Two films on Saturday – Perestroika and Plane days

Movie reviews - Visions du Réel in Nyon Perestroika - The reconstruction of a flat Saturday 25 11:00 Salle Communale and Monday 27 20:30 Capitole 2 Plane Days - Saturday 21:30 Salle de la Colombiere

Perestroika - The Reconstruction of a flat

If you think Geneva or Vaud has a housing problem and estate agents have their work cut out finding property for clients, then think again after you see this film. It shows the extraordinary lengths Russian real estate agents have to go to, to sell or buy a flat on behalf of a vendor or purchaser. The reason; an ex state owned seven roomed apartment in St Petersburg may originally have been destined for one family, but now there are seven

families

living in each room which they they either own or sublet. They share the bathroom and kitchen but retreat to their own flat afterwards, this could be as small as 19 square metres or as "big" as 30 square metres. Thus, when the agent comes to sell the property it is his/her reponsibility to ensure that everyone is rehoused. They spend most of their time driving round the city showing the (usually reluctant) movers to other property to entice them to move. Bribery is sometimes involved. This film focuses on one particular apartment, and we get to see the characters that live there, their personal space, their lifestyle, their concerns and the camera joins them on the hunt for a new place when they are told they have to move. This is film is a real eye opener into the complicated conditions tenants and owners live under (some tenants have separate light switches and bulbs in the kithen, separate toilet rolls in the bathroom). Extraordinary film, extraordinary circumstances. Definitely worth seeing.

Plane days

This film, although only 15 minutes long, took over three months in the making, so perhaps it was inevitable that its subject matter stayed with one of the directors long after filming had stopped. Director Ewan McNicol was playing tennis when he heard a plane flying overhead so he looked into the skies to see if he could identify it. He could, the plane was an A380. He too had become a plane spotter, (he missed his tennis shot). This delightful documentary points the lens at plane spotters, men (although there is the occasional wife or partner, it's mainly men) who spend their free time at Heathrow looking into the skies identifying planes coming into land. Cargo or passenger plane, Lufthansa or Singapore, they are there with their telephoto binoculars and ready to record all the key facts and figures in their notebooks. There is a lot of waiting around for the plane spotters but in the waiting period they form a camaraderie, sharing wine, information, and humour. It is interesting watching this film in Switzerland, I am not entirely sure whether there is a similar group of individuals at Cointrin airport, I doubt it, however directors Kracun and McNicol have come up with a superb, short film. Some directors could have taken a cheap shot at these individuals but in this film the spotters have has the lens turned on them with subtle observation. It does show a side of British eccentricity which other nationalities may find a tad bizarre, but it succeeds in portraying the plane spotter's enthusiasm with respect, and gives a small insight into their passion. We don't actually see a plane in the film until the very end, along with a dedication to the Wright brothers - a nice touch. This film has just one screening on Saturday 25 at 21:30 (before the film La Vie en 2)