Panorama
Filmmaker in Focus Andrea Arnold: The Real World Through a Woman’s Lens
In today's film industry, Andrea Arnold is undoubtedly one of the most noteworthy independent creators. Her works impress the audience with their nuanced and realistic view through a female perspective.
Andrea Arnold’s distinctive creative style is defined by handheld camera, natural lighting, the use of non-professional actors, and themes of women's struggles and growth. Her works are full of real power and can immerse the audience in the lives of the characters. The Guardian commented on Andrea Arnold’s work, noting that it “mixes the véritégrit of Ken Loach’s sociopolitical parables with the awestruck natural beauty of Terrence Malick’s rural cinematic dreams”
The 15th Beijing International Film Festival will showcase four feature films directed by Andrea Arnold in its Filmmaker in Focus Section. In addition to Red Road, which won the Prix du Jury at Cannes, audiences will also see Arnold's adaptation of Wuthering Heights, the documentary Cow, and Bird, which received rave reviews at last year's Cannes Film Festival.
Bird
2024
Highlights: An overlooked contender for the Palme d'Or, portraying a girl's fragile yet fierce hope
Dai Jinhua praised it as the perfect film in her eyes. Andrea Arnold rarely shares her family life wih the public. In this new work, she turns her focus back to her hometown of Kent. Bird tells the story of Bailey, a 12-year-old girl living on the fringes of society. Bailey has been trapped in a dysfunctional family and neglected for a long time.
The birds are Bailey's spiritual refuge. She uses her phone to record seagulls as they walk, crows taking flight, and flocks of birds gathering. One day, Bailey met the mysterious Mr. Bird, who was always smiling, kind and lonely.
Andrea Arnold's non-judgmental lens captures the rich emotional light that glows in desperate situations.
Cow
2021
Highlights: Gazing at the alienated life - look at her, and see into ourselves
This is the only documentary in Andrea Arnold series of works, but it delivers the impact of an intense feature film. The camera focuses on a cow on a dairy farm. She obediently obeys the routine imposed by humans: grazing, mating, giving birth, being milked, and repeating the cycle over and over again. But when the newborn calves were taken away from her again and again, the cow began a hopeless resistance...
Unlike conventional documentary techniques, this film removes all voice-over narration, leaving only the mooing of cows and occasional lines of human dialogue. The abundant negative space leaves more room for interpretation.
Life under highly assembly line operations is relentlessly squeezed for pre-set production targets until the last breath is taken. Spirituality becomes meaningless and only makes tragedy seem more cruel. In this documentary, the audience sees cows - but not only cows.
Wuthering Heights
2011
Highlights: A radical and experimental adaptation, transcending the original's wildness and bleakness
This film is adapted from a well-known classic literature. In the manor called Wuthering Heights, the story revolves around Heathcliff and Catherine, a pair of childhood sweethearts. Director Andrea Arnold made a bold adaptation of Emily Brontë's novel. Abandoning romanticism, she adopts a realistic style to depict this painful, wild and tragic love story. The film was shortlisted for the Golden Lion at the 68th Venice International Film Festival and won the Best Cinematography Award.
Red Road
2006
Highlights: A stunning feature film debut - a test of human nature intertwined with voyeurism and revenge
Jackie works in a surveillance control room every day, scanning citywide CCTV feeds for potential threats. Her monotonous routine is suddenly disrupted by a man named Clyde Henderson. Jackie begins watching him all day, even drawing closer to him in real life. But why is she doing this? The film delivers a deeply poignant answer in an unexpected way. As the truth unravels, the complexity of human nature is magnified layer by layer.
In this debut feature film, Andrea Arnold demonstrates extraordinary emotional command. The use of extensive handheld camerawork, extended takes, and close-ups engages the audience to follow Jackie's inner turmoil to feel her struggles and pains. The blue-grey streets of Glasgow and the tenant-filled “Red Road” flats reinforce the film's sense of isolation and solitude.
Women captured by Andrea Arnold are always experiencing the inescapable pain of growing up through their bodies. Each action they take demonstrates powerful and compelling strength - genuine, never-ending, and never pleading for pity. Through Arnold's distinctive female perspective, unexpected power and impact are discovered from her unvarnished images.
