………R.M.N is arguably one of the best films of the year. My admiration is not only for its solid storyline, but also from a technical point of view, it is well executed.
……..It starts quite mysteriously with a young boy running away from something that horrified him.
……..From then on, the story shifts on to Matthias who is a Roma. He works in a factory in Germany that produces meat, and his job is slaughtering sheep. After he assaults his supervisor because of an insult to his ethnicity, he realizes that he needs to flee the country and heads back home to Romania.
……..This is when the main story begins to unfold bringing along with the rest of the characters .
There are several layers with different dynamics and background stories that reveal themselves throughout the film. This element makes the audience stay with each character as they gradually develop.
………Meanwhile, a baking factory in this small village where Matthias lives, is after an EU funding program that enables them to get a bigger capital and in order to do that, they need to hire more workers. However, none of the local members of the town want to work for them since they pay a minimum wage. So, the owners decided to bring in foreign laborers which does not sit well with the locals.
……..This is when the main subject matter of the film comes to surface. The rise of nationalism, specifically in Eastern Europe, and interestingly enough, the villagers also voice their discontentment about how the Western European countries discriminate against them when they work abroad. This contradiction is well portrayed by the filmmaker.
……..Therefore, there is no empathy from their side, even though, they share the same struggle. Only Csilla, who is of Hungarian decent, and the owner of the baking factory seems to be defending the foreign workers, but even her intentions are not in the right place. She just wants to reach the number of hired employees that is required by the EU to get her funding, even if that means under-paying the foreign workers.
…….There is a particular shot in the film with no cut or any camera movement that lasts for maybe more than ten minutes. This was probably one of the most difficult scenes to execute from a technical standpoint.
……When the mayor decides to hear the community members about the issue of the locals wanting the foreign workers to leave, a long-heated argument occurs and the dialogues in the entire duration of this moment are so natural that you cannot even move in your seat. One can only admire how well this was done.
……The other layer that is in the subtext of the story which also exists from the start to the end of the film is the topic of the predator in the wilderness and death or killing. This relationship exists throughout the film, especially between Matthias and his son. This makes Matthias’s role unique in that it helps raise a larger and compelling question at the end of the film.
Arguably the best film at VIFF 2022..
“Plan 75”
Review by Ian Merkel
Cannes Film Festival 2022
| Winner Golden Camera – Special Mention | Chie Hayakawa |
……In a world where our aging populations are growing faster than ever before are we ready to have a plan not for retirement but for relieving the burden of looking after the aged as a national plan
……..This is the subject matter of Writer-director Chie Hayakawa theme in setting up the premise of Plan 75 in Japan
The premise is that we can no longer afford to look after the elderly without affecting the economy, and the well being of the country and therefore they should be sacrificed for the good of the nation. Obviously the cost of medical care which has advanced to the point of keeping the elderly healthy is probably a factor for the economy but who decides?
…….How do we do it humanely or fairly without considering whether everyone way beyond retirement age in this case at age 75 has to do their part. The plan covers a multitude of options for the population based on whether they can still support themselves by relying on their families, or they are independently wealthy, or can no longer support themselves because they are poor or alone etc. Sure the country can try make it fair and sweeten the pot, but if you are healthy and can contribute to the nation not only economically but in many other ways why should you be forced to follow this path?
…….I am not going to cover the story here as the film will be at VIFF repeats next week and will leave you with lots of thoughts after the ending, should you get to see it
……..I found the acting very natural and well done. Casting of characters and they way the the director chose young people to do the bidding and the selling of the plans interesting.
