Words about Liska.
Véronique Martin (author at Writer Forever) wrote about Liska after the Cinekinosis screening of Remodernist shorts in Bristol, UK.
“Liska” by Christopher Michael Beer, was a delightful and whimsical black and white film shot, it seemed, as a humorous nod to the Nouvelle Vague. Liska means Fox and the story is centred on a young pickpocket who meets her master (we could say that the Fox gets foxed – but I don’t know if it would work in Czech!).
The short follows a young woman as she pickpockets her way through Prague in a series of three small pieces named like fables by Aesop (“The Fox and the Hen”, “Fish in the River” and “Spiderweb”). In the last one, after having bamboozled several people, she meets a genteel older tourist, whom she thinks she has robbed easily, until she realizes he has robbed her too. The old man’s reaction to her finding out is of pure delight, and the young girl past her indignation sees the irresistible humour and irony of the situation.
The child-like joy and freshness of this film is something that struck me as a recurrent feature in this series of shorts. Could it be a direct consequence of the remodernist motivation to watch the world with new eyes and leave space for authenticity, inspiration and enthusiasm (qualities found in children) rather than artificiality, commercialism and cynicism (unfortunately associated with adulthood)? Anyway, I must say that I relished it.
watch it here.
