Locarno Review: Lux Carne (2024)
Locarno Film Festival
Pardi di Domani National Competition
Imagine a world where meat is a kind of taboo, not exactly outlawed, but strictly regulated with a set of restrictive rules and multi-level licenses that determine who is allowed to buy which quantity of meat. That is the world the Swiss filmmaking student Gabriel Grosclaude and his co-writer Luca Moessner created for their short film Lux Carne which has just premiered in the National Competition of Locarno’s Pardi di Domani selection.
At first, we hear a radio show in which a musician named Adriano Vittorio explains a thing or two about his newest single Lux Carne and the real-life inspiration behind it, set against a sombre string of urban landscapes. We are about to enter a dystopian world that looks just like ours. Then we meet our protagonist, Élie (Georgia Rushton), an investigative journalist equipped with her camera, on a mission to film a documentary about the process for getting a highly desired level-4 licence. Since the grim-faced people waiting in line in front of the slaughterhouse are not willing to help her with the information, she has to go inside. Only one guy she met before is not afraid to give her a statement, but she still has to document the process which includes killing a chicken, for which she does not have a stomach.
Gabriel Grosclaude creates a unique atmosphere that transcends the genres from a dystopian slow-burner to something on the border of a psychological drama, thriller and horror. He does so in an inspired way, but still following the rules of the genres he puts in the mix. There is commendable attention to detail here, from the production design rarely seen in student works to the rock-solid visual effects. Controlled cinematography by Rafael Graf which is often in hand-held, but never in shaky mode, also helps, and so does the rhythmic editing by Grosclaude and Félix Scherrer even when the pace is changing. Along with the calibrated acting, Lux Carne is a proper showcase of talent.
Year:
2024
Runtime:
18’
Country:
Switzerland
Language:
Franch
Directed by:
Gabriel Grosclaude
Written by:
Gabriel Grosclaude, Luca Moessner
Cast:
Georgia Rushton, Jérémie Nicolet, Yves Raeber, Carl Laurent,
Ludovic Winkler, Emma-Lisa Roux
Cinematography
by: Rafael Graf
Editing
by: Félix Scherrer, Gabriel
Grosclaude
Music by:
Valentino Vivace, Moritz Lieberherr
Sound
design by: Kevin Kandl
Sound
by: Kevin Kandl
Production
design by: Lina Doll
Costume
design by: Yeron Stocker
Make-up
by: Lia Sander, Elisha Giarrusso
Visual
effects by: Lisa Yodicke, Gabriel
Grosclaude
Assistant director:
Sinan Taner
Production company:
Zurich University of the Arts
