Cross-Continental at the Sydney Film Festival

I managed to see 10 films in 12 days at this year's Sydney Film Festival. Here are my thoughts on 2 of them:

The Cycle of Love - directed by Orlando von Einsiedel:

The external circumstance of meeting a soul you feel deeply connected to leads to a journey of tapping into rich reserves of inner love. The protagonist, PK, born in an India which boxes him into the 'Untouchable' caste (Dalit in the Hindu tradition), overcomes negating social conditioning to advocate for himself and others. This is partially achieved by cycling from Delhi to Sweden and learning from Indian, Afghan and Iranian hospitality of the 1970s. Along the way PK encounters the kindness of strangers, which keep him going in his darkest moments. Enchanted by the bloom of romance with Borås-based Lotta, which is punctuated by many memorable co-incidences, easily interpretable as fate, he must find his way to her without a physical map, when they are separated by geography. It's clear that there is serious potential for a lasting relationship waiting for him, with Lotta describing her time in India as "magic" in retrospect. Love propels PK into the unknown, and a willingness to sit with and absorb the wisdom of everyday people - over the painting of their portrait or the sharing of food and drink - further opens up possibilities to healing and proactivity. This is an invitation to keep your heart open. 

The World of Love - directed by Yoon Ga-eun:

This is not a happy story, but one with lots of twists and turns, compelling viewing about the vicious cycle of abuse. The director, a South Korean woman, shows how a single act of abuse can be, and often is, reproduced by the victim. As an example of the moral ambiguity and unpredictability of each character, I will trace the narrative arc of one non-central character, the main character's mother. Introduced as having a problem with alcohol, she is able to be receptive to and soothing towards her daughter's processing of difficult events. She then provides additional support by encouraging her ex-husband (and the father of her teen) to be more attentive to said teen's need to have more of him in her life. However, she is not able to escape a cycle of physical violence. Witnessing someone pinch a young girl hard on the neck leads to her acting out internalised suffering by pinching someone else in turn, at a moment in which we expect tenderness. She is a character of complexity, and cannot be neatly categorised. This insightful film occupies many people like her, who both earn our sympathy and disquiet us. Incisive and marvellously acted, it asks the viewer to constantly re-evaluate what's going on in light of new information. It will leave you questioning power dynamics, both in South Korea and every society on earth.