A One Mann’s Movies review of “Haar” (2023) (from the London Film Festival).
The London Film Festival shows its fair share of ‘arthouse’ films and “Haar” is definitely one of them. Embracing the graininess and imperfections of Super 8 film, you’d be mistaken for thinking this was ‘amateur-hour’. But of all the films I’ve seen at the LFF this year, “Haar” has been one of the ones whose images have come back to my mind most frequently.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Jef (Kate Kennedy) is a 32-year-old Production Manager for a TV series currently wrapping in Budapest. A strong and confident woman, she deals with all the issues location shooting can throw up. But 24 hours is a long time and her world is rocked by both a personal change and a devastating call from home.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This has not yet been rated by the BBFC or the MPA. I would expect it would be rated a ’18’/R for explicit sexual content).
Talent:
Starring: Kate Kennedy, Jack Morris, Balázs Czukor.
Directed by: Ben Hecking.
Written by: Ben Hecking.
Twitter Handle: #Haar, #HaarMovie.
Running Time: 1h 23m.
Dr Strangelove will see you now A stunning film location to die for in Budapest. (White Horse Films)
“Haar” Review:
Positives:
- Kate Kennedy as Jef makes for an unusual leading lady and really delivers in a tough role. Tall and a bit gawky, Jef needs to be hard as nails on the outside but subject to inner turmoil. Scenes on a park bench where the camera persistently focuses on Kennedy’s face are particularly impressive. And a bust up with an old uni boyfriend at a party – “You have a talent for making everyone else feel so fucking small” – is met with an impassive shrug from Kennedy.
- There’s something raw and exciting about the use of Super 8 here. Scenes of Jef fainting cleverly use the film ‘burning up’ in a highly effective way. Also, while I thought the use of the ‘4:3’ format in “Saltburn” felt like a gimmick, here it really works.
- Budapest becomes another star of the film. Some locations, notably a cold-war bunker-type structure of some sort, are really atmospheric.
- Regular readers will know how I detest unrealistic sex scenes in films (I ranted about this most recently for “May December”). In “Haar”, a phone-sex scene calls for full nudity and a brave performance by Kennedy as she masturbates to her lover, Bill (Jack Morris), watching (but not contributing much!) via a phone propped on the pillow. As a heterosexual man, I can confirm the scene was very well done! Was it a realistic example of sex on screen? As Bill got off and Jef did not, I can see many women watching this replying “Yep!”
- I can see some not liking the closure of the film due to the palpable sexual tension between Jef and her local Hungarian driver László (Balázs Czukor**) never being resolved. But I rather liked that. Would “Season 2” of “Time Travelling Vampire Pirates” (LOL) ever be commissioned? Would that return her to Budapest? Who knows? Perhaps a way forward is left open.
- (*** Did anyone else think Czukor had the essence of Joaquin Phoenix in his performance? Perhaps it was just me!)
Negatives:
- I got a bit restless in the film’s second reel for some reason. The lengthy party scene didn’t really engage me.
- The phone calls with ‘Mum’ really didn’t feel realistic.
Query?!
I’m hoping at some point to have an interview with the director Ben Hecking. One thing I want to ask him about is the two Supporting Artists in the park where Jef is eating her lunch. They are given an inordinate amount of screen time. Relatives of the director I wonder?!
Summary Thoughts on “Haar”
This is very much an arthouse film that will very much evoke a “WTF!” from regular cineplex-goers. In the same way as Mark Jenkins’s “Bait” (which I must admit I’ve still not managed to sit through) it uses a “professionally amateurish” approach to the cinematography that will irritate many. But this film had a ‘certain something’ that I really warmed to.
Jef was said to be “wandering around in a dark labyrinth” at one point. While watching this mysterious and quirky film, I sympathised.
Trailer for “Haar”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfKnbyrMPxE .
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