TIFF Bell Lightbox New Relase Film Review - Fausto

Director Andrea Bussmann wanted to make a film around the subject of Faust, in particular, the themes related to nature and history. She went to Mexico where she has spent a lot of her time but picked a location for the adaptation, the Oaxacan coastal town of Puerto Escondido where she knew no one. She had a structure then and was luckily able to rope in some locals to be in the film. The constant element in the film is the narration meant to be the town itself speaking. Bussmann then came up with some fables of her own told mainly by male interviewees touching on many of the themes from Goethe's work.

The main subjects are Fernando (Fernando Renjifo) and Alberto (Alberto Nunez) who own a cabana that is the centre of local activity as but are disrupted by a Frenchman who comes to stay with nothing to offer but his shadow. The visitor disappears as does the pledged shadow putting the two friends into a spiral searching for both. The pair turn their attention back to the beach where the tide continues to advance threatening the coastline. The men take steps to reverse the process leading to wonderful shots of the tide advancing with one particular shot of a slow-moving wave of water coming to shore like an evenly symmetrical velvet cape.

Bussmann shoots a lot of the project at night in and around the restaurant/bar with the patrons moving in and out of the shadows. There are drawings, cigarettes smoked and drinks consumed by candlelight. Red embers fill the screen amongst the shadows making it intentionally blurry to emphasis the Faust themes of hovering between the conscious and unconscious. The narrative features many stories about animals and perceptions. A horse that has a blind spot four feet out front of its face, Cats with telepathy and the only story with some truth about turtles coming to shore to lay their eggs being confused by artificial light.

Fausto is a film that draws on a mix of themes from Goethe, local supernatural, and anti-colonial mystical and oral history. Shot mainly with a newly minted mirrorless camera that can function in darkness and low light giving the piece its haunting supernatural presence. Gertrude Stein's adaptation of the subject is a strong influence on the writer-director. In that early 20th century version Faust sells is sole for electric light then a new found thing again bringing light vs. darkness and the contrast between the seen and unseen world to the forefront.

*** Out of 4.

FAUSTO | Andrea Bussmann | Mexico/Canada | 2018 |70 Minutes.

Tags: Faust, Goethe, Fable, Mexico, Oaxacan Coast, Cabana Bar, Shadows, Telepathy, The Devil, Colonization.