Phoenix Film Festival

Our Phoenix Film Festival experience held the theme of ‘failed systems’. Between The Justice of Bunny King, Scarborough and Failure to Protect, we see that it doesn’t matter where you’re from, the government has failed low-income families. We continue to see government failure in The Pez Outlaw, a broken criminal system in Gemmel and Tim, and government abuse in What We Leave Behind.The undertone matches what many see today as a broken and wounded world.

This is a unique theme for us based on the movies we chose to watch. The festival was also full of side splitting comedies, stories of success and joy.  

Anaïs in Love

Synopsis: Anaïs is in love. Or at least she thinks she is. At 30 years old, she has neither a steady job or relationship. She lives by the whims of her passion. The boyfriend she once had no longer interests her. 

Instead, she gets drawn in by an older man, a publisher named Daniel. He is fascinated by Anaïs. She’s a beautiful mystery. For her part, Anaïs continually search for the next emotional high. 

Pretty quickly, Daniel doesn’t do it for her. Instead she becomes intrigued by his wife, Emilie, a writer. Circumstances, or maybe fate, bring the two women together. And like a hummingbird drawn to a flower, Anaïs cannot leave Emilie alone. Before long, the two form a passionate relationship, of which Anaïs is in full control over.

KM: Anaïs is like a comet. She burns through her life like a ball of fire. It does not matter who gets caught in the maelstrom. For her, life is precious; here today, gone tomorrow. But all the effort to live in the moment has resulted in a woman who cannot face the harsh realities of living. 

Case and point, her mother has a reoccurring cancer, after nearly a decade of being in remission. Unable to cope with the fact that this could be it, that her mother might die, Anaïs literally runs away to track down Emilie at a symposium. 

It’s a relationship that she barrels head on into. But when Emilie, who as least 15 years her senior, says they should end the tryst they had over the summer, Anaïs cannot cope. And in a last ditch effort to secure a source that sustains her emotionally, seduces Emilie to stay with her. 
But in typical French film fashion, the finale is left open. Does Emilie continue the affair? We don’t know. 

What I can say is that every one of us knows an Anaïs. They’re people who are full of life, who seem to always land on their feet. But they’re the last people you can really trust, even if you do love them. 

Beautifully acted and shot, with a compelling score to match, “Anaïs In Love” is a riveting if irksome film. 
 
Kaely’s Rating: 2.5 Shots 

TM: Well, don’t we all know someone like Anaïs - I have several friends in mind. They come into your life like a tornado, interrupting or even destroying those in its path. They have no direction, can’t hold a job, have no plan B and wants to crash on your couch. And yet, they do it with such grace that they always get what they want. 

Anais is a summer love story filled with innocence and beauty, but also an intensity that resembles everyone’s first love. She becomes entangled in a marriage by loving both with differing ferocity. She’s exhausting to watch at times as she runs throughout the entire film, whether that be because she’s always late or refuses to take an elevator. Overall, a nice watch with beautiful backdrops but lacks originality and meanders despite Anaïs’s personality. 

Fortunately for us, it’s a French film so she’s naked for at least 25% of the film. 

Tuesday’s Rating: 2 Shots

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