Friday 16th Oct – ‘Chevalier’
I’ve just had a text from a friend who saw this film with me – “I do not understand why ‘Chevalier’ won”! This is in relation to the fact that ‘Chevalier’ won the Best Film award at the Festival. I’m not sure that I have an answer for him or for you, except perhaps that in these times of austerity, a film about a group of six Greek men on a boat should be commended for its small budget and for the fact that it required only good characterisation to keep us compelled, rather than big budget special effects. It is, as my friend also referred to it, “a silly movie,” but I think there is something quite endearing about the ludicrous premise that six friends should suddenly decide to play a game regarding ‘who is the best’.
‘Chevalier’ is a gentle comedy, chiefly amusing for the moments when a player’s notebook is taken out to score some absurd event, such as what position a person sleeps in or their table manners. Why I think it found favour with the BFI LFF judging panel is it’s gentle dissection of masculinity – what does it mean to be a man in this world? This question, which is arguably even more important to the Greeks, who so pride themselves on their masculinity but who have recently felt so emasculated by their economy, is explored through the course of the film. In the increasingly claustrophobic confines of the yacht, the men begin to see the challenge as far more important than we would imagine they felt if back ashore with their families. Let the games begin!