Jim Jarmusch with Paterson already one of the toppers of 'Rotterdam' #iffr

The International Film Festival Rotterdam(IFFR)'s famous Tiger logo has been changed into a colourful IFFR Planet, in which, with a little effort, the tiger can still be found. That colourful is also reflected in the programming. I am looking for the finest gems from the programme. From the USA comes 'Paterson', vintage Jim Jarmusch. But there is more, from Italy, for instance.

Il tempi felici verrano presto

'I tempi felici verrano presto' by Alessandro Comodin is a kind of fable about two boys, a girl and invisible wolves. The boys are on the run, as male voices and dog barking can be heard in the background. Another storyline is about a young woman, who arrives, lying on the back of a donkey. This donkey is later attacked by a wolf and is injured. She at one point finds one of the boys crying in a pit. He is startled and takes her over her shoulder. Has he turned into a wolf?

In one of the most beautiful scenes, the girl floats in a lake with her eyes closed, very cautiously the boy comes swimming up and silently approaches her. Like a wolf, waiting for the right moment to pounce on its prey. The story is not told chronologically; the final scene is more or less the beginning. Director Comodin says in his introduction that the story is not important, he sees his story more as and documentary.

'Il Tempi' is reminiscent of the unpolished films of Argentine filmmaker Lisandro Alonso, with titles like Los Muertos and Jauja. Like Comodin, he makes highly idiosyncratic films, often set in raw nature. Both are averse to any effect. Comodin sometimes pushes his uncompromising stance a bit too far. For instance, he shows the boys' flight endlessly, often filmed from behind in semi-darkness.

At least and 15 minutes long. Yet it shows guts that Comodin makes no concessions to his filming style. With very few resources, he manages to create maximum dramatic tension.

Antonio Un Dois Três 

A totally different film is Portugal's Antonio Un Dois Três, a debut feature by Brazilian Leonardo Mouramateus. This relationship film does have a story in it: a young actor Antonio goes to pick up some stuff from his ex-girlfriend's house in Lisbon. Here he meets Deborah, a pretty girl from Brazil, who lives in Moscow and rents a room in Antonio's ex's house for a short time. They fall in love with each other.

We see Antonio and other actors rehearsing a play by a contrary Brazilian director. Cleverly and imaginatively, Mouramateus mixes storylines from his characters' real lives with snippets from Dostoevsky's novella White Nights. The acting of the young cast is rock solid especially from Mauro Soares (Antonio) and Deborah Vieges. Central are all kinds of loneliness and love in the big city. Leonardo Mouramateus is a name to keep an eye on.

Paterson

Jim Jarmusch, the cult director of such delectable films as Stranger than Paradise, Down by Law and Night on Earth, is on top form with Paterson. With his typically humane touch, subtle observations, quirky humour, he tells the story of a friendly phlegmatic bus driver, excellently portrayed by Adam Driver. An apt name. He lives a settled life with his super-cute Iranian girlfriend Laura (Golshifteh Farahani).

She is a designer and excels at making cupcakes. By day, he drives his bus, at night he drinks a glass of beer in his regular pub and writes poems about small daily observations and snippets of conversations he catches in his bus. At home, they have a bulldog, who is very funny and has a huge strong presence. This bulldog provides an important turning point in the film.

Paterson is a bit like Groundhog Day with a fixed pattern of life, where every day goes by almost identically. With this film, Jim Jarmusch again proves his great worth, creating his own humane, witty and instantly recognisable universe.