Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: PIAFFE [Fantasia Film Festival 2023 - Montreal, Canada - Remote]

The ideal of esteem and identity can be reflected in perception. With "Piaffe", the approach is using the context of poise and trot to create a sense of awakening in a young 20s female foley artist who gets caught up in the allure of that tendency. Eva (Simone Bucio) is fascinated by horses (mostly because she has to do the sounds for films that feature them). However the context of the bondage and leashes they endure speaks to her and as a way to act out her ideas of sexuality to the man (or woman) she feels attracted to. The film starts off with the macro elements of people watching plants almost in a voyeuristic way to see their growth. Director Ann Oren understands this correlation using human beings, specifically Eva, as certain kinds of biologics that require a certain approach and understanding to be opened.

Eva finds hers in a male botanist but only in a certain ways that she sees him and him her. The genre switch happens in that Eva grows a tail and can only be aroused in that certain way. "Piaffe" isn't gratuitous in its progression. It simply wants the audience to observe and maybe understand Eva's impulses, even when she doesn't. Some sequences work better than others. The initial containment of a club scene works well because Eva needs to fit in though her innocent approach can be miscontrued, even by herself. Her would-be cousin, who seems to be both in a mental institution and has a certain mane that resembles a horse, creates the parallel as well. Eva does not necessarily get what she wants or maybe she does. She just wants to be seen and admired but not necessarily pursued beyond a certain path. "Piaffe" examines this idea with distraction but also an approach of wantoness without effective consequence. B-

By Tim Wassberg