Reviews
Mascotte (2023)
Decent drama about a dark coming of age story
The movie starts out with the main character Jeremy at the dentist, where they are sizing up his denture, which is quite a ruin, for implants. These teeth are clearly a symbol for his troubles. It is never fully revealed how they came to be that way, though you can figure it out fairly quickly. After the opening, the movie switches back to a happy scene, where Jeremy is seen guiding people with mental disorders on a walk in the dunes and they are enjoying themselves very much.
Soon after we meet the other central characters, Jeremy's mother and sister, and other aspects of their lives start to be revealed. Unlike the dune scene, most are about dark undercurrents, some recent and some old wounds. While the story progresses more and more is revealed. The movie practices what writers call the adage "Show, don't tell". There is no voice over explaining everything, but the events speak for themselves.
Gradually, a bit slowly, the story builds up to the question if the three will be able to oust their demons. I will not tell you whether they do or not. Only that, if you want to hear a message from the writers, you should look back at the title after watching.
Pink Moon (2022)
Mediocre movie about a sensitive subject
As can be read in the storyline, the movie deals with the subject of ending life.
Jan, an eldery man, announces that he intends to end his own life 'while he is still good'. The news comes as a shock to his two children. Most of the plot and intrigue, actually most of what the movie has to convey, are in the first half hour. The focus is very much on the character of Iris. All the other characters, even Jan, are reduced to supporting roles, which in my opinion is s severe fault by the director. Iris cannot cope with the decision of her father, denying to herself and others that suicide is a possibility. She tries to sway him back into enjoying and prolonging life, spending almost all of the rest of the movie in doing so. Even the finale is filmed mostly from the viewpoint of Iris, turning away at the last moment, like Iris herself.
The main strength of the movie is that it has the courage to bring a controversial subject to the screen. Yet a heavy subject like this needs far more deep-digging and nuance.