There can’t be a more insulting question posed to a writer
than ‘why can’t you write about nice things?’. This is the question posed to
the protagonist of Gaston Duprat and Mariano Cohn’s The Distinguished Citizen (‘El
ciudadano ilustre’, 2016), who is a Nobel Laureate returning to his
economically depressed Argentinian hometown Salas after a gap of 40 years. The
directors say that the small-town setting was realized as a microcosm of the
Argentine society, especially its mean side. But the social and cultural
inhibitions embraced by the townspeople could stand as a fine miniature of the
human society in general. From chauvinism, ideological fanaticism to cultural
snobbery and utter mediocrity, the unpleasant things and attitudes of Salas reflects a sort of universality. In such a hypocritical, ignorant, and idolizing society
the write often fights a lonely or losing battle against the absurdities of
human condition. However, as in real-life, the writer protagonist of Distinguished Citizen
also gives into vanity and spitefulness. The gulf between the thoughts and
actions or behaviors -- on the part of writer and society on the whole -- plus
the unfathomable contempt that fame triggers is what the Argentine film-makers are interested to explore in this black comedy.
The Distinguished Citizen is the fourth feature of directing
duo Duprat and Cohn. The duo have remarked that they have chosen the
protagonist as a Nobel Prize winning writer because no Argentine writer, in reality, has
ever received the coveted prize (including the great Jorge Luis Borges) and because it’s
common for a writer, unlike other artists, to perpetually keep the hometown as
their work’s constant backdrop. Duprat and Cohn, who had also served as cinematographers,
conjure visuals that don’t contain any eye-catching cinematic qualities. It’s
as simple as the stagings witnessed in subtext-rich Romanian New Wave films. ‘What’s
simple can be truly subversive and disturbing’ says the central character about
writing which resonates with the film’s visual language too. Divided into five
chapters, the film opens with Daniel Mantovani (Oscar Martinez), aged around
60, in Stockholm to accept the Nobel Prize for Literature. His acceptance
speech is unexpectedly aggressive, in which he wonders if he had lost his ‘revolutionary’
label since he is now being acknowledged by the ‘establishment’. Despite the crudely
critical speech, Mantovani accepts the award, may be out of vanity.
The narrative then fast-forwards to five years after the
Nobel Prize victory. We see the wealthy writer’s opulent Barcelona mansion
(which includes a sprawling library) as he is seen sitting forlornly and rejecting
all the prestigious invitations from around the world. The fact that he has become the
part of establishment didn’t bestow Mantovani the urge to write. His publisher
is still questioning whether he has started writing anything new. Amidst the
numerous invitations uttered by his smart personal assistant Nuria, one thing
however gets Mantovani’s attention. It’s an invitation from the mayor of his hometown
Salas, who desires the writer would visit his hometown and accept the ‘Distinguished Citizen’
award. Although he has comfortably lived
in Europe for the past four decades, Salas has served as the inspiration for
all of Mr. Mantovani’s novels (“my characters were never able to leave, while I
was never able to go back”, he quips). The writer has mostly painted a less
appreciable portrait of the town’s inhabitants, yet the locals are proud of its
most famous son. To his personal assistant’s dismay, Mantovani decides to go
alone for the 3-day trip to Argentina and requests to not pass this news to any
reporters.
The trips commences with few lightly humorous situations
with the pilot on-board broadcasting the presence of a Nobel Winner on the flight
and a mentally challenged person awarded with the duty to pick up Mantovani at
airport. Soon after taking a short-cut in the remote countryside, the car Tyre
blows up and there’s no spare. They both spend a night on the dry land using
the books of Mantovani to light a fire and for toilet papers. Mantovani, who
is an astute observer of human absurdities and foibles anticipates this. Next day, a cheesy and eulogized short documentary about the
writer’s life is screened at the town’s center and Mantovani is visibly reduced to tears.
It’s a rare expression of nostalgia, since Mantovani’s alleged writings and the
narrative itself trains its eye on the acerbic and relentlessly repulsive human
behaviors. The local beauty queen awards the writer 'Distinguised Citizen’
award and the town’s mayor makes a rousing speech. Everyone is gentle to him,
but it’s made clear that they respect him more for his reputation (Nobel Prize)
than actually for his works. Mantovani’s darkly hilarious routines in the town
include being a judge for annual drawing competition and to provide a 3-day lecture. He also meets his old friend Antonio (Brieva) who is married to Irene
(Frigerio), his former girlfriend. Soon, every one in the town desires a
delicious piece of the writer’s fame. Bouts of jealousy, old & new
resentments slowly rise to the surface and the increasingly frustrated
Mantovani comes across one unsavory encounter after another.
The Distinguished Citizen doubles up as a cautionary tale
and comedy of manners about the dangers of romanticized nostalgia (the lost
innocence couldn’t be found because it was not there in the first place). It’s
also a dark satire on the ossified institutions and societies which perpetually
calls for cultural conformity and mediocrity in everything (including art). Largely
shot using hand-held cameras, the deliberately dull visual pattern of Duprat
and Cohn, cooks up nuanced comedic situations and retains the vigor of great
mockumentary works. The lack of specific visual signature in a way provides
depth to the proceedings. The script (by Andres Duprat) boasts a rich sense of
comic timing and profoundly thoughtful dialogues (especially when the writer
debates about ethics, artistic responsibilities and artistic freedom). Oscar
Martinez’s (Paulina, Wild Tales) explosive central performance instills the
bleakness and wittiness in equal measures. Mantovani isn’t written or performed
as a quietly dignified writer. Martinez handles his character very well when
succumbing to irksome, vainglorious behavior. There’s a kind of ambivalence
about Mantovani, which constantly makes us wonder whether he is a hero or anti-hero.
It’s what makes both the character and performance often intriguing. Perhaps,
the film’s central flaw also arises from there since much is focused on the
protagonist’s perspective that we never get into other character’s head. They
mostly come across as puppets aligning themselves to this specific satirical
vision. Perhaps with a little more empathy, the film could have been a more deep
and a well-rounded character and societal study.
Trailer
The Distinguished Citizen (118 minutes) is a visually sparse
yet extremely engaging black comedy about the unalterable absurdist human
behaviors. Through one writer’s ill-fated home-coming, the directors Gaston
Duprat and Mariano Cohn portray how conformism and celebration of mediocrity are
the truest enemies of any artistic creation.
1 comment:
thoughtful interesting post
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