Edinburgh International Film Festival 2024
Gala & Kiwi
Axel Cheb Terrab
Genre: Drama, Film, Fringe Film
Venue: Screening Room at EIFF @ 50 George Square
Festival: Edinburgh International Film Festival
Low Down
A gorgeous film about saying goodbye to the friends we once loved and knowing what you deserve- decorated by metaphors and deeper meanings.
Review
How do you say goodbye to someone you once loved but you know isn’t good for you?
The film opens with a demonic looking painting of two people fighting. Immediately you wonder the relevance of this and if this is representative of the story we are about to see. We hear wailing noises, which sound like crying but are in fact of joyful laughter. We’re already 2 minutes in and there is suspense painted all throughout the screen.
We meet childhood friends Gala (Carmen Fillol) and Kiwi (Augustina Cabo) who are drinking at Kiwis apartment, laughing about their younger years. The two actors have amazing chemistry- there’s even a point where it is hinted that perhaps a potential romantic influence over their friendship. Axel Cheb Terrab, the film’s writer and director- has such skill at playing with metaphors that speak subtlety to the situation at hand and allows the audience to figure out the trajectory of Kiwi and Galas relationship themselves. A stunning example of this is when Gala spills a drink all over Kiwi’s couch, leaving a stain. That stain is easily interpreted that Gala has left her mark on Kiwi in someway or another. Gala tries to clean it up but Kiwi tells her to stop- showing Gala’s lack of awareness and ignorance, along with Kiwi’s sense control over the narrative and acceptance that the stain is a stain.
There are nice transitions between scenes, including brilliant play of mirrors and reflections. There’s a moment where we see a dream like state of a small box with puppets- supposedly Gala and Kiwi on strings. It it a gorgeous moment where we question who is in control of their story.
There is another storyline curve ball about a potential drink spiking, as Kiwi looks ominous at her drink swishing about in her cup. At no point are your further ahead than Gala and Kiwi. This is an unpredictable film with gorgeous hits of plot that keep an audience intrigued and on their feet.There is a moment at the end of the film that must be acknowledged. Gala is seen cleaning a clean plate. A suggestion of a new start and of change.
It is interesting seeing two perspectives of the same relationship. “We had such a good time,” is echoed throughout the film by Gala. This is a heartbreaking exploration of friendship and saying goodbye to someone you once loved, which is a universal and accessible situation for all. The film is very intelligent and well thought out in all its cracks and crevice’s. If you like symbolism, metaphors and putting all the pieces of a puzzle together when watching a film- this is a film you’ll enjoy. This is also a therapeutic love letter to anyone who has felt let down by friends and perhaps life itself.
