7th heaven: we fall for The Cloud in Her Room, Inked in the Skin, etc.

Journalists from Metro present their seven cultural favorites of the week, including the films The Cloud in Her Room and Sin La Habana and the documentary series Inked in the skin.

The Cloud in Her Room

Muzi is a 22 year old young woman. She smokes a lot. In Hangzhou, her native life, she often returns to the old apartment of her parents, who are now separated, alone or accompanied. Zheng Lu Xinyuan’s debut film deserves attention. First of all because the vague soul and the sentimental wanderings of its main character are superbly told, dissected, filmed. But above all because the aestheticism of The Cloud in Her Room is incredible, from the dreaminess of cinematography to the vaporous grain of black and white. The Chinese filmmaker’s staging is also reminiscent of Akerman’s perfectionism, the architecture of Antonioni’s plans. The tone of the dialogues (the number of cigarettes, too) is also worthy of a Godard or a Jarmusch, without ever appearing pale. Thanks the FNC!
Amelia Revert

Inked in the skin

No need to be tattooed to enjoy this documentary series. Beyond attending the making of new tattoos for several clients of four artists – including some well-known personalities such as Safia Nolin, Marie-Lyne Joncas and Natasha Kanapé Fontaine -, we are moved by the striking stories of those who, precisely, have their bodies marked with indelible ink. The tattoo thus serves as a gateway to discuss issues such as mourning, the relationship to the body and family relationships.
Sure United TV from October 15
Marie-Lise Rousseau

Sin La Habana

Him a ballet dancer, she a lawyer, Leonardo and Sara dream of leaving Cuba for a life where everything becomes possible. The meeting with a Canadian tourist, Nasim, will nourish the hope that this loving and ambitious couple was waiting for. Through his film, Kaveh Nabatian questions human relationships in which the clash of cultures would rub off, but also a distant elsewhere that we always believe to be better.
Sure online.nouveaucinema.ca until October 31
Amelia Revert

Shore by Fleet Foxes

Band frontman Robin Pecknold wrote this album during his depression, therapy, BLM protests and the current pandemic. He talks about internal and global upheavals and the need for comfort (self-care) to face the cold season. He says he wishes Shore was a “life jacket in an ocean of bad news.” He does this very well with his poignant words and a folk rock sound with unique seventies accents. So let’s hang in there, surround ourselves with beauty, and take care of ourselves, alone, but all together, OK?
Josie Desmarais

Super comedy, by Peter Peter

At first listen, there is something very adolescent, very candid, in the dream pop of Peter Peter. But we quickly realize that the disc takes a luminous and sensitive gaze on the infernal spiral of existence, undoubtedly helped by the genderless voice of the artist and the impeccable synthesizers. Super comedy would it sum up our year 2020, between isolation, anxieties, lost loves and conversations by interposed screens …?
Available on listening platforms
Amelia Revert

Verdunland

In Verdunland, there is an ogress named Nancy, a tree named Suzanne and a red giant named Günter. The mayor is a child, the parks move through the streets and you can have a drink at the miniature bar. Intrigued by this curious parallel universe? Let yourself be guided by the poets Timothée-William Lapointe and Baron Marc-André Lévesque, creators of this utopian and magnified Verdun which has enough to make us laugh and dream. Thanks to this playful and enchanting collection of poetry, you will never see the Quai de la Tortue, Wellington Street and Place de L’Église the same way again!
Editions of Your mother
Marie-Lise Rousseau

Sainte Marie-Josée goes on a crusade

The initial idea is already extraordinary: to make fun of the “Karens”, the nickname given to the archetype of the privileged woman who believes that everything is due to her. If the execution of this short film is not on point, we can only salute the exquisite performance of Rosalie Vaillancourt in the skin of Marie-Josée, an arrogant and angry real estate developer. Whether it is by giving orders to her spouse or by asking to speak to the manager of a store, she brilliantly embodies all the faults of the cliché that has become a socio-cultural phenomenon.
Online today and tomorrow on the website of Just for Laughs
Marie-Lise Rousseau

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And we are sorry for …

Cries of unanswered heart

Philemon Cimon

Calls inviting François Legault to recognize systemic racism have multiplied since the death of Atikamekw Joyce Echaquan. After the singer Elisapie, it was Philemon Cimon’s turn this week to challenge the Prime Minister with a song directly addressed to him. Despite their heartfelt cries and repeated requests from Indigenous and racialized communities in Quebec, the government persists in not recognizing the problem.
Marie-Lise Rousseau