Set up as a combination of two visual diaries and a continuous e-correspondence between the two filmmakers, “February 1st” attempts to make sense of the coup in Myanmar, as much as of the country as a whole, from two different perspectives, one from the local’s and one from the tourist’s.
“February 1st” screened at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema
The result is a visually impressive, experimental short, which thrives on the antitheses that characterize the two filmmakers, but finds its apogee in the moments they present their similarities. In that fashion, the fact that Mo Mo woke up on February 1st, 2021 to find out that she has lost her freedom, feeling as “a foreigner in her own country” is juxtaposed with Leila’s travel in the country a year before, and the fact that she discovered there a breath of freedom she had never known before.
These comments are presented through a variety of different footage. In the beginning, through many still photos, which are presented in slideshow fashion, accompanied by the narration of the two directors. Later on, through actual footage both of the country and the eventual protests against the regime and the three fingers that became a symbol of unity of those who participated. The switching from one perspective to the other works quite well here, as much as the sequence of footage, with the busy moments of the city being combined with ones of calmness, as a very beautiful one of the sea, and the intense ones of the protests with a night one focusing on a fire.
In that fashion, Macaire’s editing emerges as one of the best aspects of the movie, both for the order the various footage are presented, but also for the rather fast pace, which works quite well in terms of the entertainment the short offers. The overall approach points intently towards French cinema, but the whole thing works quite nicely, managing to highlight both the differences and the similarities of the two women, while giving a universal message about unity and the meaning of freedom.
“February 1st” is a very interesting short that manages to be both experimental and quite easy to watch.
