SDLFF Dispatch #2 – “Urte berri on, amona!”

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I’m about to head down to SDLFF for another evening of viewings, but first I must highlight a selection I just watched on screener. Telmo Esnal’s Urte berri on, amona! screens tonight and tomorrow night; if you’re in the area and don’t mind your movies weird, don’t even think about skipping this one.

One of very few films ever made in the Basque language, Urte berri on, amona! is a head-trip and a half. Imagine Funny Games crossed with a Greek tragedy, presented as a dark comedy, with a little old lady in the role of antagonist, and you’ll only begin to understand the film’s warped uniqueness.

Amona (Basque for “Gran,” as in “Grandma”), played by Montserrat Carulla, is driving her daughter and caregiver, Maritxu (Kontxu Odriozola), toward a stress-induced heart attack with her exhausting antics. In the first scene, Amona urinates in the hallway, despite having been placed in the bathroom moments earlier – probably because she has dementia or another elderly ailment, we assume.

But it quickly becomes clear that Amona is not the typical mentally deteriorated old person; her disruptive actions seem to be laced with malicious intent. When Maritxu and husband head off on a vacation, Amona stays with her granddaughter’s family – during which time she constantly screams at the top of her lungs, chucks her great-grandson’s Legos out the fifth-floor apartment window, and nearly roasts her great-granddaughter in the fireplace. There is a pathological element to Amona that signals the movie will not be a domestic drama, but a darkly funny horror film – Bad Seed in reverse. By the third act, the dramatic stakes have heightened to can’t-believe-your-eyes levels.

I referenced Michael Haneke’s Funny Games in the introductory paragraph because, like the behaviors of the violent aggressors in that film, Amona’s deviant actions become grating in their constancy and nonsensicalness. (The film also features a murdered dog, but I won’t spoil how it happens.) But as annoying as the viewing experience can get, Amona only becomes more fascinating as the plot advances – an enigma that one can’t help but try to crack. Montserrat Carulla’s performance is a tour de force – she rarely speaks, but through glassy, shifting eyes and gestures that progressively reflect psychosis, she leaves a haunting impression.

The film ultimately offers an explanation for why Amona behaves the way she does, in a third act that is an unabashed soap opera. This feels a little cheap on the surface, but the way that director Esnal ramps up the lunacy factor by tenfold is so entertaining that it’s hard to object. Furthermore, the finale of Urte berri on, amona! is such an eruption of revelations and raw emotions that it’s far more effective than most soap operas, achieving the sort of hyperbolic poignancy reflective of a seasoned melodrama.

The production values are strong across the board; beautiful scope cinematography complete with elegiac visual symbols and nuanced performances from the ensemble are among the highlights. Urte berri on, amona! is dark and eccentric, but if you’re cinematically adventurous, this is a must see. 3 ½ Buckets out of 4. Screens Wednesday, March 14 (tonight) at 10 p.m. and Thursday, March 15 at 8:30 p.m.