot remake this one). The film follows Duszejko as she plays with her dogs, chastises hunters, poachers, and bad cops, and sharply eyes the sad straits of the younger generation, embodied by Dobra and Dyzio, whom she befriends.
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| She has suitors who admire her for her intelligence and beauty, including Boros, an entomologist |
One morning, she wakes to find both of her beloved dogs missing, and soon after a handful of prominent men of the community end up murdered, with all signs pointing to some kind of "killer animal" revenge scheme, as each man is an abuser of animals in some way, and the only evidence seems to be deer tracks. Duszejko is a lover of animals and nature, and like an animal rights Miss Marple, she decides to figure out what is going on in her rustic small town.
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| Duszejko respects the lives of all animals |
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Surprisingly, the film never veers into some pedantic, vegetarian screed against hunting or meat eating, but is more of an exploration of the importance of balance with and respect for nature. The images of animal life, whether cowering from humans or malevolently watching their every move, are just stunning, the cinematography a delight at every moment. Meanwhile, the procedural aspects of the film are very well done. The film possesses a good twist, and by the time you find out how this wave of violence came about, you are so deeply entrenched by your love of the characters that drive the film, that your entire moral compass may shift. The film questions patriarchal power and its abuses, while also shining a gentle light on anti-conformists who follow their own path, as well as what "family" really means. How one
can choose their family. Within this context, the film's ending feels just right.
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| Some of the issues with which Spoor engages |
A great film should transport you to another world, even if it's one familiar to you in some ways. The film should compel you to deeply care about characters and their outcomes, forging a strong identification with them while maintaining a sense of intimacy, as if you have entered a secret, private realm. A great film forces you to reexamine the places and people that you encounter everyday, shaping and shifting your perspective. A truly magnificent film will take your breath away and make you feel sad that it has ended.
Spoor is that film! I would happily pay extra to follow a franchise that focuses on Duszejko, and I hope that this performance brings
Agnieszka Mandat-Grabka the attention she so richly deserves.
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| The film's quiet moments are just as intense as its more dramatic ones |
Spoor was the third film I screened that day at the Fantasia Film Festival, and I walked out of that film not tired, but electrified, and seriously thought about screening it again the next day, I loved it so much. Agnieska Holland's mastery of cinema and her profoundly poignant and provocative look at humanity is on wondrous display in this masterpiece, and I hope that Fantasia's award is the first of many accolades. See this film as soon as you can, and then tell all your friends to see it.
