Holy Spider – Ali Abassi – Iran

Based off true events surrounding Saeed Hanaei, a serial killer who murdered 16 prostitutes in Mashhad, Iran between 2000-2001, Holy Spider is a frightening and fresh take on the serial killer procedural drama.

Iranian born and Denmark based filmmaker Ali Abassi follows up his insanely original Swedish fantasy film Border with another darkly funny and brutally realistic film that breaks from the formula and structure of a crime thriller in fun and inventive ways. Split between two POVs, we follow Rahimi (Cannes best actress winning Zar Amir Ebrahimi) a female journalist who arrives to Mashhad to write an investigative article on The Spider Killer. Meanwhile, we also meet Saeed (Mehdi Bajestani) who is instantly revealed to be the killer as we witness him haphazardly strangle a prostitute in his apartment stairwell and dispose of her body, rolled up in a carpet, on the side of the road.

Abassi wastes no time introducing us to the killer and eliminating any distracting “mystery” from the proceedings, as it becomes evident that his focus is not on the murders or the investigation, but rather the cultural implications of the killer’s mission and the fallout of his eventual arrest. Saeed is a husband, father of three and a construction worker. He sets out at night on his motorcycle every week when his wife goes to visit her parents. Picking up a lone woman, he brings her back to his home and strangles them with their own headscarf. He calls the media and lets them know where to find the body. Nobody at the paper even bothers to record most of these calls. The police don’t seem to be in a hurry to stop him, as they see his work as a favour.

Rahimi, frustrated with the lack of effort from the police and media, takes matters into her own hands and attempts to take down the Spider Killer herself. What follows subverts expectations and shifts the tone and message of the film into a scathing commentary on the treatment of women in Iran. Following his arrest, Saeed confesses fully to his crimes, which he sees as an aid to society, justified by the tenets of Islam. His message reaches the ears of Iran’s most devout and is met with praise by the populace who view his work as a welcome cleansing.

Holy Spider is a difficult film to pin down or define. It plays with expectations and structure, it is so full of dark and funny tonal shifts and remains engaging throughout without having to lean on the traditional tent poles of the genre. By the end, the message is clear and harrowing. The screening I saw at Vancouver Playhouse was very well attended and as the credits rolled and the applause picked up, the audience erupted into chants of “Woman, Life, Liberty” in Persian. In the pitch black darkness, the women of the audience shouted together in protest and support, which only underlined the importance of a film like Holy Spider.

We’ve reached the half way point of the 11 day festival. I’ve had the opportunity to check out a half dozen screenings and was lucky to see a few movies that I enjoyed. Here are a few thoughts on some of the flicks I liked so far.

Aftersun – Charlotte Wells – UK

Eleven year old Sophie is on holiday with her dad at a resort in Turkey. Her father (Paul Mescal) is quite young himself, and early on they are mistaken for siblings. They laze around the pool, play billiards and watch the endless, colourful parachutes sail around in the sky above.

The story is told as decades old memories of the now adult Sophie, as she reviews footage shot on a 90s camcorder during the trip. Her father is loving and kind, despite some dark tension he seems to be carrying with him throughout the trip. Slowly we uncover some of this darkness and learn more about the significance of Sophie’s recollection of the vacation.

Some classic, heartwarming, coming of age moments that are underscored by a heavy, brooding energy. The central performances by the young Frankie Corio and Paul Mescal are highlights, as the estranged father and daughter duo find ways to connect, despite their relative distance from each other.

Personal and true to life, Aftersun is a warm, colourful depiction of a very real, very tragic story. From the outset, it’s clear there is more to this simple film than meets the eye and the eventual, emotional finale is satisfying and heartbreaking.

Banshees of Inisherin – Martin McDonagh -UK

Set on the fictional island of Inisherin off the west coast of Ireland in 1934, The Banshees of Inisherin tells the story of two life-long best friends who reach a sudden end in their friendship. A black comedy with a fair share of laughs and a slowly building, tense situation that clearly will only end badly.

Padraic (Colin Farrell) is heartbroken to find that his best friend Colm (Brendan Gleeson) is no longer interested in being his friend. It seems the older Colm has reached a point in his life that he can no longer waste time chatting with Padraic every night over a few pints and would rather spend the rest of his time composing music on his fiddle. As Padraic tries to repair the cracks in their relationship, Colm stands his ground and insists that they are finished.

It seems that Padraic is dull and perhaps only a step up from the village idiot, Dominic Kearney (Barry Keoghan) who offers Padraic advice on how to repair the rift. Unfortunately for Padraic, there is no way through to his old friend, who has stubbornly drawn a line in the sand. After a few attempts to reconnect, Colm decides that his only option is to set a boundary with bloody consequences. Meanwhile, across the water, a civil war rages on the mainland, the sounds of cannon fire and the distant smoke carries in the air.

I really enjoyed Banshees. Reminiscent of McDonagh’s earlier stage plays, his dialogue feels more at home in Ireland and the big emotional stakes feel more grounded, despite the absurd operatic weight behind everything. Farrell and Gleeson have an incredible dynamic and live up to the promise of their previous work together in McDonagh’s In Bruges. A well paced, darkly funny chamber drama with gorgeous landscapes and biting dialogue, Banshees of Inisherin benefits from lower stakes than in previous McDonagh films, but still finds a way to feel immediate and full of consequence.