FFFA: Dragon Dilatation

Dragon Dilatation

Australian Premiere

“Masterfully combines poetry and decadence, formal elegance and underground roughness.” – Cineuropa

“A dark reflection on human suffering and the commodification of bodies, underscored by a strong political undertone.” – ScreenAnarchy

The latest provocative experiment from French iconoclast Bertrand Mandico (After Blue, FFFA 2022) is here to split your brain in two.

Dragon Dilatation is the melding of two filmic essays shown in split-screen, with both pieces originally conceived for theatre but captured on film. The first, Petrouchka, is a re-reading of Stravinsky’s famous ballet, set in an underground world of fashion modelling. The second work, La Déviante Comédie, is a kind of companion-piece to Mandico’s 2023 film She is Conann, showing the actors in character for that film rehearsing a queer take on Dante’s Divine Comedy.

There’s a lot going on here, but Mandico fans know that his films are a lot – in the best possible way. Dragon Dilatation is bewildering, decadent, erotic, destabilising and ecstatic all at once. Expect drug-addled models in underground bunkers, a dog from hell named Rainer wearing a grotesque mask (if you’ve seen She is Conann, you’ll know) and piles of severed heads.

Festivals & Awards
Locarno International Film Festival 2024
Fantastic Fest USA 2024
Sitges Film Festival 2024

Rating

Unclassified 18+

Duration

114 min

Country

France

Language

French, English, German (English Subtitles)

Cast

Elina Löwensohn, Clara Benador, Nathalie Richard

Director

Bertrand Mandico