John Hellberg’s Mousse — this year’s Best Short Film winner at the Twin Rivers Media Festival — is really more of a short feature (40 minutes) than a short, but it has a decidedly short film vibe. It takes a very simple situation and runs with it. An enigmatic and decidedly quirky Frenchman (Stephane Bertola) stages a hold-up at a Swedish betting parlor, taking its hookah-smoking owner (Roberto Gonzalez) and an argumentative customer (Marienette Dahlin) hostage. He then proceeds to make a list of pretty peculiar demands and insists that the largely retirement age police tell jokes while waiting for those demands to be met. Where this all leads is frequently surprising and always engaging. The climactic sequence is unexpectedly elaborate and ultimately rather moving. Performances are uniformly excellent. It’s really a very pleasant — and haunting — little movie that certainly deserves its win. I am, however, left with one question — are Swedish police really primarily comprised of septuagenarians?
The film is being shown with Chris Marker’s La Jetée, a review for which can be found here: http://avl.mx/tj
Classic World Cinema by Courtyard Gallery will present La Jetée and Mousse Friday, May 10 at 8 p.m. at Phil Mechanic Studios, 109 Roberts St., River Arts District, upstairs in the Railroad Library). Info: 273-3332, www.ashevillecourtyard.com
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.