LFF 2020: Genus Pan
LFF 2020This one is only for the true Turin Horse fans out there. Unlike Bela Tarr, however, Filipino auteur Lav Diaz adapts some semblance of a plot into, ironically, his shortest film in nearly a decade.
The basic storyline centres around three miners who have worked several months out in the hot sun. Their job is coming to an end and they discuss the pittance of wages that have saved up, with most of their actual pay going to profit their bosses in the form of sneaky additional fees. In order to save a bit more of their cash, the three men agree to trek their way through the island of Hugaw, rather than paying a boat to take them directly home.
However, the journey is longer and more arduous than they anticipated and it soon begins to take its toll on the men. Arguments break out, long held secrets bubble to the surface and it’s often money that is the source of their issues. The back half of the film focuses on the repercussions of this detour through the jungle – a detour that results in gruesome consequences.
The story is not particularly difficult to follow, although it does only advance after long segments, so a keen attention is required. It’s also tough to discern how exactly Diaz is attempting to make the point that he so clearly wants to. A dialogue from what seems to be a radio show, or perhaps a television programme, overlaps a scene of the three men in the jungle. The conversation is a back and forth between a presenter and a professor, with the professor highlighting exactly how small the differences between a human’s brain and that of a chimpanzee’s. Diaz’s intention with Genus, Pan is ultimately to depict the animalistic tendencies of human beings. But, in fact, Diaz inadvertently seems to depict the most human of tendencies – jealousy, rage, despair, hate, even vengeance. Although animals are sure to suffer these range of emotions, the way they are presented in the film – and especially how the characters react to them – are all ultimately very human.
It’s tough to justify the point of everything that has been shot here. Thanks to the power of location, the jungle half of the film is particularly more interesting than the village half, although that’s not offering up much praise.
Every shot is a painting but if this were an art gallery, nobody in their right mind would want to be forced to stay for nigh on three hours.