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New Indian Express
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Cinema Without Borders: A fraught family—Hard Truths
It was quite fitting for me to have seen the film on Mother's Day with one of the principal scenes in Hard Truths being all about Chantelle trying to take a hesitant Pansy to their mom Pearl's grave on Mother's Day to mark her fifth death anniversary. A scene that brings to fore Pansy's hidden grudges—of being forced into responsibilities as an elder child when her father abandoned them and being neglected at the cost of her sister. It also establishes her inability in processing loss, pain and grief. Despite the span of time, a closure still eludes her. Hard Truths makes for an endlessly hard watch with a seemingly unfluctuating screenplay (as static as Pansy's own life) moving from one simmering encounter of hers to another. It doesn't rely on action but is heavy on the dialogue. In that sense it's an unhappy slice of a London-based extended working class black family life, a vivid portrayal of not just one feverish mind but the turmoil that her mental health issues throws her entire family into. The psychologically dense portrait of a woman in the breakdown mode is also an incisive probe into the heart and mind of those surrounding her. Dick Pope's camera is a perfect ally of Leigh in that exercise—intense in its gaze, piercing with the close-up shots. The film rides on Jean-Baptiste's deeply felt and wonderfully nuanced performance. The ensemble around her is just as layered. Webber and Barrett as her husband and son are specially chilling in their seeming unresponsiveness—to her and to their own fragile selves. They just keep bearing with her to their own detriment and you wonder when either of them will erupt with all the pent up rage or reach a breaking point. Even as the film shows the unconscious psychological cruelty and violence underlying the situation, it also tries to understand Pansy's behavioural patterns with empathy, tenderness, love and care. Leigh doesn't offer any easy cure for her affliction but, despite her being a bad wife, mother, sister and aunt, he isn't willing to give up on her as a far from perfect human being. The ties that bind us more often than not transcend the barriers of pain and hurt.
Korea Herald
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Films worth catching at this year's Jeonju film fest
From meditation on grief to immigrant narratives, three standouts worth seeking The 26th Jeonju International Film Festival, South Korea's premier showcase for independent and art-house cinema, kicked off Wednesday, bringing 224 films from 57 countries to the cozy North Jeolla Province city through May 9. This year's lineup features 80 world premieres amid a spectrum of narrative innovations and cultural perspectives. For those making the pilgrimage to Jeonju — the historic city known as much for its culinary heritage as its cultural significance — here are three standout films that exemplify the ethos of thoughtful, penetrating cinema. Tickets can be purchased through JIFF's official website (English interface available). But move quickly — seats fill up quickly, especially during the festival's opening days. "Hard Truths" (2024) Mike Leigh, the unflinching chronicler of British working-class life, returns with a work of remarkable emotional precision. In what may be her finest performance since her Oscar-nominated turn in Leigh's "Secrets & Lies" (1996), Marianne Jean-Baptiste embodies Pansy, a woman whose corrosive rage has calcified around unprocessed grief. The film opens with Pansy jolting awake with a gasp — a fitting introduction to a character perpetually at war with the world. Her husband Curtley (David Webber) and adult son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett) move through their immaculately kept home like hesitant guests, while her more ebullient sister Chantelle (Michele Austin) attempts to penetrate Pansy's formidable defenses. Leigh's patient, observational style allows spaces for revelation without forcing epiphanies. The restrained visual composition — Pansy's immaculate living spaces contrasted with Chantelle's warmly cluttered home — speaks volumes about emotional states without overstatement. What might have been merely an unpleasant character study in lesser hands becomes a profound meditation on the nature of suffering through Leigh's unfailing empathy and Jean-Baptiste's tour-de-force performance. "Hard Truths" screens at Megabox Jeonju Gaeksa on May 2 at 10:00, May 5 at 21:30, and May 8 at 21:00. "Winter in Sokcho" (2024) In Japanese-French filmmaker Koya Kamura's feature debut, a seaside Korean border town in winter becomes both setting and metaphor for a story of cultural dislocation and unfulfilled