film review Archives - Matilda Marseillaise

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No dogs or Italians allowed is a French stop-motion Claymation feature film showing at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2022. The second feature film from director Alain Ughetto follows up his 2013 debut Jasmine.

No dogs or Italians allowed tells the story of director’s grandfather Luigi Ughetto, an Italian from Ughettera in Piedmonte who laboured building the Swiss/French border tunnel, a dam and other significant buildings in France and Switzerland. The story is told through the voice of his elderly grandmother Cesira to her adult grandson in her kitchen. It is quite fitting that the director Alain Ughtetto chose to make Claymation films, following in his father and grandfather’s passion for making things with their hands.

Right from the opening scene of the film, where we see a life-sized person shaving wood, we were intrigued by No dogs or Italians allowed. The theme of moving from one house into another and into another was cleverly captured by placing a cardboard house in front of the lens and having a car drive in and out of the driveway before a larger house is placed on top of that existing house and the same car drives in and out again.

The film would occasionally juxtapose Alain Ughetto’s life-sized hands against the claymation figure of his grandmother sometimes to comic effect. In one scene, she is sewing a patch on a large piece of grey fabric covering her lap. She then passes it to Alain asking “how do you get your socks in such a state?” We then see that the fabric is way larger than this little figure. The sock being life-sized.

The life of Luigi Ughetto was one of much difficulty but the story-telling is interjected with moments of lightness. The Tour de France support cars and its cyclists passing by their French house made us smile. Racist signs on French/Italian border businesses are explained away with humour to his son.

The film tells a story of resilience and hope through wars in Libya and in Europe, poverty (a single potato cut into 5 pieces to feed 5 children), and loss, along with some more prosperous times that see them settle in a house in France they build themselves and name Paradise.

No dogs or Italians allowed is an original way of telling a migrant labourer’s story and is well worth a watch.

4 CROISSANTS

Matilda Marseillaise was given access to a screener of No dogs or Italians allowed

KEY INFO FOR NO DOGS OR ITALIANS ALLOWED

WHAT: No dogs or Italians allowed, a film from director Alain Ughetto

WHERE: Cinema Nova 1

WHEN: only one session remains: 4pm on 21 August

HOW: Purchase your ticket via this link: https://miff.com.au/program/film/no-dogs-or-italians-allowed

HOW MUCH: Various options available for single or multiple tickets

Share Pass

12 standard festival admissions, which you can share with up to three (3) friends per session at MIFF 70. That means you can book two people into six sessions, three people into four sessions, four people into three sessions, or any combination that suits you and yours.

Full: $199
Concession: $185
MIFF Members: $170

Discovery Pass

Five standard festival sessions, plus two (2) bonus off-peak sessions, at MIFF 70 – just for you.

Full: $105
Concession: $95
MIFF Members: $85

Deluxe Membership

Lets you buy a single ticket to every single film showing at Melbourne International Film Festival 2022: $580

Peak pricing (weekends and weekdays after 5pm)

Full: $24.50
Concession: $20
MIFF Members: $18.50
Group: $18.50 (per person, 10 people or more)

Off-peak pricing (weekdays before 5pm)

Full: $21.50
Concession: $18.50
MIFF Members: $16
Group: $16.50 (per person, 10 people or more)

Premium pricing (weekends and weekdays after 5pm)

Full: $32
Concession: $30
MIFF Members: $28
Group: $28 (per person, 10 people or more)

OTHER MIFF 2022 CONTENT

Melbourne International Film Festival 2022: 25 Films in French

MIFF 2022 – 18 multilingual films to see

Subscribe via the link below to be notified of future articles, including French language films you can watch from the MIFF at home, via MIFF Play.

Reading Time: 3 minutes

One year, one night (Un Año, Una Noche) is a film from Spanish director Isaki Lacuesta making its Australian debut at the Sydney Film Festival today. The film depicts the life of a bi-national couple French Céline (Noémie Merlant (who was also in Paris, 13^th district that we reviewed ahead of the Alliance Française French Film Festival 2022)) and Spanish Ramón (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart) living in Paris after surviving the shootings at the Bataclan concert hall in November 2015. It is based on the book Peace, Love and Death Metal written by Bataclan attack survivor Ramón Gonzalez.

One year, one night jolts us between current day and memories of the night of the shootings at the Bataclan just as the characters themselves are constantly jolted and reminded of what happened, and what they survived that night. They each deal with the aftermath of the attacks with polar differences – Céline hasn’t even told her parents, her work colleagues, anyone that she was there that night. Ramón struggles to get back to work and finds himself reliving the night every waking moment. Céline wants to forget and cuts short any conversation among the group of friends that were there with her that night. Ramón becomes obsessed with every single detail and reads every news story. For him, not remembering a detail will lead to catastrophic consequences.

Noémie Merlant and Nahuel Pérez Biscayart give impressive, convincing performances which would have demanded a lot of their emotions. We truly believed we were watching a couple trying to survive and return to their normal lives after they were inexplicably, in a single moment, upturned.

The cinematography is also worthy of mention with some beautifully shot scenes – such as a bathroom scene with the couple having a conversation on either side of the heavily frosted door. The soundtrack is comprised of original songs which have a rock feel – much like the band Eagles of Death Metal that the couple had gone to see at the Bataclan that fateful night.

The only shortcoming in One year, one night is that the timeline was not true to the way events unfolded. In the film, we have the night of November 2015 Bataclan attacks, later followed by the truck attacks in Nice and later still the Eagles of Death Metal returning to the Bataclan. Those two last events were in reality reversed. The second concert was in February 2016 and the Nice truck attacks on Bastille Day in July 2016. Fortunately, knowing this doesn’t significantly alter the experience of watching film.

One year, one night is a beautiful film depicting the realities of trauma following a life-changing attack like that of November 2015 in Paris. Noémie Merlant and Nahuel Pérez Biscayart are actors to watch and I will look for director Isaki Lacuesta’s future releases with interest.

3.5 CROISSANTS

KEY INFO FOR ONE YEAR, ONE NIGHT

WHAT: One year, one night, a film showing at Sydney Film Festival 2022

WHERE & WHEN:

Fri 10 Jun 6pm Hayden Orpheum Cremorne – Cinema 5

Sat 11 Jun 8:30pm Ritz Randwick – Cinema 5

Wed 15 Jun 8:15pm Dendy Newtown – Cinema 3

HOW: Purchase your tickets to One year, one night via this link: https://www.sff.org.au/program/browse/one-year-one-night

OTHER SFF CONTENT

Sydney Film Festival 2022: French language films

SFF 2022: 12 multilingual films including French

SFF 2022: 14 films from multiple countries including France (that aren’t in French)

REVIEW: Bootlegger puts socio-political issues in a Canadian first nations reserve at the forefront

Matilda Marseillaise

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