Screening as part of the 45th annual Cleveland International Film Festival
With the 45th annual Cleveland International Film Festival kicking off this weekend (going virtual due to the pandemic), I have managed to "attend" three screenings already. One of the more provocative titles being screened is the Dutch film, The Columnist (2019).
I'm of the opinion social media is only good if you don't socialize with anyone on it. It is comprised largely of strangers making smart-ass, snotty remarks to other strangers. It has proven to be the downfall of our society. If you think I am over-reacting, wait until you watch The Columnist, directed by Ivo van Aart and starring Katja Herbers.
Herbers is Femke Boot, a popular newspaper columnist and the victim of Twitter trolls and their violent, hateful, vulgar comments. Enough is enough for Femke, who during a television appearance wonders, why can't we be nice to people who have a different opinions? The trolls react harshly (don't they always!) leading Femke to swear off Twitter. But, can she really say goodbye to social media? Has it become too much a part of her life? Does she have a twisted fascination with reading her hate Tweets?
Magnetized and enraged by her trolls' comments, Femke decides to take actions into her own hands. One by one she will confront these trolls, resulting in deadly consequences.
While this concept may provide wish fulfillment for audiences, it is not a fresh idea. Watching The Columnist two movies came to mind - Theater of Blood (1973), starring Vincent Price as an actor who gets revenge on the critics and last year's The Hunt (2020), a political satire in which Liberal Elites hunt down and kill loud mouth, conspiracy theorist Conservatives.
Both movies took different approaches to the material. The Columnist could have been a dramatic "message movie", a stinging damnation of a society gone wrong, or it could be played for laughs. A campy, slightly over-the-top comedy, exaggerating the well known ills of social media, becoming a revenge comedy. It is clear fairly early into the film which route director van Aart will take.
Theater of Blood took the camp route (don't all of Price's movies?) while The Hunt toned it down a bit and functioned more as a action movie. The Columnist should have been a bit more Theater of Blood and less The Hunt.
Femke has a teenage daughter, Anna (Claire Porro) who writes for her school's paper and is on a crusade to bring awareness to the topic of freedom of speech. Like a good mother Femke supports her daughter even though she is on a killing spree. The viewer immediately notices the dichotomy presented. Much of the film's humor stems from this concept.
The Columnist is a timely movie, especially coming out after our own presidential election and the so-called "national dialogue" regarding censorship on these various social media platforms. What role should Twitter and Facebook play in correcting the negative discourse they have caused? The Columnist isn't interested in answering that question and doesn't really seem to have any answers at all. Are hate tweets protected as freedom of speech? What about conservative's favorite talking point, individual responsibility? Should we hold people accountable for their on-line comments? I almost felt The Columnist was saying there are no answers. We become what we hate on social media. It is a vicious cycle. The best thing may be to get rid of it entirely. I long for the days before MySpace, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and all the other platforms I haven't heard of.
I admire some of the ideas behind The Columnist but its ideas are more effective than its execution. I didn't laugh much watching the movie. Katja Herbers (who reminds me of Mary-Louise Parker) doesn't always seem to be in the spirit of things, semi-winking at the audience. The movie struggles finding a proper tone. It doesn't go all in, in its satire.
The Cleveland International Film Festival will run between April 7th - April 20th. For tickets and streaming information please visit their website by clicking here.
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