'Memory' dissects Ridley Scott's 'Alien'
The poster for film “Memory”
By Jason Bechervaise
The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan), which kicked off on June 27, screens an array of genre films from all over the world
Emerging in the late 1990s, the festival has become one of the most significant events on the festival circuit in Asia to showcase genre cinema thereby differentiating it from other festivals in Korea such as Jeonju and Busan that focus less on genre films.
For its 23rd edition, the festival is screening a total 233 films from 49 different countries.
One of the highlights of this year's event has been the Korean premiere of Alexandre O. Philippe's superb documentary “Memory: The Origins of Alien” that delves into Ridley Scott's 1979 classic.
This project attracted notice ahead of its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, U.S. in January owing to Philippe's previous films including the documentary “78/52.”
The film that centres on the iconic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's “Psycho” was extremely well-received by critics and cinephiles alike and screened in Bucheon two years ago.
“78/52” is a remarkable documentary as it takes viewers through what is one of the most famous scenes in cinema history, but does it in both an extremely informative way as well ensuring a memorable theatrical experience.
In a masterclass at BiFan, Philippe said, “the films that I make are about, in way, bridging this idea of cinema studies, which is, I think, intimidating to a lot of people that can be dry and academic, and to make that entertaining.”
“It's about communicating the absolute passion I have for cinema in a way that is accessible, understandable and entertaining,” Philippe continued.
“Memory” is a different film to “78/52” in that it explores a whole film rather than a particular scene.
Indeed, the so-called chestburster scene in “Alien” that sees John Hurt's character succumb to his deadly fate in what is a gruesome moment in the film, is carefully dissected. In many ways this serves at the film's riveting climax as we find out how this moment was put together and the thought processes behind it.
But for the most part the real focus of the feature through interviews, illustrations and archive footage examines the mythology behind the creation of one of cinema's deadly beasts that has its origins in Greek and Egyptian mythology.
Coming at a time when there was real appetite for the genre of science fiction following the success of George Lucas' “Star Wars” and Steven Spielberg's “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” in 1977, those behind the film wanted to do something markedly different.
In “Alien” extraterrestrial life was suddenly being depicted in a much more horrific manner as it delves into one's fears of the unknown and masterfully using genre to convey these anxieties.
In the film much attention is paid to those behind the scenes, not least Swiss artist H.G. Giger and the screenwriter Dan O'Bannon who was influenced by horror films in the 1950s.
While Ridley Scott is credited for the film's masterful staging, it was O'Bannon who was largely responsible for Alien's conception.
Interestingly, the film, which stars Sigourney Weaver as the story's central heroine has been regarded by some as a feminist horror film drawing comparisons to today's climate in which many celebrities have spoken about sexual harassment in the workplace, including that of the film industry
“I really believe that here we are at the 40th anniversary of Alien and I think we are starting now to really understand culturally what's going on with the whole Me Too movement and all those conversations that we finally are starting to have in the open. It took us a long time, and there's no way that those ideas were conscious back then” said Philippe.
Philippe's next film centres on William Friedkin's “The Exorcist” which looks equally fascinating.
BiFan continues until July 7.
Jason Bechervaise is film critic
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