Eccentric coming-of-age film Jumbo premieres despite corona closure

The decision came hard. I call Hein van Joolen of Gusto Entertainment, the distributor of the curious love drama Jumbo. He is referring to the measure promulgated by the government on Monday that means, among other things, that all movie theatres will remain closed until at least June 1. A glance at this week's release list says it all. The scheduled premieres have all been pushed back until further notice.

All of them? No there is one film that defies the corona crisis and goes out anyway. Only the Belgian production experiences Jumbo its Dutch premiere not in a cinema, as Van Joolen says it should really be, but online, on Picl. That is the streaming platform that operates as an online movie venue of 28 movie theatres. Proceeds also benefit (mostly) those screeners.

Experiment

"We are following the Belgian distributor with this," Van Joolen explains. "Because the whole promotional party there was already in full swing, they decided to go ahead with the planned premiere anyway. Online, in other words. We concur and are keen to embrace this experiment. Picl is a good platform that already attracts more viewers in these times. We will see how this premiere turns out. In any case, it is important to maintain the connection with the audience."

That Jumbo, previously selected for the Sundance festival and the Berlinale, is the only one this week may even be a plus. In any case, this unusual love story is distinct enough to deserve attention.

Ironic discomfort

At first glance, it all begins extremely recognisably as the clash between a mother and her teenage daughter. Jeanne, played convincingly by Noémie Merlant, is a smart and confident girl, but also shy and afflicted with fear of people. That her mother, on the other hand, is extremely outspoken and demonstratively frank about sex doesn't really help.

Director-screenwriter Zoé Wittock portrays this in this first feature-length film as an ironic magnification of the common discomfort between adolescents and their parents. You might say that mother is overjoyed when Jeanne, who works nights as a cleaner in an amusement park, finds a boyfriend there. She names him Jumbo. But when mother discovers that Jumbo is not a tough guy but a many-armed carnival ride, all is set.

A giant merry-go-round as a love object? The idea seems like a case of derailed fantasy. Yet the phenomenon of objectophilia really exists. It is nurturing sexual feelings for objects. There is even the case of someone who got married to the Eiffel Tower in 2004. Thereby, Wittock notes in a commentary, as a Belgian, she is also not entirely immune to the influence of famous surrealists like Magritte.

Mating dance

Jumbo could easily have become a top-heavy affair. Fortunately, Wittock's approach is open-minded is there is humour and uplifting fun alongside solid drama. In doing so, the fact makes it curious enough. Which does not alter the fact that the maker sometimes tends to make things heavier than necessary, even though such an amusement park is a suitable location to stir up emotions. It seems as if Wittock is sometimes afraid that the message of acceptance and tolerance is not clear enough.

But we quite understand that Jeanne's conflict is a metaphor that forces us to suddenly look at chewed-out themes like identity and sexual orientation from an unexpected angle. However, I did find it rather difficult to really empathise with the feelings that Jeanne gets for that colourfully swirling machine. Especially in the beginning, it remains a bit theoretical. Only towards the end does that mating dance take on something of a celebratory intoxication. But by then we have already been able to marvel at a hyper-stylised, poetic depiction of an orgasm.

Will there, now Jumbo led by example, will more films premiere online in the coming weeks? Picl cannot name titles at the moment, but "talks are ongoing". And, of course, it is not the only online platform that can make a virtue of this need.

Good to know

Jumbo can be seen from 26 March on picl.co.uk. Cineville pass holders can go see the film through Vitamin Cineville.