Es gibt zwei Möglichkeiten, wie der Film nun aus dieser sich andeutenden Misere herauskommt: Entweder wird tatsächlich ein überragender Film produziert, der seinem Filmtitel gerecht wird und uns einen absoluten Hit wie zuletzt EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE liefert, oder aber das Regieduo Mariano Cohn und Gastón Duprat dekonstruiert die Filmbranche in einem schwarzhumorigen Film im Stile eines SchleFaZ-Werks. Bekommen tun wir jedoch die dritte Variante: einen mit prominenten Schauspielenden aufgeblasenen, viel zu langen und einschläfernden Film, der zwar glücklicherweise nicht auf die gleichen Inszenierungen setzt wie jede andere Produktion, in der ein Film im Film gemacht wird, aber dennoch eine auf Onelinern basierende zahnlose Komödie darstellt, die keines Wegs witzig ist und nur oberflächlich versucht, Kritik zu äußern an einer perversen Geldmaschinerie, die sich Filmbusiness nennt.

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The production of a film has become extremely complex, and in the course of the creation process, such a film passes through countless hands. Whereas the Lumière brothers, for example, produced, developed and released films entirely on their own in the early days of film, today we need producers, scriptwriters, directors, sound engineers, cameramen and lighting technicians. And we have only just scratched the surface. It is not uncommon to see a note in the credits of films that between 5,000 and 25,000 people were involved in some way. And even we who write this film review here are among them in the broadest sense, because through our work the films are promoted and marketed and introduced to the end-consumers.

But the much greater contribution is, of course, made by outstanding actors like Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Oscar Martínez. The latter is best known here for his role in RELATOS SALVAJES. Argentine director duo Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn also worked with Martínez on EL CIUDADANO ILUSTRE, which was shown internationally at many film festivals and won several awards.

This is what it is about

After Humberto Suárez has actually achieved everything in his life as a big pharmaceutical mogul, he faces a crisis of purpose on his 80th birthday. He is confronted with the question of what legacy he would leave behind and faces a very meagre realisation, thanks to which he comes to the conclusion to create something long-lasting with his riches. A cinematic masterpiece comes to his mind. The best director and the best actors are to produce the best film of all time and build a monument for all time with Humberto’s name on the poster. But will the dedicated trio of professional artists succeed in fulfilling the multi-billionaire’s expectations?

Review

Marketing-wise, StudioCanal of course delivers us a gem with OFFICIAL COMPETITION. We get a film title that more than arouses curiosity, because with this unambiguousness imprinted on it, the work naturally also possesses a certain quality burden that either presents a grandiose flick or a total disaster that offers ironic entertainment fireworks in its destructive self. On top of that, the film relies on a cast that may be past the zenith of its own cinematic career, but is always a sound in the film fan’s ear. The ingredients are thus promising, but do the two chefs manage to turn them into a delicate meal?

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Unfortunately, the film team has miscalculated badly here. Instead of delivering a thoroughly entertaining film, the result is a dull and uncreative film jumble that compulsively tries to be funny but never is. Cohn and Duprat obviously couldn’t decide at any point what kind of film this was going to be, because on the one hand they make an attempt to deconstruct the film industry and show the audience the perversion of a business worth billions. Some of the approaches to this are fantastically successful, and the opening scene in particular makes us very curious to see how the duo will tackle this topic. At the same time, however, the team loses itself in irrelevant narrative threads and runs disoriented through its own plot. On the other hand, oneliners are supposed to help capture the enthusiasm and give the work a certain pace, but since these are applied completely lovelessly and groundlessly, the result remains surprisingly sobering.

Der beste Film aller Zeiten ©2022 Studiocanal

Film in film thought differently

Instead of well-paced entertainment, we are presented with long-winded and endless scenery. However, one thing is done well for once, because instead of picking up on the usual film production mishaps that we have seen a zillion times in films about films by now, OFFICIAL COMPETITION focuses on the acting preparation phase and rehearsal time and thus takes its cue from last year’s surprise hit DRIVE MY CAR. This gives us a somewhat different insight into the world of film for once, even if all this still seems very superficial and every sequence is deliberately taken to extremes to provoke an involuntary laugh.

Probably the most interesting aspect this work has to offer is in the sound design, because while visually we get to look at rather business as usual, the sound department has come up with some treats here and plays with sound worlds that definitely have to be considered in film production. Of course, overdriving by combining countless microphones or one-sided sound perception is not a revolution in cinema, but these elements at least bring a little colour to the otherwise rather dull shape of the film.

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Laughter sticks in the throat

The terrible thing is that we are led to believe that we are going to see a bitterly wicked satire here, which by a clever trick, turns the deep black humour to maximum contrast towards the end. These hopes are in vain, however. The spasmodic urge to be funny only fully succeeds once, and even that scene is once again based on playing with tones. Tragically, the appalling image of the film industry is only superficially tarnished, although this business probably offers enough approaches to scrutinise it sarcastically and to show the audience for once what business sense really lies behind the system. This very toothless comedy is thus just a little biting in the opening scenes and meekly criticises the flooding of the film market with would-be quality productions, of which OFFICIAL COMPETITION is now one.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that this is a poor attempt at a satire on the film business that is even more soporific than Netflix’s THE BUBBLE and in which only Penélope Cruz surprises us with the fact that she is barely recognisable under her magnificent redhead. Since Antonio Banderas only presents a bad version of himself and Oscar Martinez can’t develop any relevance at all, not even the actors save this messed-up almost chamber play.