Tonight / God's Creatures

[John Harvey]

Hi,

I'm still testing positive for Covid and truth be told still struggling with it. I have an intro done if anyone want's to step in and read it out (I'll edit it down and send on to Alex Murray to print - I'll add it here too). 

Cheers,

John 

[Julie McMorran]

Hi John

A lot of bugs going around, I think.

Alun's been ill since Friday (not Covid +ve) and I'm just starting to feel rubbish too, so not going to the film tonight either. I would have done the intro for you otherwise :- (

Connor wasn't going to attend this one anyway, but given the presence of some kind of respiratory infection in the household, he would have stayed away in case he carried it to everyone.

I hope you feel well soon and that the film's good (everyone who's going).

Julie

 

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Sent: 17 April 2023 13:56
To: Robert Burns Centre Film Club <talk-...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: (Robert Burns Centre Film Club) Tonight / God's Creatures

 

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[John Harvey]

Hi Julie,

sorry to hear the news, I hope you're all feeing better soon. If only tonight's film had been The Beasts, I could have done an online intro and watched the film at home (I have a link but not one for God's Creatures) and then joined in afterwards!

I can't seem to add this as an attachment so here's the intro (with a few possible spoilers for the Post Film Discussion element):

Monday Night Film Club

Welcome to Film Club, for anyone who hasn’t been before you’ll have seen the info on screen, an introduction followed by a screening of a new release followed by an informal post-film discussion.

Tonight’s film is God's Creatures, a drama set in a County Kerry fishing village in which Emily Watson plays doting mother Aileen, coming to terms with doubts and suspicion after her son, Brian (Paul Mescal), faces an allegation made to police by one of Aileen’s fellow factory workers.

God’s Creatures filmed during 2021 and premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight. It’s the feature debut of two American New York based filmmakers, Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer. The pair collaborated on 2015’s The Fits, a drama with quasi-supernatural elements about an 11-year-old tomboy who struggles to fit into a girls’ dance troupe, which begins to suffer from an inexplicable epidemic of violent fits.

God’s Creatures was written by Shane Crowley, from a story conceived with producer Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly, whose own family are from a fishing background. Davis and Holmer then developed the screenplay for two and a half years visiting shooting locations in Donegal and Kerry, “spending a lot of time watching the tide come in and feeling the elements.” Fishing traditions weigh heavily: At the beginning of the film the body of a fisherman washes ashore, drowned as a result of the custom that bars parents from teaching their children how to swim. The rationale being that those who don’t know how to swim are dissuaded from jumping into dangerous waters to save those who fall overboard.

This film, structurally and narratively, doesn’t appear to follow conventional means. Much of that was about Davis and Holmer challenging the expectations about what a story like this might look like onscreen. For instance, the alleged act isn’t shown - according to Davis “We weren’t going to lay down evidence for the audience to decide. It’s not about Aileen trying to understand what the truth is. It’s about the truth for her and what that looks like psychologically.”

The filmmakers also consider the film “as the making of a ghost story” and one which leans into horror stylisation by cinematically expressing scenes with eerie, unsettling, gothic elements through the use of camera placement, sound design and music. (The film’s sound experimental design was something of a surprise to Watson on watching the final edit).

Watson was a somewhat controversial selection as Aileen, given that she’s an English actress but the directors were particularly drawn to her vulnerability – “We’ve marvelled at her artistic instinct toward embodying rather than just doing, a rare and mesmerizing quality that’s created an enduring body of work. For Aileen, we needed an actor who could illuminate her interiority with strength and curiosity.” A considerable amount of onscreen tension comes from the directors’ favouring of still moments, close-ups and silent stretches. “Early on,” says Davis, “we think about how the body is reflecting what the character’s going through. When we were looking at Emily, as reference we were watching her debut in Breaking the Waves, and her performance in that is a lot about the silences and what she’s thinking.”

Critically, the film scored 90% on the Rottentomatoes tomatometer (and 55% on the Audience Score). One review from The Arts Desk laments, “While Watson and Mescal miraculously delineate the disintegration of familial love and trust, too much is omitted from the film as a whole: backstory and motivation.” Screen Rant, in a 4 out of 5 review, states, "God's Creatures is an unnerving rural gothic tale with two quietly fierce performances that make the film's slow burn to its climax worth the wait.”

Let’s roll film…….

 

 

POST FILM DISCUSSION POINTS (WITH SPOILERS):

 

1.     It also feels haunted by generations of women who have had their voices silenced, their bodies violated, and their abusers walk free. Yet it’s a fellow woman who stands in the way of a rapist being convicted in God’s Creatures. Can you speak indirectly to how this eerie gothic element eventually turns Aileen’s transgression into a darkly redemptive act of solidarity? 