yearning. Adapted from Elisa Shua Dusapin's award-winning novel, the film follows Soo-Ha (Bella Kim in her screen debut), a young woman of mixed Korean-French heritage who works at a guesthouse in off-season Sokcho. When enigmatic French artist Yan Kerrand (Roschdy Zem) arrives seeking inspiration, their tentative interactions disturb Soo-Ha's carefully maintained composure. Kamura constructs a delicate visual framework where landscapes mirror inner isolation. The cold, gray winter light of Sokcho, a profound meditation on the nature of suffering situated within viewing distance of North Korea, creates a liminal space where identities become as porous as borders. For Soo-Ha, whose father disappeared before she was born, Kerrand's arrival prompts an uncomfortable reckoning with her fragmented sense of self. The film insists on subdued expression, almost to a fault — the relationship between these two figures unfolds less through dramatic confrontations than through silences, glances and the physical spaces surrounding them. In so doing, it sidesteps the predictable conventions of cross-cultural romance, offering instead a layered examination of alienation, creativity and the fundamental human longing to be truly seen by another. "Winter in Sokcho" plays at CGV Jeonjugosa on May 2 at 21:30, May 3 at 21:00, and May 7 at 13:30. "Mongrels" (2024) Korean-Canadian filmmaker Jerome Yoo's dreamlike feature debut presents an immigrant family's displacement as both geographical and subliminal reality. Set in rural British Columbia during the 1990s, the film follows widowed father Sonny Lee (Kim Jae-Hyun), who relocates with his teenage son Hajoon (Nam Da-Nu) and young daughter Hana (Jin Sein) after being recruited to cull feral dogs that threaten local livestock. Yoo structures the narrative in three distinct chapters, each focusing on a different family member's experience of grief and dislocation. This fragmented approach mirrors the disorientation of the immigrant experience itself — the characters process death and uprooting differently, creating psychological fissures even as they share the same house. Yoo's visual sensibility proves remarkably assured for a debut feature. The film's surrealist approach reveals itself through stark imagery where boundaries between humans and animals merge, with recurring canine figures that function both as ominous portents and as metaphors for displaced identity. The performances, particularly Kim's portrayal of a father whose stoic focus on survival masks his inability to process loss, anchor the film's more expressionistic elements. "Mongrels" screens at CGV Jeonjugosa on May 2 at 17:30, May 3 at 17:00, and May 7 at 17:00. moonkihoon@
Gulf Today
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
Mike Leigh talks about his new film, life and career
Like the action in his widely acclaimed new film 'Hard Truths,' veteran British director Mike Leigh swings between gratitude and despair as he reflects on his life and career. The 82-year-old is aware of the great fortune he has had to make more than a dozen films over a glittering five-decade run, including 'Secrets and Lies' and 'Vera Drake.' But he is also conscious of the difficulties for the younger generations coming through — and is scared by the 'profoundly worrying' changes underway in the world under US President Donald Trump. 'It's a privilege to be able to make films and it's a privilege which is getting tougher to experience,' he told AFP during a retrospective of his work at the prestigious Cinemateque in Paris. 'I consider myself very lucky. Filmmaking is a joyous experience.' Already working on his next project despite his growing mobility problems — he suffers from a genetic muscular disease called myositis — Leigh says he is troubled by a sense of the world being on the brink. 'It feels like World War Three may be around the corner. 'Now, I never thought I'd say that and I'm old enough to remember the end of World War Two, just about. I was born in the war,' he added. 'It's profoundly worrying and one feels helpless.' 'Hard Truths', praised as one of the Leigh's strongest recent films, is a poignant and sometimes darkly comic story of two sisters that whiplashes viewers with similarly contrasting emotions. Lead character Pansy is a clearly depressed, anxious and aggressive married mother-of-one, played with brio by British actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Her sister Chantelle (Michele Austin) is friendly, sociable and easy-going, with a home and family life that stands in sharp contrast. The film reunites the two black British actors from 'Secret and Lies', nearly 30 years after it won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes festival and a host of Oscar nominations. While the 1996 hit was about family and identity, 'Hard Truths' is a study in what makes some people pessimists and self-pitying, while others seem to glide through life's difficulties with smiles on their faces. As is his custom, Leigh offers no obvious answers on screen — and he dodges a question about his thoughts on the issue. 