CINEUROPA ,a yearly ritual that film buffs await, never disappoints. It brings an array of films contributed by member-states to the delight of Filipino audiences.
Now on its 19th year, it opened middle of last week with Of Sinners and Saints, a film almost entirely shot in the Philippines by Italian director Ruben Maria Soriquez, an awarded indie production, locally and abroad, chosen for being a cooperation that best exemplifies the long-standing friendship between the Philippine and the European Union (EU). The EU delegation this year celebrates its 25th anniversary in the country.
Another such gem was shown during the press conference film viewing held a couple of weeks ago, a thriller by Oscar winner Danish director Susanne Bier, A Second Chance. This is a film that starts out by showing images of quiet family time, as experienced by the protagonist, Andreas—played by NikolajKoster-Waldau of Game of Thrones fame since 2011—a police officer who gets to come home every day after work to his beautiful wife Anne and his infant son. His partner Simon, on the contrary, is reeling from a painful divorce, drowning his sorrows in drunken oblivion.
A call for police intervention brings the partners to the residence of Tristan, a previously convicted junkie, and his girlfriend. Andreas is shaken to his core when he finds the couple’s neglected baby, covered in feces, tucked in a closet prompting him to request social services to intervene, in turn, only to find out that for as long as the baby is not physically abused he cannot be taken away from his parents.
Contrasts are highlighted first in the lives of the partners, between his seemingly idyllic family life and Tristan’s family’s situation. But all is not well with Anne, who shows to be breaking at the seams, dealing with something she cannot voice out. Something Andreas is not able to put a finger on. Her restlessness coming to the fore as she struggles with her newfound condition of motherhood is contrasted against the peaceful neighborhood scenery depicting the pristine Danish backdrop of their perfect home.
One night Andreas awakes to his wife’s desperate screams as she realizes that the little one has quietly passed into the next life. A hard to swallow situation that brings him-to-bend the rules of common decency and morality to regain that state of perfection he had lost in a heartbeat.
Tragedy begets tragedy, and wrongs are made worse before moral uprightness is upheld as Simon, who swears the bottle off and regains control of his life, rises up to the occasion and comes to rescue his lost partner.
Susanne Bier’s film deals with inner turmoil, loss, friendship and atonement in a masterful way, definitely a must-see film for those who appreciate a relevant and introspective slice of the human condition, where the lines of good and evil can get blurred.
Catch more European films at the Shangri-la Plaza. Cineuropa will be there until September 18 before moving on to other key cities in the Philippines.