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LOCARNO 2021 Competition

Review: The River

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- As far as “slow cinema” goes, the latest offering from Lebanon’s Ghassan Salhab just crawls along

Review: The River
Ali Suliman and Yumna Marwan in The River

As The River [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, the final part of the triptych also comprising The Mountain and The Valley [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, makes it into the Locarno Film Festival’s main competition, there is no denying Ghassan Salhab’s dedication to talking about Lebanon’s struggles without pretty much uttering a single word – just like the couple he focuses on (played by Ali Suliman and Yumna Marwan), yet another one of those pairings that always seem to be sitting in a restaurant somewhere, looking miserable.

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It’s a relationship that – however little is known about their past – is riddled with uncomfortable stares and long, long silences, at least until they find themselves out in the woods. It’s autumn, one guesses, as the world is already drained of all colour and covered in leaves. Or maybe it’s just plain dying. There, they actually seem to finally address some issues, or even feel desire again. But their escape is an illusion, with the invasive sounds of jet fighters regularly piercing through the air.

If there is one thing Salhab communicates well, it’s the sense of mystery, of something darker happening somewhere behind the treeline or beyond an unusually thick fog, swallowing them up at one point. This forest could just as well be another kind of Stalker’s Zone, with even the animals they encounter acting all funny. The tension felt between these two, clearly on the verge of something, can be sensed all around them, and while Suliman and Marwan both have a presence (even though their acting seems to happen in slow motion), The River is still one of those films that feel overwhelmingly longer than their actual running time. They walk around aimlessly, with the man filming his companion as if wanting to prove to himself that she is there. It could have been a story about ghosts, and maybe it is. But there is no denying that, despite its palpable atmosphere, it’s also quite dull.

“Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I’m not the same, the next question is: who in the world am I?” Salhab repeats rather surprisingly after Lewis Carroll or, rather, after his girl, Alice, showing a spot where another white rabbit with a waistcoat and a watch could have disappeared mere moments ago. Given the film’s pace, he could also have added: “Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her, and to wonder what was going to happen next.” Because he sure makes one wonder – also about why, at the end of the day, love is never enough.

A Lebanese-French-German-Qatari production, The River was staged by Khamsin Films and was written by Ghassan Salhab. It was co-produced by The Postoffice, Les Films de l’Atlaï and Unafilm. Its world sales are overseen by Les Films du Losange.

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