IFFR 2021 - Aristocrats
IFFRClassism in film is a narrative tightrope. One side will come out looking rather poorly or, at best, both. Neither can look good; forgiveness is in short supply for audiences who find themselves facing off with an apologetic look at the upper or lower echelons of society. Perhaps that is what makes Aristocrats so compelling. It presents a stuck in the middle view of aristocracy, without understanding the cultural significance of the hate and hope many people hold for this walk of life. Aristocrats’ ability to walk this tightrope may be void, but the fresh face of director, Yukiko Sode leaves a fine imprint on the cast and gives evidence to suggest she has more to show.
Stifled politeness and eerie falsehoods dominate the high society Sode showcases while the harsh and unremitting, yet fun and free, world of the working class provides a ballast to this. Aristocrats forms most of its intentions from predilections and fails to understand that audiences may have a different persuasion or thought process. By playing itself so straight and narrow, never galloping toward any form of sentiment that would inspire either side as the winning choice, Sode hopes to conclude that both are troubled lifestyles, and that money does not provide happiness. It is nicer to cry in a mansion than in a McDonalds. High society is played off as an advert for a hotel, the bottom rung of the ladder showcased as hard workers picking up the pieces of their miserable existence.
Narrative tropes that should have died long ago are reignited here, with considerably dense and meaningless results. A chapter structure removes any form of narrative flow, and as the two narratives inevitably grow and flourish in their expected, unfulfilled ways, Aristocrats begins to show a wafer-thin screenplay. What a shame, too. The cast members are competent and compelling, but a strict regimen of predictable dialogue and caricature-like supports leaves this feeling like a product rather than an emotive analysis. With narration switching suddenly between privilege and mannerisms of the indulgent few, Aristocrats has fluttering moments of interest, but nothing that hasn’t been seen before.
At its core, though, Aristocrats does little to convey its message of class warfare, retreating instead into a state of loved-up animosity where two women from different backgrounds are contrasted with extraordinarily underwhelming complacency. Sode has a calming, relaxed style to her direction, but its gluttonous desire to be a part of the establishment that it showcases undermines the core value of the film. Aristocrats they may be, but their near-passionless approach to the script strikes up a similar lack of morality held so dearly by those at the top, but Sode doesn’t dare kick back at those she profiles.