The breath of fresh air that is the (EEFF) returns to cinemas this year for another offering of cinematic gems sourced from across the length and breadth of Europe.
Artistic director Thomas Caldwell says the program of 29 films showcases both big-hearted crowd-pleasers and arthouse fare. “I’ve got stuff in there like that was a huge hit at the Spanish box office and is a wonderfully trashy comedy with a bit of action, and we’re servicing the Australian cinephile audience too.”
Caldwell took time out from the leadup to the 2023 event, to curate a collection of some of his past favourites. All are now streaming in a special retrospective, the .
Compartment No. 6
Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen’s luminous train trip movie throws Finnish academic Laura (Seidi Haarla) into an odd couple scenario with Russian bruiser Ljoha (Yuriy Borisov) to remarkable effect.
“What I love about it is you really can’t see, at first, how on earth these two are going to get on with one another,” Caldwell says. “He’s quite horrible, and the film doesn’t defend or excuse his behaviour, but it also hints at a softer, more complex side to his macho drunken persona. That’s something I love about European cinema, which we just don’t get in Hollywood, is that characters are allowed to be flawed. We don’t need elaborate backstories to justify human failings. There’s a sad puritanism that has infected a lot of mainstream cinema.”
45 years
Weekend director Andrew Haigh delivers a masterclass in fraught relationship drama here, pitting Charlotte Rampling at loggerheads with Tom Courtenay as a married couple about to celebrate their anniversary who are rocked by an uncovered secret.
“A slow-burn film about the end of love, it captures the uncomfortable truths about the different degrees of commitment they have brought to this relationship,” Caldwell says. “It’s a tough watch, but it speaks some very potent truths and is extremely well-crafted. And the gesture Rampling makes right before the end credits is a gut punch.”
Calm with Horses
Director Nick Rowland’s Irish crime drama casts Lady Macbeth star Cosmo Jarvis as a reluctant drug dealer trying to be a better dad to his autistic son, but who finds himself dragged into bad behaviour by The Banshees of Inisherin star Barry Keoghan’s menacing liability.
“It’s sort of Goodfellows in rural Ireland,” Caldwell says. “Jarvis is this big, bulky tough guy who clearly is unhappy with the role he’s been dealt in life, but is trapped by social conditioning. It makes for a curious companion piece to Banshees, which of course features Keoghan, and the quiet tragedy underneath men who are unhappy in the roles thrust upon them.”
Also look out for at this year’s EEFF, Caldwell tips. “An Irish-set film by Finnish director Klaus Härö, it’s a romance featuring older people, and we don’t see enough of that.”
Amour
Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke delivers perhaps his most intimate soul-wrencher in this Parisian-set Palme d’Or-winner featuring towering performances by the late, great actors Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant and a brief turn by Isabelle Huppert as their daughter.
“This was one of the best films of last decade,” Caldwell says. “Haneke films are often endurance tests, they’re gruelling and you’re going to be confronted with the worst of humanity. But Amour showed us the best of humanity at its most vulnerable. It’s a raw, honest story about a husband looking after his wife at the end of her life and it’s beautifully devastating.”
Amour is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Europa
Italian-Iraqi filmmaker Haider Rashid delivers a devasting look at the brutality meted out to non-white refugees attempting to cross European borders, hung on the perspective of Iraqi man Kamal (Adam Ali).
“It’s a frightening depiction of nationalism,” Caldwell says. “Kamal has to escape from first the Bulgarian border police and then, more terrifyingly, an insane right-wing posse of migrant hunters who go around the forest killing refugees. It’s really immersive, with a first-person perspective, so the camera’s often tight on Kamal. You’re as bewildered as he is. It’s only 72 minutes, but it’s an adrenaline jolt of empathy for what these people have to go through.”
Europa is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
An Education
Danish director Lone Scherfig excels helming this confronting drama, adapted by Brooklyn writer Nick Hornby from British journalist Lynn Barber’s memoir about her real-life seduction by a man twice her age, starring Promising Young Woman lead Carey Mulligan and Jackie’s Peter Sarsgaard.
“Scherfig is a director who I’ve always found fascinating,” Caldwell says. “She makes her films look and feel like sweeping romantic stories. They’re beautifully lit, always have an excellent score, and there’s a lightness to them. But there are always some really heavy themes underpinning them. She gives you a bit of medicine with the sugar. This has the veneer of being a coming-of-age romance, but it’s about a young woman who enters into a very disturbing relationship. It’s such an amazing calling card for Carey Mulligan.”
An Education is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Murina
Croatian filmmaker Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s startling drama catches eel fisher Ante (Leon Lucev) in a tangled net when his old friend (Cliff Curtis) and possible business partner Javier visits, sparking a strange game with his wife Nela (Danica Curcic) and teenage daughter Julija (Gracija Filipovic).
“This has a bit of a Patricia Highsmith [author of The Talented Mr Ripley] vibe,” Caldwell says. “Ante is a very oppressive father who tries to control every aspect of Julija’s life, while she’s coming into her own, trying to get out of his shadow. New Zealand actor Cliff Curtis, who’s such a chameleon, plays the best friend, and it’s one of those films that toys with genre tropes.”
A bit like Romanian film in this year’s EEFF program, Caldwell says. “It plays like a slasher horror film, but is carefully calibrated to pick up on prejudices about people from rural communities.”
I, Daniel Blake
Comedian Dave Johns stepped into the dramatic role of his life in this potent slice of social realism from director Ken Loach that also turbo-boosted the career of Hayley Squires.
“Loach followed this with [package delivery drama] Sorry We Missed You, and they are extraordinary back-to-back films that capture austerity in England,” Caldwell says. “It’s heartbreakingly good, and the way Squires breaks down in the food bank scene is amazing.”
If you want something a little lighter, Caldwell also recommends catching Sally Hawkins in Mike Leigh’s teaching dramedy .
You can explore the full collection . SBS On Demand is a proud sponsor of the Europa! Europa Film Festival. The festival runs from February 16 to March 7 in Sydney and Melbourne, with tickets on sale now. Find full program details .
