The Twentieth Century (2019)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2019
	Director: Matthew Rankin
	Actors: Dan Beirne, Sarianne Cormier, Catherine St-Laurent
	Country: CDN
	Genre: Drama, Black Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 11.07.2020, NIFFF2020, 14" computer screen.
Synopsis: Despite his Oedipus complex and his obsession for second-hand shoes, Mackenzie King (Beirne) will stop at nothing to become the Canadian Prime Minister.
Review: From the story, this movie seems like a historical political drama, but the trailer gives the additional hint of a bizarre visual experiment. The crude and/or colorful sets reminded me of several influences: Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Guy Maddin's movies like Sissy Boy Slap Party, The Saddest Music in the World or The Forbidden Room, and sometimes Wes Anderson (in particular The Grand Budapest Hotel). As I learned afterwards by reading the Wikipedia page of the real-life Mackenzie King that the movie is very loosely inspired by real characters and events, but the dates can be wrong by two decades. Also for some reason the sex of the actor doesn't always match the one of the character they play, for the most bizarre effect. The story of King's ascension to Prime Minister is far from the real one, but it is more an inspiration to support the creation of the experimental movie. Although many depicted events are dramatic, the movie is clearly a Comedy and many scenes are baffling in their non-sense or exaggeration. You have to see for example which kind of challenges the candidates have to face to become Prime Minister, like writing their name by peeing in the snow... The Twentieth Century also has the good idea to last 90 minutes only, which is enough to not get saturated or bored by the experiment. An interesting watch which I am glad the Neuchâtel Film Festival selected.
Rating: 6 /10