November
Bottom Line
Imagine a film that channels Jan Švankmajer’s Alice, Wiene’s Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari, and Bergman’s Seventh Seal. Imagine a film that feels like a lost silent classic, but was made in 2018. Imagine a film suffused with Gothic menace, magic, and malice. Imagine a film that’s beautifully filmed, brilliantly acted, and utterly, utterly bonkers. November […]
Imagine a film that channels Jan Švankmajer’s Alice, Wiene’s Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari, and Bergman’s Seventh Seal. Imagine a film that feels like a lost silent classic, but was made in 2018. Imagine a film suffused with Gothic menace, magic, and malice. Imagine a film that’s beautifully filmed, brilliantly acted, and utterly, utterly bonkers. November is that film.
Perhaps one of the most inventive, atmospheric and just plain weird films of recent international cinema, November throws together Estonian fairy tales, star-crossed lovers, and dubious dealings with the devil, into one black-and-white film-pot and gives it a damn good shake. The results are pretty mixed. At times, November is both baffling and tedious. But it’s also gloriously, daringly original in a way not often seen in an industry that’s increasingly focused on money-making rather than art.
A smash at film festivals, a winner of numerous cinematography awards, November was also Estonia’s nominee for the 2018 Best Foreign-Language Film Oscar–and it’s easy to see why. Director Rainer Sarnet‘s unique, hypnotic, and whimsical film is one of those rarities destined for cult status.
November will be haunting your dreams and tickling your funny bone for years to come. It’s weird, it’s wonderful, and it simply has to be seen.
Paula Hammond - Features Editor
