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One-movie-a-year cult
Catalan helmer Ventura Pons makes his fifth consecutive
appearance at the Berlinale with "Food of Love,"
an engaging adaptation of David Leavitt's wittily titled
1998 novel, "The Page Turner." Attempts by Iberian
helmers at Anglophone fare have generally been misfires,
but Pons has aimed for a performance-driven drama whose
virtues are of the small-scale, low-key variety, with the
director working within narrow dramatic limits as always
but here doing so brilliantly. Gay-themed pic should settle
into standard Pons destinations and fest sidebars, though
both subject matter and the low-profile cast will mean arthouse
at best in English-speaking territories.
Rebellious, 18-year-old student Paul (Kevin Bishop) is hired
as a page-turner for a New York concert by a classical pianist
Richard Kennington (Paul Rhys), who can't keep his mind
on his music whenever the youngster draws near. Paul's scatty,
jittery mother, Pamela (Brit actress Juliet Stevenson, with
a SoCal accent), has big plans for her son, but her own
life is falling apart: When she discovers her husband has
been having an affair, she and Paul head for Barcelona to
get away from it all.
On arrival, Paul sees that Richard is in town and looks
him up. Richard -- whose b.f./manager, Joseph (Allan Corduner),
is in NYC, depressed after the death of his dog -- takes
this as an offer and seduces the boy in a scene that could
easily have been risible but is, in fact, well-paced and
played. When Pamela is mugged and Richard comes to her rescue,
the three start hanging out together.
But Mom also fancies Richard. And when she turns up at his
hotel room to seduce him -- another good scene -- she finds
a pair of Paul's shorts in the bathroom. Six months later,
back in the U.S., Paul is realizing that he's not the great
musician his mother took him to be. He runs into Joseph
in an elevator and ends up being seduced by him; Pamela,
meanwhile, discovers a signed photo of Richard among Paul's
things and realizes, finally, that her son is gay. Pic's
second half focuses on Pamela's difficult adjustment to
this new reality -- a dangerous switch dramatically, but
one that works. Instead of just one more gay rites-of-passage
movie, we get two: Paul's awakening to the realities of
his life is echoed by his mother's, with both reflecting
back on the other.
Script is full of the accidents and coincidences of a Shakespearean
comedy -- hence the title -- but because it is rooted in
accurately observed psychology, it's believable. It is most
successful in its skillful negotiation of a variety of moods
-- from the drama of Paul's emotional and professional disappointments
to outright comedy, most of it centering on Stevenson.
One excellent example is a meeting of the Gay Sons Society
that Paul's mom attends. The scene lends itself to a savage
satire on the hypocrisies of a society that finds it hard
combining liberal values with traditional morality, but
the script is always even-handed.
Stevenson is standout, walking a tightrope between parody
and plausibility, and by the end she has become pic's emotional
center.
Likewise, Rhys and Corduner are smart enough to retain auds'
sympathy, despite some pretty foul behavior from their characters.
Pic's main fault is Pons' penchant for neatness and good
taste at all times, leaving the viewer wanting a few more
rough edges, and a little more passion and bite.
Score consists mainly of a series of well-chosen classical
pieces.
JONATHAN
HOLLAND
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VARIETY |
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FUNEREAL IN BERLIN
... Far more amusing is Spanish maestro Ventura Pons'
gay comedy of manners, Food of Love. It's a genuine art-house
charmer that plots a romance between a brilliant concert
pianist, Kennington (Paul Rhys), and his hunky teenage page-turner
(Kevin Bishop). Kennington courts the young acolyte under
his mother's considerable nose on a concert tour of Europe.
Juliet Stevenson is hysterical as Bishop's clueless mother.
But the real drama is never quite knowing who seduces whom.
Bishop is the eyes and ears of the movie, but Rhys delivers
a haunting performance: melancholic, prickly, cruel, and
surprisingly comic. His jealous manager, Allan Corduner,
plays a subtle and cynical game to prise the lovers apart.
His is a character that could so easily run to camp, but
Corduner keeps the touching manipulator spry and sharp."
by James Christopher
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TIMES |
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With the undoubted
help of those exceptional actors and with a sensivity of
"mise en scene" as well as with a narrative transparence
which is hard to find among directors throughout the world,
including just a few Spaniards, Ventura Pons achieves a
truthful and convincing story and a perfect balance between
distance and passion…. This unique filmmaker makes
someone else’s story perfectly his own, satisfying
himself, as a creator and probably as an individual too,
with great respect and stimulation for the spectator’s
own intelligence.
by Alberto Bermejo
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EL MUNDO |
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"Food of Love" is an intriguing portrait of
a couple (mother and son), where the helplessness of both
is shown through their brave attitude in taking up their
lives rather than being lived by it. This attitude prevents
the film from moralities and false clichés in the
gay world – even positive ones: here more or less everyone
cheats one everyone else they way they can. All these elements
give the film intense and enriching contradictory sensations
and makes it a sure recommendation for intelligent spectators.
by Mirito Torreiro
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EL PAIS
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Only through the maturity
gained by Ventura Pons is it possible to tell a story of
hurting learning experiences in the way he does in "Food
of Love". By simply using movie’s magic, ….
he makes this story of universal resonance his own.
by Esteve Riambau
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FOTOGRAMAS
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A universal story, close to the heart of anyone who
has ever loved, cried or suffered.
Ventura Pons returns with a film that is as personal as
the rest of his filmography. Faithful to his way of telling
stories and making movies, Ventura Pons creates a minimalist
and concise portrait, where the characters – always
truthful and close – meet to fall apart and stand
up face to face in reduced spaces, unfolding without chastity
common feelings. And therefore Ventura Pons’ films
are universal… they are stories about emotions, very
close to the heart of anyone that has ever loved, suffered
or cried.
Jorge Castillejo
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LEVANTE
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In his latest feature Ventura Pons once again confirms
the maturity and moral aesthetic of a cineast who delights
us with a new film each year, which in some way comes
to complement or sharpen notes, reflections or considerations
which belong to his own universe beyond the literary or
theatrical origin of the stories, which come from a variety
of authors.
Lloréns Cartelera
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TURIA
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Pons has achieved one of his most tempered, best gifted
films on the tragedy of everyday’s emotions.
Quim Casas
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EL PERIODICO
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Prodigious "Tour de Force"
… Once again Ventura Pons makes someone else’s
material – David Leavitt’s novel "The Page
Turner" – his own. In this admirably constructed
and narrated film there’s some risk on the edge of
conventions and moralist or militant temptations –
it’s style in the realm of noble melodrama.
Lluis Bonet Mujica
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LA VANGUARDIA
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A double conflict of generations which Pons makes passionate
through his ability to focus on a succession of intensely
dramatic scenes, filmed with an admirable respect for
truth and intimacy in his characters.
Antonio Weinrichter
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ABC
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