 

2.    It’s a religious community, the townspeople go to mass, they attend weddings and funerals, they go to the blessing of the boats yet when the time comes, they close ranks to protect one of their own. In one of interviews for the film Emily Watson said that the inclination is to not disrupt the community or family’s status quo. As a result, “We’re all complicit because the status quo is for all of us.”

 

3.    Together, these elements all carry Aileen toward metamorphosis. However, Aileen’s actions don’t bring about redemption nor justice. It isn’t until Aileen sits and listens to Sarah’s words that she is acting in true solidarity.

 

4.    And there’s the painful irony of that for this young woman [Sarah] in a community where everybody just turns their backs, when they’ve all known each other since birth.

 

5.    God’s Creatures remains grounded in the observation that the subjugation and violation of women’s bodies is upheld by the very tenets of our society—oftentimes, even abetted by fellow women. 

 

6.    On the horror side, we talk about this as a making of a ghost film. Eileen and Sarah are going to be haunted by the same ghosts for the rest of their lives. Healing and surviving doesn't end when the credits roll. We were building this horror motif into the film, and it's only through Sarah's articulation of it at the end, that these ghosts everybody has been hearing come into focus.

 

7.    Technical info: The film was shot on 35mm by cinematographer Chayse Irvin (who worked on Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman) and they chose the format to capture the intensity of the landscapes, setting out to create a tense and foreboding mood. Filmmaker magazine calls the cinematography “totally engrossing, capturing this Irish seaside town in a way that isn’t completely drab considering the characteristically dreary weather.”

 

[Steveandkerry Riddell]

Hello John

Only just saw this as I don't get notifications but I did the intro and discussion. Went fine. Film pretty good , not outstanding

Steve

[John Harvey]

Hi Steve,

that's great many thanks for stepping in at the last moment like that. I should be better for next week!

Cheers,

John 

[Steveandkerry Riddell]

No problem. Just sitting here between patients finishing Godland intro then onto the other one.

Steve

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[John Harvey]

Hi Steve,

we've been sent an email with links to some recent Godland press. For some reason the links don't work if I copy and paste so I've emailed them to you.

Cheers,

John 

[Steveandkerry Riddell]

Ok thanks. Just watched Alcarras which would have made a terrific Monday nighter. Recommended.

Steve

[Steveandkerry Riddell]

Oh and What do we see when we look at the sky. Absolutely brilliant

Steve

[Julie McMorran]

Hi there

Hello

Neither Connor nor I will make it to the film tonight as we're both still feeling rough. 

Anyway, I wasn't sure whether this might be useful to whoever's introducing tonight's film (John?). I noticed in the trailer there was some what looked like horse wrestling going on - something horrific which goes on in parts of Spain (like so much animal abuse, tradition doesn't equal acceptable). I don't know how big a part it is of the film - just the opening scenes, perhaps, but it may be useful information anyway.

Will see you next week for Infinity Pool. Con's on the mend too (although still not great) and I'm sure he'll be fine for the intro next week.

https://www.equineinfoexchange.com/index.php/recreation-lifestyle/1348-shaving-the-beasts-wild-horses-and-ritual-in-spain

Shaving the Beasts: Wild Horses and Ritual in Spain Shaving the Beasts: Wild Horses and Ritual in Spain www.equineinfoexchange.com

See you soon

Julie

[John Harvey]

Thanks Julie. I'd read up about "the shaving of the beasts" and a bit apprehensive about the animal scenes in the film.

Hope you get better soon!

John 

[Julie McMorran]

Hi John

I thought you would have found some stuff on it.

How was the film?

I read a few reviews in which some people were saying something about a body in the woods and how the dog would have found it? All three of ours will find the tiniest dead shrew or mouse left behind by local cats - even a rodent jaw bone once, which we think was left by a bird of prey. I'm sure your dog is the same - especially being a Lab! :- ) Even our 14-year-old lurcher Ralph doesn't miss a thing, he has cataracts and poor (selective?) hearing, but there's nothing wong with his nose.

I'm sorry to have missed it, although I think I'd have started the film being cross about the horse scene and that would have made me biased against the rest of it.

I hope you all had a good evening and an interesting discussion. I'd love to know the feedback and whether it's worth watching in the future - I sort of liked the concept and that it was a 'true' story.

Julie

 

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From: talk-...@googlegroups.com <talk-...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of John Harvey <rbcfilm...@gmail.com>

Sent: 24 April 2023 18:22

To: Robert Burns Centre Film Club <talk-...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: (Robert Burns Centre Film Club) Re: This might be useful for The Beasts

 

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[Steveandkerry Riddell]

Hi Julie

Great film enjoyed by all. A thriller with a brain in a stunning location. We'll balanced, thoughtful and gripping. The opening scene is not gratuitous and very much part of the story. I thought it was handled well.