'You're asking me what's the secret of life? I'm not so pretentious or so self-opinionated as to pontificate about how to live,' he replied. 'I've worked very hard. I've used my imagination. I was engaged. For me, it's about engaging with people.' 'Hard Truths' is the first time Leigh has worked with an almost all-black cast, portraying London's vibrant Caribbean-origin community. He has no time for suggestions that he, a white director, should hesitate about taking on such a challenge. 'It seemed a natural thing to do. It's not a quantum leap. 'I raised my kids in north London and they were at school there and black kids were always running in and out of our house,' he explained. 'But on the other hand, it goes without saying, I couldn't sit in a room and write a conventional script for such a film.' He used the same collaborative approach he has deployed throughout his career, starting out with an idea, and then running workshops with the actors to develop the characters, dialogue and plot. 'In making the decision to centre on black characters. 'One of the deliberate things that I've very consciously done is to say: 'This is not going to be a film that deals in tropes and stereotypes and troubles with the law and drug issues and all the gang stuff',' Leigh continued. 'The main issues in the film are universal and are not endemic or exclusive to black people,' he added. He declines to talk about his next project but says finding financing is becoming increasingly difficult because backers — particularly the streaming platforms — want so much say in the final product. Agence France-Presse
Korea Herald
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Jeonju film fest unveils Masters section lineup
From Mike Leigh's latest to Quay Brothers' long-awaited return, lineup showcases legacy alongside bold experimentations The 26th Jeonju International Film Festival has unveiled its Masters section lineup featuring 15 films from acclaimed auteurs and emerging talents for the April 30 to May 9 run. Headlining the selection is Mike Leigh's character study "Hard Truths," starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste as a caustic London housewife harboring deep emotional wounds. The film marks Jean-Baptiste's reunion with Leigh after her Oscar-nominated role in the 1996 film "Secrets & Lies." Identical twin animators the Brothers Quay end a 20-year feature hiatus with stop-motion fever dream "Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass," while Japanese New Wave holdout Adachi Masao delivers "Escape," a nuanced character portrait chronicling a militant's five decades of life on the run. Canadian experimentalist Guy Maddin teams with collaborators Evan and Galen Johnson for political satire "Rumours," featuring Cate Blanchett and Charles Dance as leaders facing an impending apocalypse at a G7 summit. Francois Ozon brings the psychological thriller "When Fall Is Coming," while Christopher Petit and Emma Matthews present the documentary "D is for Distance," a deeply personal chronicle of their son's battle with epilepsy through intimate footage and third-person narration. The lineup includes festival circuit veterans like experimental filmmaker James Benning with "Little Boy," and Romanian director Andrei Ujica, whose "TWST - Things We Said Today" offers an unconventional approach to documenting the Beatles' 1965 Shea Stadium appearance without showing the actual performance. British avant-garde filmmaker John Smith turns the camera on himself in "Being John Smith," using his common name to explore identity and anonymity. His two earlier works, "The Girl Chewing Gum" and "The Black Tower," will also be screened. Canadian director Denis Cote returns to documentary with "Paul," which follows a depressed man who finds purpose performing housework for dominant women. His experimental short "Days Before the Death of Nicky" will also be shown. Two posthumous documentaries from French New Wave pioneer Jean-Luc Godard—"Scenarios" and "Expose du film annonce du film 'Scenario'" — round out the program. These works offer rare glimpses into the auteur's filmmaking techniques and creative process. "We've approached this lineup like diamond miners searching for overlooked talents," programmer Moon Sung-kyung said. "It is Jeonju's answer to the question of a film festival's role in our times, while also pointing toward where film festivals should head." The 26th Jeonju International Film Festival will take place from April 30 to May 9 across multiple venues in Jeonju's cinema district.
