From my balcony at the foot of Holly-
wood, I gaze at the Harry Potter cas-
tle under construction and wonder
how to start this column.
Of course it is not going to be a “top
of the charts”, but an attempt to cre-
ate a narrative through an accidental
series of movies that exist in daily
life and are constructing new expres-
sive languages.
Just yesterday, I received a link to
view a documentary by the Italian
film-maker Yuri Ancarani called The
Challenge (2016). It is now playing at
movie theatres after having garnered
much success when it was presented
at film festivals around the world,
winning the Special Jury Prize
in Locarno.
I watched it on the computer, al-
though by its very nature, this mov-
ie deserves to be watched on a big
screen. As advised by the precise
instructions, I used headphones and
did not have the possibility of sharing
the private link with other spectators.
I was even unable to fast-forward or
reverse, forced to follow the film from
start to finish without interruption.
I was overcome by a feeling of restric-
tion. The documentary opens with a
close-up of a Qatari man observing
dozens of falcons swooping around
inside a hangar. I wished it could have
ended his way, with this unique and
special scene, a fixed camera captur-
ing the monumental action. This
beginning, which to me would have
made an ideal end, would have been
enough to satisfy me.
It is a gem of cinematographic beau-
ty, unusual enough to remain in your
memory. But Ancarani’s camera
moves, and suddenly transports us
on a 70-minute trip full of strange
rituals, car races in the desert and
domestic scenes populated by exotic
animals. We follow a group of rich
young Qatari men in sumptuous au-
tomobiles congregating, watching
television, and playing with falcons
and leopards as if they were puppies
needing to be walked.
It is quite difficult to understand
exactly what I am watching, yet I do
not stop. It is difficult to say what I