Little White Lies - 03.2020 - 04.2020

hat year is it? In this stimulating, collaborative work by
filmmakers Ben Rivers and Anocha Suwichakornpong, it initially
seems like the present day, as we follow a serious-minded location scout
as she wanders the sun-bleached shores and shrines of what appears
as contemporary-era Krabi – a Southern Thai tourist hotspot. Yet that
doesn’t explain the regular appearances of a prehistoric, cave-dwelling
twosome decked out in tatty animal furs and occasionally terrorising
those who hover too close to their rocky abode. Nor would it cover the
emotionally raw trip to a shuttered open air cinema whose long-serving
janitor bears witness to a strange miracle. If time is a fluid concept,
then this film a is sweet, multi-coloured cocktail with a paper umbrella
leaning on the rim of the glass. It’s not so much that each cut of the
film transports us to a new time and place, it’s that multiple eras and
locations intermingle in the frame concurrently. It takes a little getting
used to, but this drifting affect lends the sounds and images a serene,
almost therapeutic quality.
Rivers has long been interested in the concept of decay, and also
in stories which exist outside of an identifiable moment, although
this perhaps isn’t instantly identifiable as his work. The warm 16mm
photography captures kitsch, weather-damaged artefacts and a
landscape that remains untouched by modernism. A sense of comic
intrigue pervades, even though it’s never certain if any of the various
strands (which also includes the hokey production of a TV ad involving
an actor playing a caveman paddling in the sea) will amount to anything
more than casually meandering vignettes. There’s so much going on, and
new characters appear in most scenes, that as pleasurable as it all is, it’s
very tough to say with even a scintilla of certainty what any of it adds
up to. But that’s never the worst thing for a film like this. DAVID JENKINS

ANTICIPATION. One of Britain’s greatest
filmmakers joins with one of Thailand’s best. Excited.

ENJOYMENT. An odd film that meanders,
then meanders, and then meanders some more.

IN RETROSPECT. Yet it really sticks with you like a vivid,
highly symbolic and occasionally amusing dream.

cottish writer-director Scott Graham regularly explores isolated

communities in the furthest reaches of Scotland. His third feature,

Run, advances his explorations of family and regret to Fraserburgh in the

far northeast, a small town where the fishing industry dominates.

Thirtysomething Finnie (Mark Stanley), a fish factory worker, has

a malaise that’s sabotaging his relationships with teenage-sweetheart-

turned-wife, Katie (Amy Manson), and their two sons. He lingers on

memories of bygone, carefree nights spent racing cars, and the once

boundless possibilities that dried up once the couple took on too much

responsibility too young. He sees a similar fate befalling his teenage

eldest, Kid (Anders Hayward), who partakes in the same drag race culture

and whose girlfriend, Kelly (Marli Siu), is pregnant. Following a fraught

evening, Finnie sneaks out, swiping Kid’s souped-up car for a joyride that

may see him flee Fraserburgh for an unknown future. Complications arise

when Kelly ends up as his passenger companion, with a similar urge to

escape a life of already hampered hopes.

There are several visual and aural nods to Bruce Springsteen, but

the overall energy and direction of Run is less literal-minded than it

may sound. The central bulk of the story is an emotionally complicated,

largely car-confined two-hander between the magnetic Stanley and Siu,

with cinematographer Simon Tindall making intoxicating use of neon

reflections and rain and wave-soaked scenery. This section aesthetically

resembles car-bound Tom Hardy vehicle Locke as filtered through a

racing film.

Under 80 minutes in length, Run’s tight, textured narrative makes

the inherent limitations of the few British attempts at road movies

part of its thematic meat: the open road will always still be pretty short.

JOSH SLATER-WILLIAMS

ANTICIPATION. Marli Siu is one of

the UK’s brightest new onscreen talents.

ENJOYMENT. One of the most rhythmically

interesting and tender British dramas of late.

IN RETROSPECT. Short and sweet to the point of

feeling slight in retrospect. But certain scenes sear the brain.

Run

Directed by SCOTT GRAHAM

Starring MARK STANLEY, AMY MANSON, MARLI SIU

Released 13 MARCH

S

Krabi, 2526

Directed by BEN RIVERS, ANOCHA SUWICHAKORNPONG

Starring ARAK AMORNSUPASIRI, NUTTAWAT ATTASAWAT,

PRIMRIN PUARAT

Released 8 MAY

W

080 REVIEW