BFI Flare: Onda Nova

 In my final post from this year's Flare I cover a feature and a short both set in and around a women's football team. 1983's Onda Nova was banned in its native Brazil and is now getting a revival after a digital restoration. Rarely has a film irritated me so much. 

The Seagulls are a football team in Sao Paulo who are getting by and we meet various members of the team in various states of undress. This is Onda Nova's calling card, a mix of softcore sexuality, a bit of football and lots of ridiculous situations. The only characters who really stood out were Lilly, the goalkeeper, who is the smallest member of the team, Neneca, who is quite tall and the only black character, and Rita, a blonde woman who drives a gorgeous purple car. 

There is no real narrative, no character development, just a series of scenes that appear to have been shot, thrown in the air and edited together. Characters have a conversation and then for no discernible reason have sex wherever they are, whether in a clubhouse or a car. Most of these are male-female couples and it is disappointingly straight for a film showing at a queer festival. 

There is a lot of camp, mostly in the form of the singer Helena who performs early on and then just turns up in her boyfriend's kitchen and flirts with his daughter Potato (yes, really). No idea what Helena was up to. Ditto for most other characters in the film.

My favourite bit was the opening credits, spraypainted on sheets by two characters. PFFT. 

The short Solers United is a bit more coherent, featuring a football team facing the loss of its ground while a love triangle develops. This was good fun but felt like a proof of concept for a longer film.  

And that is a wrap. 

Onda Nova trailer

BFI Flare: Four Mothers

 This Irish indie comedy is an absolute joy, albeit with some sadness. Novelist Edward (James McArdle) is caring for his elderly widowed mother who is recovering from a stroke and cannot speak. For rather incredulity inducing reasons, he ends up looking after three other elderly mothers after their sons dump them to go to Winter Pride in a Spanish town. 

So, Edward is left running to keep up with the demands of his visitors, while also trying to pursue his writing career and keeping his dormant private life at bay. There are moments of farce but also the sadness of seeing someone losing himself in the service of others, while also recognising that the four women are also seen as a burden. 

The mothers are outstanding, especially Fionnula Flanagan as Alma, Edward's mother whose entire performance is wordless. Niamh Cusack turns up as a medium in Galway, sparking a moment of realisation for Edward about his relationship with his dead father. There is also the pull of a possible romance with Raf, his mother's carer. So much angst! 

Fish is a short written by and starring Cara Mahoney in a semi-autobiographical comedic tale of a woman coming out as bisexual while having lots of second guessing. There are some funny moments, mostly sparked by her panic over not knowing what gold star means. 

Four Mothers trailer

FOUR MOTHERS will be released in UK cinemas by BFI Distribution 4th April 2025.
Break Out Pictures will release the film in Ireland 4th April 2025.
 

BFI Flare: Lakeview

 My viewing has been a bit short on comedy, so this Canadian indie was quite the treat, featuring dyke drama galore, heartfelt songs and some gorgeous scenery courtesy of its lakeside setting in Nova Scotia. 

Writer-director Tara Thorne serves up a gathering of assorted ladies with a shared history who are attending their friend Darcy's divorce party, as you do. What ensues is a weekend of simmering resentment, raging sexual tension and quite a few hilarious off the cuff conversations riffing on pop culture (Swifty alert). I also detected that the character names cover all three boygenius members, plus some more musical icons. Cute. 

But after a lot of laughs, the last third turns serious and melancholic in a way I had not expected. Can we not have one totally fun lesbian film? Apparently not. Lessons must be learned the hard way and the morning after is not nearly as fun as the night before.