Claire Facing North, which screens online at the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival on Friday, June 7th, starts off with images of greenery, sheep, and an awfully violent volcano in Iceland. These images act as somewhat of a parallel to the unfinished nature of lead character Claire’s sentiments. She goes off into the mountains as some sort of search for self-discovery, which is peculiar considering the age of the elderly woman. Usually, there’s this notion of having a mid-life crisis, but here, it’s apparent she’s having it at a way less tender age. There’s this innately visceral nature to the film, even without much dialogue. The image alone conveys so much while vocally saying literally nothing. Even having interacted with other people who appear in the film, the woman’s only reactions come from facial expressions. There is no vocal retaliation, and the viewers are left then with an introspection, giving us the opportunity to really sit with the film in real-time and think. The nature of the thinking is not of a logical one, but more of a stream of consciousness. We as viewers are put into her place, living through the same moments and having similar thoughts.
The plethora of wide tracking shots in conjunction with POV shots creates this sense of material detachment which the character possesses. She’s failing to find her place in the world in the final years of her life. The question then becomes whether she ever really found it, if she’s simply just hanging on to these last few threads. Perhaps that is what leads her to give a ride to Iris -- a young American tourist. It is one of her final chances to make her claim on the world, leaving something behind. I believe that her subconscious was what really drove her to do this: creating the need to help this “teenager”. She may not have known it then, but this intrigue is what led her to make a connection, leaving something behind. When we leave this Earth, we are remembered and live on through others. It is not, say, the money we make or the things we own that we live on but rather what we create: art, relationships, et cetera. The failure of Iris's parents to connect with her daughter is what she will remember, not the expensive trips to Paris. It is the sentiment that she will not remember, not the money. It is why she decides to sleep outside, “I don’t want their money”, she says. The old woman then follows her response and asks, “What do you want?” Although there are spotty lines of dialogue throughout the film, I appreciated that engagement. And the thing is, the answer to that question is complicated, as Claire says. It is often difficult to answer, as one cannot really say for sure deep down what one wants. As someone who has yet to live most of my life, I feel that perhaps many people never reach the conclusion to what they truly want in life until later. Iris feels somewhat the same, as her decision to appear as a teenager at first is revealed to be due to not wanting to be expected of. Her dialogue is off-key and somewhat awkward, as the way she delivers some of the gen-Z lingo is not always appropriately said. Societal expectations are often oppressive, leaving people distressed.
Lynn Lukkas's Claire Facing North accurately portrays this ordeal through Iris. And Claire, acting as opposite, almost relives the same past experiences through her. Experiencing the same kind of thing at different times of life illustrates that struggle is not limited to how old someone is. Even when you think you’ve made it, the downs will always come. Although in the argument they did not see eye-to-eye, I like to think that perhaps Iris found something fruitful out of her relationship with Claire and took away something important for the development of her character. While I can’t say for sure of Iris, I definitely can for Claire. As aforementioned, the way you are with people sticks with them.
Claire Facing North screens at the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival all day online on Friday, June 7. Tickets are available for purchase here.
The Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center, in association with the Rutgers University Program in Cinema Studies, presents the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival which marks its 29th Anniversary. The NJIFF competition will be taking place on the Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between May 31 - June 9, 2024 and will be a hybrid one with online as well as in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All the films will be available virtually via Video on Demand for 24 hours on their show date. VOD start times are at 12 Midnight Eastern USA. Each General Admission Ticket or Festival Pass purchased is good for both the virtual and the in-person screenings. The in-person screenings will be held in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 5PM or 7PM on their show date. Plus, The NJIFF is very proud to announce that acclaimed singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler will be in concert on Saturday, June 15 in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ at 7PM. General Admission Ticket=$15 Per Program; Festival All Access Pass=$120; In-Person Only Student Ticket=$10 Per Program.; General Admission Marissa Nadler Concert Ticket=$25.
For more info go here: https://2024newjerseyinternationalfilmfestival.eventive.org/welcome
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