Rumours – close encounters of a head of state and mummified kind (Belfast Film Festival) #BFF24

A G7 Summit is being held in Germany at a remote country house. Its theme is ‘regret’. In Evan Johnson’s Rumours (Galen Johnson and Guy Maddin also directed) we join the leaders as they gather for dinner in an outdoor gazebo away from the distractions of aides and advisors. They break into small groups to brainstorm their ideas for a statement they need to write and issue in reaction to an unspecified “present crisis”. Something ecological or environmental, but so severe that it shall not be named.

The German Chancellor (played by Cate Blanchett) is in charge of herding the head of state cats. The Japanese PM regurgitates an MBA textbook of buzzwords. The French President (Denis Ménochet) wants a vague statement that placates rather than holds them to any action. The aging US President (Charles Dance) watches his colleagues through binoculars and soon dozes off. The suave Canadian PM (Roy Dupuis) has a history of bedroom diplomacy: the British Prime Minister (Nikki Amuka-Bird) is delicately managing relations with him after their closer and steamier interactions at the previous summit. His eyes and hands will soon wander a different direction. The Italian PM (Rolando Ravello) isn’t long in post and starts out as a ‘Yes man’, perhaps the most naïve yet ultimately the most practical of the seven. And one figure is missing. The President of the European Commission (Zlatko Burić) traditionally attends the G7 summit but is nowhere to be seen as dinner begins.

The characters come to life and demonstrate the kind of stereotyped misbehaviour that you’d both expect and enjoy. There are instances of mansplaining, casual prejudice to other nations, tote bags (complete with a particular pill) to help the leaders survive the summit, much lauding of the Maastricht Treaty, and a lot of the lights being on but nobody being at home. The rural estate is also the scene of an archaeological dig that has recently disturbed human remains that had been preserved in the boggy ground. The scientist speculates that the body may be that of a community leader. A portent of what may be to come.

It’s the discovery of a giant brain (“the size of a hatchback” car) by a wandering leader and the awakening of another set of figures that veers Rumours towards but never quite fully into the vicinity of a Zombie movie. Throw in an Artificial Intelligence engine that is not convinced of the value of the leaders, and you have a black comedy whose plot is flimsy but whose action is soon farcical.

The appearance of Enya’s Exile in the soundtrack lifts the mood of one scene, and the cut and paste statement that is finally delivered by the French President nicely rounds of the movie.

Rumours was playfully programmed on the night of the US Presidential election count as part of the Belfast Film Festival which continues until Saturday 9 November.

 

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