VTIFF Program-Guide 2024 - Flipbook - Page 18
FILMS A TO Z
FH: FILM HOUSE | BB: BLACK BOX THEATER | SR: SCREENING ROOM • All at Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center, Burlington
GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS
GRAND TOUR
Directed by Shuchi Talati
India, France, Norway | 2024 | Fiction | 118 min | English
Directed by Miguel Gomes
Portugal, Italy, France | 2024 | Fiction | 128 min | Portuguese w/subtitles
Sponsored by: Patricia Fontaine
Sponsored by: Barbara Heilman
SHOWTIMES
MONDAY, OCTOBER 21 | 7 PM | FH
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24 | 4 PM | BB
SHOWTIMES
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25 | 1 PM | FH
Set in a strict, well-to-do boarding school in India in the ‘90s, Girls Will Be Girls has all
the hallmarks of your standard coming-of-age gauntlet: hormonal teens crushing hard;
dirty tricks from clashing cliques; overachievers and ne’er do wells; and a self-contained
setting where uniforms are mandatory, decorum is unimpeachable, and tradition is
sacrosanct. But, somehow, Girls Will Be Girls makes these elements fresh, new, and
alive. That starts with our protagonist, Mira (Preeti Panigrahi), who is head of the class
and resented by her peers. In any other film she’d be the antagonist; here she is deeply
relatable—as studious as she is conflicted. Add to that an emotionally sophisticated,
carefully crafted narrative where Mira and her mother vie for the attention of a
handsome, suspiciously mature new student, Sri. Anchored by a trio of exceptional
performances—including scene-stealing work from Kani Kusruti, in a breakout year for
the veteran actress—Girls Will Be Girls is a beautifully rendered film in every respect, a
strikingly assured debut from Shuchi Talati that is overflowing with empathy. ~OO
Winner of Best Director at Cannes, Miguel Gomes’ latest period piece dramedy is the
work of a filmmaker with a truly unique conception of cinematic grammar. Split into two
mirroring halves, Grand Tour is sumptuous and enchanting, a cracked adventure yarn
with its own fairy tale logic. The first part follows Edward, a haute British civil servant who
is intent on fleeing his impending commitment to his fiancée, Molly, hopping through a
number of colonized Asian countries and cultures. Then we double back and join Molly’s
journey as she is hot on his heels, undeterred and tracking his movements every step of
the way, with a gumption that stands in stark contrast to Edward’s cowardice. There’s
plenty of tragicomic potential in that set up alone, but Gomes has much more on his
mind, which comes out in the many modern-day scenes that break up the dueling
narratives. As fun as it is to watch this functionary and his betrothed careen through
Asia, the long shadow of European colonialism looms over their madcap misadventures.
Grand Tour is whimsical, boldly stylized, thematically ambitious, and like nothing else
you’ll see this year. ~OO
THE GREAT YAWN OF HISTORY
(KHAMYAZEYE BOZORG)
Directed by Aliyar Rasti
Iran | 2024 | Fiction | 92 min | Farsi w/subtitles
Sponsored by: Bernard Rubenstein
SHOWTIMES
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22 | 4:30 PM | BB
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27 | 2:15 PM | BB
Mysterious and elusive, Aliyar Rasti’s excellent two-hander conceals a great reservoir of
emotional and spiritual turmoil under a patient, placid surface. Recruited for a cryptic
treasure hunt, damaged young agnostic Shoja accompanies Beitollah on a journey to
Northern Iran in search of a cave that may or may not exist with a cache of gold coins. An
older man of deep but wavering faith, Beitollah is in search of far more than riches, and
his reasons for needing a companion are equally uncertain. As they travel from cave to
cave, they meet a variety of people of noble and nefarious intent. Rasti, in his feature
debut, brings a photographer’s eye to every frame, crafting a movie with an intuitive
visual sensibility and letting the power of its images convey profound ambiguity. The
Great Yawn of History harnesses the tremendous dramatic storytelling that is central to
Iranian filmmaking, inverting The Treasure of the Sierra Madre on a beguiling, soulful
metaphorical journey into the desert. ~OO
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VTIFF.ORG | VERMONT INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2024
