Before MIFF's 2024 programme launch I had neither heard of “Sweet Dreams”, nor of its director Ena Sendijarević, but it was immediately added to my “must-see” list for two reasons. The first was the film's trailer, which was played at the launch and shows off it's bold visual style, whilst also giving an indication of the biting satirical tone that the film was to showcase. The other reason was (as is explained in the MIFF guide) due to the fact that director Ena Sendijarević was inspired by Juraj Herz's 1969 masterpiece “The Cremator”. How cool is that?!? I cannot remember the last time (if ever) I heard a modern filmmaker cite Slovak director Juraj Herz as an influence on their own film. Being a massive fan of Herz myself, this influence definitely piqued my interest in seeing “Sweet Dreams”.
I absolutely loved “Sweet Dreams” and think that the first two thirds of the film are flat out perfect. I have mentioned this before but one way I know I am loving a film is when I find myself sitting there, watching, with this big, goofy (and very embarrassing) smile on my face, and this happened here almost from the first frame. The comparisons to “The Cremator” are also apt and even obvious, even though both films are completely different from one another. For those that do not know, “The Cremator” explores a dark page in the history of Czechoslovakia in regards to fascism and their part in the Holocaust, however it is told through satire and the blackest of comedy. Ena Sendijarević uses the same technique in exploring a dark page of her own country's history, namely the Netherlands colonisation of the East Indies and the brutality and abuse that ensued because of it. While the story she is telling is dark (it is not as dark as “The Cremator”, but what is?), she is able to tell it with the lightest of touches using comedy and satire to highlight the ridiculousness of the sugar plantation owners and their self serving attitudes. Sendijarević alludes more to the exploitation and abuse of the locals without explicitly showing it. The style works wonderfully well as it makes “Sweet Dreams” more accessible to the audience without losing the meat of her story in doing so.
Sendijarević has also imbued the film with a gorgeous visual style and a stunning use of colour throughout. One shot that I was particularly taken aback by due to its beauty was a simple shot where on the left of the frame we see the pink of the flowers, and on the right, the green of the fields, above, the blue sky and then the yellow of the sandy road which intersects it all. The film is full of these visual flourishes, like the deep red walls of the plantation owner's house, which gives the feeling that you are walking in to the belly of the beast. Cinematographer Emo Weemhoff shot “Sweet Dreams” in the square Academy ratio which cleverly highlights the claustrophobia felt by the family as their plantation empire crumbles around them. You can feel the walls closing in on them. Whilst I have nothing to back up this assumption, it wouldn't surprise me if shooting in the Academy ratio was another throwback or tip of the hat to Juraj Herz, this time to his film “Morgiana”, which I was also regularly reminded of whilst watching “Sweet Dreams” due to the rich use of colour and the flamboyant turn-of-the-century costumes of both films.
“Sweet Dreams” is littered with fantastic performances but I thought veteran actress Renée Soutendijk was utterly outstanding as Agathe, the matriarch of the family. You can tell that she just got the type of film she was in and the exact tone needed for it to work. She gives her character just the right amount of pompousness, entitlement and ridiculousness for the satire to bite its hardest. However Agathe is not a totally unsympathetic character, as surprisingly she is self aware; she understands the world and her place within it, not to mention the comforts of her life, and the people she needs to oppress to receive these comforts, but she is also not willing to give them up or just too lazy to try. Agathe is a character who thinks its a virtue in knowing how to stretch time while doing nothing. I also believe that she is sympathetic to the locals plight, by learning and speaking their language but still refuses to help them in any way out of fear it will change the status quo and her life of luxury. Renée Soutendijk is frequently hilarious in the role, leaning in to the absurdity of her character and pushing it just that little bit extra. The scene when her husband is struggling to breathe and clearly close to dying, and she quickly snatches away the service bell so he cannot ring it to get help, I found very amusing.
I mentioned above the use of language which is very important in “Sweet Dreams” as there are two distinct languages spoken within the film: Dutch and Indonesian. Obviously the colonialist's speak Dutch, while the locals speak either Dutch or Indonesian, depending on who they are talking to, their masters or their friends. Although it is indicated in the subtitles which language was being spoken, I felt it was unnecessary, as the two languages are so distinct from one another, it was very easy to tell what language was being spoken and when, even when it changed mid-conversation. Director Ena Sendijarević does an excellent job of examining the fallout and collapse of the plantation from both sides, the locals and the plantation owners, although she is clearly more sympathetic towards the plight of the poor locals while making fun of their rich oppressors. Stuck in the middle of everything though is poor Siti (played by Hayati Azis, in a quiet and sensitive performance), the Indonesian housekeeper of the family. She feels more at home with her own people, however they reject her because her son, Karel, is the illegitimate child of Jan, the now dead patriarch of the family (after he took advantage of her and had his way with her sexually in the past). Because of this, Karel is given more of the comforts unavailable to the rest of the Indonesians, and unbeknown to him, he is also set to inherit the entire plantation itself (much to the chagrin of the rest of the family who are trying to keep the contents of the will hidden because of it). The push and pull on poor Siti, trying to determine what is the best course of action to take for both herself and particularly her son, is essentially the dramatic meat that is the set-up for the film's finale.
In my opening paragraph, I mentioned that the first two thirds of “Sweet Dreams” are perfect which I stand by. I will admit that the film does lose a bit of momentum towards the end, and treads water for a while, before recovering soon enough to head towards the film's very satisfying ending. While the ending may seem a little predictable, it still felt right for this story.
Overall, I absolutely loved Ena Sendijarević's “Sweet Dreams”. It is a powerful film exploring the dark history of the colonial past of the Netherlands, but told in an engaging and very funny way. Sendijarević made “Sweet Dreams” because she wanted to tackle a part of her country's history that is never spoken about, nor even taught in schools due to the shame associated with it all. Her opinion is that just because it is confronting, doesn't mean it should be forgotten, and “Sweet Dreams” does an excellent job of shining a light on this history, and does so with cinematic pizzazz. It is superbly acted, aesthetically gorgeous, poignant, at times disturbing and very, very funny. On the strength of “Sweet Dreams”, I now look forward to tracking down a copy of Ena Sendijarević's first film, “Take Me Somewhere Nice” and giving it a watch.
4 Stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment