MaltaToday previous editions

MALTATODAY 29 September 2019

Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1172208

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 44 of 55

13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 SEPTEMBER 2019 FILM ENVIRONMENT THE SOUVENIR THE PIONEER GREAT ATMOSPHERE RACKETEER STEER CLEAR ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ We usually associate vultures with African scenes of lions gorging on zebra while a skulk of sombre vultures wait their turn to hobble in for their pound of flesh (or gristle, tendon, skin and bone). But four species of vulture also make their home in Europe, but they're all quite rare. With one exception, the vultures of Europe pretty much stay in their territory all their life. The exception is the Egyptian vulture (M. avultun abjad), the smallest of the four and a regular migratory bird. So it is the one vulture species that occasionally graces our sky, as happened last week. It was a young bird (the one pictured is an adult) on its first migration to Africa from maybe Sicily or further north. Egyptian vultures are so called not because they hail from Egypt but because they featured so much in ancient Egyptian culture, religion, writing and art. Text: Victor Falzon - Photo: Aron Tanti 679. EGYPTIAN VULTURE Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 577: Find out more and try our delicious recipe: www.foemalta.org/goodfood tirically mordant humour, The Souvenir offers an olive branch of universality to audiences thanks to what could broadly be defined as the coming-of- age trappings of its story. They are not narrative trap- pings, however, as the move- ments of the plot itself are, as its typical of its writer-director, minimal nudges at best. Its el- liptical, half-repressed, queasy conversations (but ones which nonetheless offer up glitter- ing gems of wit every now and then) tempt one to describe it all as 'so British', but it's none- theless a startling quality in a film so full of delights. Oh and it looks great too, with David Raedeker's cinematog- raphy evoking the '80s milieu with sensitivity and candour, making the spaces feel lived-in but subtly upping the ante on the glamour when the occasion calls for it (such as the couples' lightning visit to Venice, pres- aged by a canny, repeated im- age of an arch reflected in the waters). We often use the term 'cin- ematic' to signify grandiose filmic canvases and big budget extravaganzas that emphasise an obvious 'wow' factor… an idea that is superficial and in- creasingly stale in a time when the cinema's biggest competi- tor – streaming 'television' – is catching up both in terms of budgets and audience attention. But Hogg's film makes the most of formats ability to immerse, evoke and move through its interplay of light and shadow, redolent of the very same ten- sion between fear and ecstasy, hope and oblivion which marks this, and all other, coming-of- age experiences. A sequel is in the offing, and it can't come soon enough. Not because this first instalment leaves us dangling on some cheap cliffhanger, but simply because a morsel this delicious naturally calls for more. The verdict A treat for long-time Hogg fans but also an apt introduction to her oeuvre for patient newcomers, The Souvenir is a tender and deeply beguiling au- tobiographical journey that both indulges in and examines the trappings of privilege it can't help but be draped in, while offering an honest and concise coming-of-age story whose universality is never telegraphed, but deeply felt. The Souvenir will be screening at Spazju Kre- attiv Cinema at St James Cavalier, Valletta on Oc- tober 8 at 7.30pm, Octo- ber 15 at 7.30pm, October 19 at 8.30pm and October 23 at 7.30pm. ★ ★ ★ ★ THE SOUVENIR (15) International man of mystery? Tom Burke

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of MaltaToday previous editions - MALTATODAY 29 September 2019