Telegraph
15-03-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Being a misery guts is bad for your health: Here's how to be more cheerful
My great aunt Grace, who was riddled with the debilitating curse of rheumatoid arthritis, used to say, 'What have I got to smile about when holding a cup of tea is more painful than grabbing a hornet's nest!' Fair. But being pessimistic isn't just about feelings, there is a physiological correlation too. Experts believe that chronic complaining rewires the brain for negativity, so the more you gripe about things, the more the neural pathways associated with negative thinking are strengthened. Sandrine Thuret, a professor of neuroscience at King's College London, says: 'As we age the production of new brain cells lessens, particularly in the hippocampus [the part of the brain that is responsible for learning, memory, mood and emotion]. This slow down can impact behaviour, resulting in a person being less positive in their day to day life. However, the good news is that you can increase your production of brain cells even during ageing, for example with a healthy diet and exercise, as shown in a 2022 large European study including 400 participants over the age of 60.' If you've seen Mike Leigh's latest, and typically stark, film Hard Truths, you'll recognise that the main character Pansy is one hell of a fault-finder. She is angry, vociferous, bitter, and clearly depressed. There are few who can (or want) to get near her ('People, can't stand them!' she barks). But this rejection of others is the nub of her tragedy. You see, the more someone carps on about their grievances, the less likely they are to connect with others and so the lonelier they become. Plus, there are a number of studies which cite loneliness as a significant risk factor for life-threatening diseases, while other research links loneliness with dementia. Analysis conducted by the Florida State University College of Medicine, published in Nature Mental Health in October 2024, revealed that individuals reporting feelings of loneliness had a 31 per cent higher risk of developing dementia. Don't dismiss moaners too quickly It's all too easy to wag a finger at this elderly demographic, says Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK. And the idea that older people complain more than other groups is an ageist stereotype, she says. 'Certainly though, as we age, we may well have to confront some big challenges, so it's not surprising depression and other mental health problems are quite common among older people. Our research shows that 75 per cent of people aged 65 and over have experienced significant anxiety or low mood at least once since turning 65. Unfortunately, many are reluctant to seek help and sometimes doctors wrongly dismiss mental ill health as an inevitable feature of getting older.' Older people struggle to talk about their mental health Rose, 71, made a radical decision to see a therapist last year after her daughter encouraged her to get support. 'I lost my husband two years ago, and my own health isn't great,' Rose says. 'I spend a lot of time on my own and it can be unbearably boring and lonely. Although my daughter comes to visit once a week, there are so many empty hours in-between. I was feeling increasingly resentful about the situation and I took it out on her by being snappy and moody. 'I'd never considered therapy, it seemed like something other people do, but my daughter thought it might help me work out some of my complaints. I've had six sessions now and I'm more able to see the difference between simply letting off steam and falling down a critical, negative spiral of destructive ranting. We all know life gets tougher as we age, but being a complete killjoy is only going to alienate me more.' In a recent interview, Philippa Perry, an author and psychotherapist, underlined the dangers of isolation. 'People isolate too much,' she said. 'And then they don't have the checks and balances of normal human interaction – you know what I think and feel about you because you can see it mirrored in my face, and you're doing the same for me. And if we don't get that, I think we go a bit crazy.' Age means we can become that little bit more invisible, finding ourselves sidelined by the next generation who are bouncier, brighter and burgeoning. If slipping into the shadows doesn't seem like an appealing prospect, it might be time to rewrite your narrative. The problem with looking back As we move into our latter years, there can be an inclination to look back and dwell on the what-ifs, rather than the future – especially as the time left to us is eroding fast. Helen Kewell, a counsellor specialising in ageing and mental health at the end of natural life, understands that losses can stack up thick and fast as we age. 'Of course it's tempting to be negative,' she concedes. 'Who wouldn't? But this is often related to deeper feelings such as unspoken anger, fear or grief. If a person can voice these feelings and understand where they are coming from, they can go on to live – even at this late stage of life – in a very meaningful way.' Kewell agrees that older folk can easily be disregarded, and in a world that is moving on incredibly fast, they may feel like they are being left behind. 'Speaking up is a way of being noticed. But doing this in a constructive way gets you seen and heard and is, ultimately, empowering.' My late mother-in-law left us a legacy of her wise words and spirited attitude; she remains my inspiration as someone who nurtured an excellent older age mindset. Way into her late 80s, whenever we went to visit her, she'd be waiting in her doorway with a Cheshire cat smile on her face. She was always cheery and enthusiastic, even though her legs hurt, and her hearing was almost non-existent. She once told me: 'I'm no fool, you know. If I remain positive, I know you'll always be keen to come back to see me again.' We did. Time after time. How to make sure you're not a moaner Try to be aware when you tip into negativity, and reframe your thinking. Rather than, 'I'm sick of these long winter nights', try 'The darker evenings mean I'm more inclined to read my favourite book by the fire.' Find solutions to your problems. Moving forward will empower you. Social contact is extremely important. Not only can it alleviate loneliness, but an alternative perspective on your situation can help jolt you out of a pessimistic rut. For example, someone else may say: 'I've noticed your family are always dropping by, that must be lovely for you.' On the other hand, being around others who complain frequently can be infectious; negativity becomes the norm. So pick your social connections wisely. Yes, everyone needs to let off steam now and again, but people who laugh a lot tend to be better company. There will be times when you want to vent. That's fine, but keep it contained and quickly move on. The more you adopt a positive mindset, the more you will naturally veer towards optimism. Over time, you will notice the benefits this brings, and its invaluable effect on relationships and your wellbeing.
