The Netherlands hosts the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) on an annual basis. The festival is renowned for its innovative and varied programming, which features an extensive selection of international films, such as experimental and independent productions. A gathering of cinephiles, filmmakers, and industry experts from around the globe to investigate and celebrate the art of cinema. By emphasising narratives that provoke thought and feature up-and-coming artists, IFFR continues to be a significant forum for distinctive perspectives within the film industry. The 2024 edition is anticipated to uphold this customary practice by presenting spectators with an enthralling assortment of films that mirror the worldwide variety of cinematic manifestations. From January 25 to February, the 53rd iteration of the International Film Festival Rotterdam will be held.
In cinema, the four-cornered deities sit in the heart of the dark, staring into the audiences’ eyes while illustrating their various personas. They sometimes appear with the robe of love, another time with the crown of life, or even behind the frozen face of death—to terminate existence, as we see in “Godsterminal.” Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky, a phenomenal Russian director, once said, “The aim of art is to prepare a person for death, to plough and harrow his soul, rendering it capable of turning to good.” And it is what George Tiller, the creator of “Godsterminal,” dedicates: a ritual to death, with a tribute to genius Ingmar Bergman, who is known as the philosopher of cinema.
Bergmanesque ghosts pay Edward (Eddie) Weki, a 75-year-old Sudanese man with Parkinson’s disease, visits his bedside. Alma (Manuela Eleonor de Gouveia), the nurse from Ingmar Bergman’s film Persona, and a female Death from The Seventh Seal assist the elderly man in regaining forgotten memories of his life on the island of Faro. Upon entering a dimly lit room and encountering an elderly man who is barely breathing and closing his eyes, it appears as though we are witnessing the final moments of his life. However, Eddie abruptly reorients us to the domain of death, displaying a wide-eyed perspective. Edward Weki, the main character of Persona Beach (2011) and Overnight Flies (2016), has brilliantly performed as someone suffering from Parkinson’s disease and takes us on a journey of compassion and understanding.
A new aspect of “The Seventh Seal,” directed by Ingmar Bergman (1957), is set in motion in the opening minutes of the Abanga game when Eddie and Death square off. As the film progresses, it delves into Bergman’s film frames to reveal different sides of Eddie. The black-and-white monochrome scenes remind us of the elusive feature of memories by which we perceive Edie on the verge of annihilation. And the symbols the director brings out subtly, like the stones and fishhook, are signs of attachment. The words and silence are chosen brilliantly and deepen the narrative. As Eddie says to death, “I sow first, and you harvest,” at the very first moment of the game. It is a great metaphor for life. As we start to take the first steps for life to build, we almost know we are paving the path of death, like harvesting the crops. “Godsterminal” has done it with the power of directing.
After completing unresolved studies in theatre and philosophy, Austrian director Georg Tiller attended the Vienna Film Academy to study film directing and cinematography under the tutelage of Michael Haneke and Christian Berger. He is a writer, director, and producer, and his credits include Persona Beach (2011), Zaho Zay (2020), and White Coal (2015), among others. Now, Georg Tiller’s “Godsterminal,” which premieres in IFFR, is tempting us to go for existential cinema as we used to see in Bergman’s ones. In one scene, he points out “Faro,” where Bergman’s “Persona” (1966) was filmed—the island on which Eddie works in a sand factory.
Borrowing from the core theme “The Seven Seals,” the filmmaker creates a robust narrative about mortality. In the film, the omnipresence of death is eerily reminiscent of Bergman’s black-clad Grim Reaper. The confrontation with death embraces a haunting eeriness and an undeterred persistence. Likewise, the landscape of the film is portrayed as a harrowing solitary confinement. The mise-en-scene contributes to the gloomy disposition, symbolising the conceptual representation of the character’s isolation and the encroaching dread of death. The desolate scenery and the gloomy frame compositions imbue the film with a chilling, harrowing atmosphere.
“Godsterminal” becomes, in many ways, a dirge for human life. The film, through the depiction of an individual laden with Parkinson’s, masterfully exposes the inherent vulnerability of mankind, offering an intimate depiction of life, illness, and mortality. The Austrian filmmaker portrays death as a potent, omnipresent figure throughout the narrative, thus sculpting a profound commentary on human fragility and the inescapable finitude of life.
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