Berlin Dispatch – Manodrome / The Shadowless Tower

2017 was a banner year for LGBTQ cinema which saw the release of, among others, BEACH RATS, GOD’S OWN COUNTRY, A FANTASTIC WOMAN, MOONLIGHT, BPM and CALL ME BY YOUR NAME. Another film that absolutely deserves to be mentioned in the same breath is South African director John Trengove’s feature debut THE WOUND. Against a backdrop of tribal rituals and taboos, it dissects masculinity with remarkable sensitivity. Six years later, Trengove is back to tackle the subject matter in its most distorted, toxic forms with MANODROME. Premiering in competition at the 73rd Berlinale, it’s an intense, at times violent character study that marks a notable stylistic departure for the filmmaker.

Played by Jesse Eisenberg, the protagonist Ralphie is a Uber driver whose girlfriend is about to give birth. On top of the usual pre-parenthood jitters, the young couple’s finances are tight and Ralphie, as we come to learn, has some unresolved abandonment issues with his father. He vents those anxieties by working out at a gym where a friend introduces him to a group of men led by “Dad Dan” (Adrien Brody). As Ralphie gets more closely involved with the group, we see that it’s not just male camaraderie they’re offering but something far more disturbing, sending Ralphie’s life spiraling out of control.

MANODROME is very effective in communicating the allure of such male-centric organizations. There’s the obvious appeal of companionship, of a free space to not think about or act in line with social expectations, There’s a cult-like hierarchy, initiation rituals and dogmatic teachings that keep reinforcing the belief in (white) male entitlement. For people like Ralphie who are reminded that they’ve failed on a daily basis, group chants of “taking back what’s theirs” and “leaving the gynosphere to join the manodrome” can be so addictively empowering, however detached from reality they may be. The film depicts this underground culture – including the fanatical hold it has on its followers – with chilling clarity. In a scene where the group’s trip to the mall is interrupted by a member’s ex-girlfriend, Ralphie gets to see the absurdity and toxicity of what’s going on through someone else’s eyes, and you can feel the spell break in his mind, even for just a moment.

Eisenberg is excellent playing a man caught between disillusionment, rage and closeted desires. He also conveys a dangerous unpredictability as Ralphie gets more and more isolated, particularly in the film’s blood-splattered third act. Driven by acute observations and a sizzling style, MANODROME is a thought-provoking piece of queer filmmaking that should not be missed.
Also premiering in competition today, Chinese director Zhang Lu’s THE SHADOWLESS TOWER offers something a lot quieter. It’s a gentle yet sprawling relationship drama that goes beyond the family at its center to touch on the fates of a generation of Beijingese.

Wentong (Xin Bai Qing) is a divorced food critic living in Beijing. His daughter lives with his sister and brother-in-law while he’s starting an almost-affair with Wenhui (Huang Yao), a photographer decades younger than him. After his mother passed away, Wentong is given the contact of his father, who left the family when he was 5. As he tries to reconnect with the old man to understand something that was never spoken, all these relationships begin to change.

Zhang’s screenplay is an understated feat of writing. It covers a lot of ground, describing the dynamics between family, friends, lovers – mostly without fireworks. Characters would be introduced or interact with one another in seemingly random, inconsequential scenes. And yet towards the end of the film, you realize you’ve gotten to know all of them intimately, to the point where the slightest revelations would register emotionally. There’s a scene, for example, where Wentong meets his buddies from college for dinner. They reminisce about the old days and take digs at each other about careers and marital status. A classmate who has moved to Paris 30 years ago joins via Facetime and more jokes are exchanged. All of which seems perfectly sweet if unrelated to everything else that happens in the story. But when one of the friends shows up much later to deliver some news, it somehow hits deeper than you’d expect.

In another scene where Wenhui, for no apparent reason, calls Wenton her father in front of a group of chess players on the sidewalks. The ensuing misunderstanding is very funny, but even more impressively, you realize this supposed act of humor, as odd as it may be, doesn’t ring false to you for how well you now know both characters. And when Wenhui later tells Wenton about a decision she’s made, the unspoken melancholy buzzes in the air. These are signs of remarkable screenwriting that works without resorting to any stunts.

Xin and Huang make for a memorable on-screen couple for the contrast they bring. Zhang directs the film with unbroken restraint, but the few instances where he slips in a bit of fantasy pop out all the more. Overall THE SHADOWLESS TOWER is an unassuming, lyrically dispassioned endeavor, but one I suspect will grow on me for a long while.