Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: BAD LIVING (MAL VIVER) [Berlinale 2023 - Berlin, Germany]
The slow burn of a film like "Bad Living" [Mal Viver] (Competition) is an interesting connotation considering there is a mirror film (which hopefully this reviewer gets to see) at Berlinale this same year called "Living Bad". Like a film like "Pearl"or "X", the ability of some filmmakers to make layered stories in independent movies separate of each other in certain ways, is a really neat thought. This is a trick that TV series despite what they are simply cannot do, especially when a film like this explores multi generations and people within a complete slow unfolding of character.
"Mal Viver" requires its audience to be patient. The set up has a collection of women, three of which are 3 descending generations with the overarching matriarch running the hotel with a manager/bi-polar daughter and her granddaughter who just lost her father. Anabela Moreira plays Piedade with a gentleness but an infuriating dismissive side where her mental state just cannot let her connect with her daughter Salome (Madalena Almeida). Where she might feel like a victim, she simply does things her own way and is lost in her fragility but hears what everyone says about her. Her mother Sara (Rita Blanco) especially in one scene rips her apart emotionally and yet that scene is followed by a diametric scene with her own daughter where that lesson seems to be lost and missed (even though the granddaughter is very pointed in the connection). However that reptition which writer/director João Canijo builds pays off, especially in the final shots, even though there is a conceit of where it is going.
Canijo's composition reflects in mirrors, side corners and missed opportunities for connection, all done on purpose. This takes place in the country of Portugal but it feels isolated from life except with the souls that happen to flow through. The guests also provide the consistent connotation that filters through the hotel with their stories which also show the inherent malfunction of families and their expectations. The drama going on behind the scenes never permeates the guests except in small minute ways. Even one shot that is repeated has the different rooms going through their own turmoil in one shot. Add to that two other characters (who work at the hotel) in Racquel and Angela who themselves are caught up in this whirlpool that they both love and yet can't escape from (unless are thrown off). Ultimately the story is about mothers not quite understanding their daughters, mostly because of their own ego, hang ups and arrogance. But it also shows the downward spiral of mental health either by leaving it alone or also by pushing it too hard. B
By Tim Wassberg
