Film is a language that we are weaned on and next to our native spoken language it also yields challenges and misinterpretation. However, film-maker Saara Lamberg attempts to get to the bottom of why it is the way it is in her new film-within-a-film THE LIES WE TELL OURSELVES, which has had its’ World Premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in the ‘Cannes Cinephiles‘ section.
However, any true description of what the film actually is will remain open to debate, as Lamberg takes us into the heart of what struggles an artist in the modern world faces, particularly when it comes to raising finance for your next film. Lamberg attempts to gain funding but comes a cropper when her meeting yields a much lower alternative after she discloses that she didn’t pay her crew on the last film.
If you are already bemused and confused by where all this is going, don’t worry – this is all part of a deliberate deception by Lamberg. Alternating between modern film style and vintage black and white silent film, complete with vintage white-on-black text boards, her odyssey to get her latest film completed and made also gets a boost when she recruits Jane Badler (Diana in the classic 1980s sci-fi series V) to appear as well.
Also prevalent throughout are a series of quotes from reviewers who have seen the unfolding narrative with their thoughts which heighten the already bonkers concept, which also aims to get to the heart of what female film-makers have to face on a regular basis. This is a film incorporating the nature of inclusivity and gender-balance via desperate means.
About an hour into the film, you may of course wonder where this film is intending to take you amidst its’ seeming determination to bemuse and confuse, but Lamberg is willing to offer some creative juxtapositions over the dynamic of lie-versus-truth.
Sadly, I cannot truly provide a linear perspective on the film and given the sheer volume of quotes within the film, it could be that my review on this occasion has been rendered redundant by association. Such is the intent of Lamberg’s film – and one that is purposefully designed to make you question what and why cinema is both a fascination and an obsession to all of us cinephiles each time we prepare to watch a new film.