Steve

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[Steveandkerry Riddell]

Oh re the dog. He was a bit of a dunce.Several references like "some gaurd dog you are" etc

Steve

On Mon, 24 Apr 2023, 18:22 John Harvey, <rbcfilm...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[John Harvey]

Hi Julie,

the horse scenes were very tastefully done, they were at the beginning of the film and it didn't look like the animals were in any distress at all (odd, given the nature of the 'festivities'), it made for a very powerful opening.

Agreed about the dog, although 

(SPOILER ALERT AHEAD)

....the body wasn't found in the film. In the true life story the body was eventually found four years after the murder. During The Beasts a piece of evidence is found near to where the murder took place but no sign of the body at all. Presumably why the dog didn't pick up the scent.

Let me know if Connor is still feeling unwell next week.

Cheers,

John  

[John Harvey]

Thanks Steve, looking forward to both of these films! Alcarras was so very nearly a Monday film.

Cheers,

John 

[Julie McMorran]

Ho John

Ah, that's good about the horses, I was worried about them (it's such an awful activity).

That's interesting about the Spoiler* mentioned below - that's a long time. I suppose when you think about it, that often happens - I suppose the dog has to be looking in the right area in the first place. I guess that even dogs have their super-sensory limitations...

I'm sure Connor will be fine as he's much better than I am just now. If not, and if I get properly better first, I'll do it instead (but it won't be as interesting).

See you next week :- )

Julie

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Subject: Re: (Robert Burns Centre Film Club) Re: This might be useful for The Beasts

 

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[Julie McMorran]

Hi Steve

That's good - I'll watch it once it becomes available.

I'm glad everyone enjoyed it!

See you next week

Julie 

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[Julie McMorran]

:- ) :- ) German shepherds are a bit like that! Apologies to anyone out there in the ether who shares their life with one, but they are.

I used to get a police officer to come to the college to talk to the students about how police dogs are trained and what they do etc. When asked, Why German shepherds?' he said something that I've never forgotten, which was, 'Collies are 99% intelligence and you only need to invest 1% of effort to train them, German shepherds are 1% intelligence, and you have to invest 99% of effort to get them to do what you need them to do.' They're incredibly complex dogs - and the main reasons they use shepherds instead of collies are that collies are highly sensitive and noise phobic (not good around guns), and you can't really imagine being taken seriously with a collie as a canine officer! One of the brightest dogs is a poodle, and for obvious reasons they're not used either. (I won't go into the ethics of working dogs, but just like with animals in films, as you'd probably imagine, I often have issues with the whole 'if they had a choice, would this animal choose to do this?' thing).

Interestingly, some forces are now using Malinois dogs - the acrobatic car-jumping dogs in John Wick 3 (and 4?). They look a lot like German shepherds, and are often utter nutcases! They are frequently a topic of conversation at dog behaviour conferences, usually because of aggression.

I suppose in the film by making the dog seem not so clever, they're setting him up for not finding the body and that gets them over that potential loophole, but John's *spoiler alert in the other email is interesting about that too. I.e., not a good guard dog, and therefore not a good sniffer dog either.

I so have to watch this film - never have I written so much about a film I've not seen! But then, it does involve the D-word!

Anyway, better get on with my work now!

See you all next week

Julie

Ps I came across this earlier, which some of you might find interesting (going to have a good browse when I get a chance):

https://www.cinemaparadiso.co.uk/films/collections/cinema-paradisos-top-films/top-10-dangerous-dog-films

 

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[John Harvey]

I did wonder why they commented on the dog not being particularly good at guarding their house!

Cheers,

John 

[John Harvey]

That's amazing Julie. I just though Alsatians were chosen because of their looks / intelligence.

Funny you should mention Malinois dogs. Our neighbour has one, and basically it had belonged to someone that dealt in all sorts of bad things, drug dealing being one of them. The dealer was arrested and, not sure how it happened (almost like a fostering service, I think) his dog was rehoused with my neighbour for the duration of the detention and subsequent trial. If found Not Guilty, he would have to return the dog and a Guilty verdict would see him rehomed. And Guilty it was!

John  

[Julie McMorran]

That's interesting.Do you think your neighbours might keep the Malinois? These days animal fostering for such situations is a great thing. In the charity I worked for in Brum we'd have welfare boarders in for six months or more while owners were awaiting trial - six months is a huge amount of time for a dog that might live only 12-15 years. Fostering is a much better solution!

I hope the guy's all right too. It's so difficult to know what the best thing is for people who've lost their way...

See you Monday!

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Sent: 27 April 2023 12:24

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[John Harvey]

Yes, the neighbour kept the dog. He's just passed out window with it. Meanwhile, our dog is lying in a sunspot in the living room...

Thanks,

John 

[Julie McMorran]

Ah, that's nice :- )

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