NYFF 2018 Report 1: Experimental Films: THE IMAGE BOOK & YOUR FACE

During my unfortunately short-lived time at NYFF 56, I was able to see an eclectic blend of films, ranging from Yorgos Lanthimos‘ latest to a wildly unexpected political satire from Portugal. All in all, it was an exciting time, and though I wish it had lasted longer, I relished in each and every moment.

Rather than break down the films I was able to see by day, I decided to group them into categories, starting with the current one regarding experimental films, which includes The Image Book and Your Face.

The Image Book – Jean-Luc Godard

It’s admittedly hard to write about Jean-Luc Godard‘s latest film The Image Book. As one of the original pioneers of the French New Wave starting with his first masterpiece Breathless (which came out a whopping 58 years ago!), Godard has not been one to shy away from pushing the bar. With this, his 45th feature, he clearly hasn’t diverted from that sentiment.

The Image Book doesn’t have much of a narrative, though in broad terms it has been described to be about the modern Arab world. The film’s structure is much like a hodgepodge of history, inter-spliced with a series of images, both past and modern. A special emphasis is on World War II, and on Arab countries in general, including imagery of countries like Tunisia. Technically, the film is as varied as its subject, with drastic changes in aspect ratio, saturation, camera angles, and more. Voice-over is done by Godard himself, who dryly discusses history, philosophy, the stark difference of economic classes, and the nature of mortality itself, a fitting topic given that the director is now in his 87th year.

Admittedly, films like The Image Book often go over my head. Though with clear proficiency behind the camera, and with some voice-over lines befitting that of poetry, it’s easy to be lost amongst the noise and flashes of light. Godard himself even seems to be aware of the film’s droning nature, with explosions of sound often coming at the back of its quietest moments. But there isn’t much to latch onto even with the energy that Godard instills into his images, and I often found my mind drifting off during some of the film’s more somnolent moments.

The highlights of The Image Book, for me, were its homages to the medium itself, with clips of movies coming at opportune moments. Just some I was able to catch were a clip of Buster Keaton‘s The General, a brief shot of Hitchc*ck‘s Vertigo and The Birds, a traumatic reminder of the chained like a dog scene from Salo, and more.

Godard‘s The Image Book clearly has a lot to say, and with the veteran master still going strong, it’s hard to think too negatively about the end result. If you ask me, though, I would have preferred a little more story to go along with it.

Your Face – Ming-liang Tsai

Oftentimes, while either reading or writing, I will get caught up on a particular word, and if I find myself staring at this word for too long, it starts to seem alien, as if I had never seen it before. It’s an unusual phenomenon that I am sure is not limited to myself, and it’s this which immediately popped up into my head when witnessing Ming-liang Tsai‘s Your Face.

Comprised solely of a series of close-up faces, it (sometimes uncomfortably) lingers on them for lengthy periods of time. Some of the people simply stare into the camera, one slowly drifts off to sleep, while another plays the harmonica. Still others tell stories of their past lives. A cameraman off screen occasionally asks them to delve deeper into their history, including a poignant moment which includes a woman tearfully expressing her regrets at having been too busy in her adult life to visit her aging parents.

Through it all, though, the camera never moves. As we continue to stare, you soon are given enough time to make out these peoples’ every wrinkle or facial flaw, after a time starting to both feel as if you intimately know them and as if they are unlike anyone you have ever seen before. Ming-liang Tsai expressed the idea about why he made a film solely consisting of peoples’ faces, and about who he chose specifically to include: “People who are still working, who are not having an easy life, and not people who just idle around.” The main sentiment to take away from here is that, by either lingering on these peoples’ faces or hearing some of their past, you are able to empathize with them just that much more easily, which may then extend to simply people you see in your day-to-day life who otherwise would be strangers.

The ending of Your Face focuses on a single shot in an empty two-story room. As the light fades from the room, Ryuichi Sakamoto‘s score rises and falls. It’s a hypnotic lingering shot that, much like the remainder of the film, begs you to find meaning, though here it is in the emptiness of the world without people. Ming-liang Tsai‘s film may be hard to recommend to anyone other than the most die-hard of avant-garde filmmaking, yet there is some real resonant lyricism to it as well, which to me warrants a watch.

Conclusion: The Image Book and Your Face

To conclude, both The Image Book and Your Face, through their respectful unconventional aspects, have the innate ability to challenge you as a viewer. They require concentration, focus, and respect, and no matter which you personally prefer, they show just how diverse and effective experimental filmmaking can be.

What are your thoughts? Are you a fan of experimental films? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!