Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE FEAST [SxSW Film Festival 2021 - Virtual]

The essence of "Paradise Lost" is bathed in a notion of what is respected and what is inevitable. With "The Feast" [Midnighters] , the essence of gluttony, greed, the encroachment of nature and the texture of ego plays heavily but is done in a beautiful yet functional way. The film, which is spoken in Welsh, takes place on a country estate on the edge of a drilling area...the rights ceded by the hosting family to pillage the land while still attempting to keep it fertile. Each member of the family is mired in their own denial, even the guests, save for one. But it is the help in the form of Cadi that provides the most perspective. The essence of killing game versus raw meat is an overarching metaphor that flows through the entire film. While not overt until its closing moments, the film carries a beautiful sense of dread with the actress playing Cadi (Annes Elwys] a study in stealth with a sense of knowing, playing the film almost completely silent. The high angles, bring to mind the odes of Kubrick (like "The Killing Of The Sacred Deer" in a way). Mythology plays into the idea of consequence here. The two brothers in the story, each suffering of their own logic, embody a sort of Cain and Abel type quality which even reflects in the color tones of their rooms and clothing (in addition to their aspirations). Mom & Dad are simply oblivious while being completely and totally present. The slow and eventual rotting from within is interesting played as it points to conventions and yet defies them in a specific way, especially from a consumption point of view. The aspect of the Earth and by extension a place called The Rise brings to mind a certain texture of a film like "Melancholia" where everyone travels down their own road, though one in particular knows exactly where it is going, freckles and all. A-

By Tim Wassberg