A WEEKLY FILM NEWSLETTER PROMOTING ARTHOUSE, REPERTORY, ART, SHORT FORM AND EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA SCREENING IN THE CITY OF MELBOURNE

12 Oct 2013

SICK OF MYSELF (SYK PIKE)

(Kristoffer Borgli, 2022)

Screening daily at Cinema Nova and on Fri 13 Oct at Thornbury Picture House

DCP Courtesy: Static Vision

Classification: MA15+

Words by Andrew Tabacco

“From the producers of The Worst Person in the World” comes a film about the real worst person in the world in the Oslo set social media parody-cum-body horror in Kristoffer Borgli’s Sick of Myself. It is a testament to Scandinavian cinematic clout that the Worst Person producers are so prevalent in the marketing of this film, as the only real similarity between the two films is their home city. Then again, the unwritten statute of limitations on using the marketing line ‘direct from Cannes’ would’ve expired already, with the film dropping into Australian cinemas nearly 18 months after its world premiere at the 2022 edition of Cannes’ Un Certain Regard sidebar. One wonders if the distributors should’ve waited one more month for the release of Kristoffer Borgli's new film. From November 10, his Ari Aster-produced, Nicolas Cage-starring, and A24-released surreal comedy, Dream Scenario, will inevitably take over American cinema discourse, thereby granting Sick of Myself a better chance at maximum theatrical awareness.

Sick of Myself revolves around a trendy yet bored mid-20s barista, Signe, and her moderately successful sculptural artist boyfriend, Thomas. Their relationship mirrors many modern young relationships, with it filled with smatterings of love and support and copious amounts of insecurity, vanity and most importantly for the film, jealousy. When the mostly absent and self-absorbed Thomas hits the big time with his stolen chair sculptures being recognized more broadly, Signe becomes literally and visibly jealous of her man’s time as Oslo’s ‘it boy’. This leads Signe to opt for an alternative way to attain her own fame. At first it’s a well-timed allergic reaction that interrupts Thomas’ speech. Then, a particularly jarring attempt at being attacked by a dog, and finally, an addiction to Russian anti-anxiety pills that are straight out of a mid 2010’s Vice documentary.

The word 'delicious’ is used many times in Wendy Ide's glowing review of the film in The Guardian and it is the perfect word to describe the film. For viewers who love Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness or The Square, or even fans of more thematically or visually ‘perverse’ filmmakers like John Waters (who put this film in his top 10 of 2022) or, to a lesser extent, Lars von Trier, the quite simply ghastly set up of a girl turning to self-mutilation for fame is a deliciously dark prospect to behold. Although openly cynical, the film also doesn’t resort to the immediately obvious ‘going viral’ tropes, namely livestreaming a crime spree à la 2020’s Joe Keery-starring Spree, and instead goes in a somehow much darker direction.

Cynicism is rife in modern satire and often leads to comedy acting as a thin veil for a film’s reductionist messaging. Even the king of Scandi satire Östlund himself is guilty of letting audiences feed on his cynical, yet at their core, basic concepts, whether it’s ‘rich people are bad’, ‘the fashion world is vacuous’ or ‘how ridiculous is the high art world’. A lot of the time the films are vehicles for the public’s disdain toward a certain topic and when coupled with a zany premise, they are devoured by a ready and willing audience. Although Borgli’s film also offers up a juicy yet overdone message, ‘fame in the social media age is bad’, he doesn’t let audiences off that easily. Instead, the audience is forced to endure a horrifying ‘Cronenbergian’ transformation of a young Norwegian girl into something barely recognisable before we are allowed the privilege of laughing at how silly instagram influencers are.

As Signe’s appearance begins to worsen, so does her relationship with Thomas, who despite his own success has been sucked into Signe’s growing orbit, resulting in a deliciously tense dinner where the tables are finally turned on the relationship. As Signe’s fame grows, Thomas is now the one trapped in the shadow of his famous partner. In a sense, the film is a perverse retelling of A Star is Born. As one star shines bright, the other burns. Ultimately for the artist and the influencer, fame comes at a cost. When you add a lush piano heavy score, a facial bandage set up reminiscent of The Invisible Man and a littering of misleading jump-cuts to the film’s oddly universal story, it results in the best arthouse body horror of the last 17 months.

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WEEKLY FILM LISTINGS

September Oct 12- October 17

ACMI

FOCUS ON TODD HAYNES

Dottie Gets Spanked
Todd Haynes, 1993

Screening for free on Thurs 12 Oct

Safe

Todd Haynes. 1995

Screening Thurs 12 Oct

Carol

Todd Haynes, 2015

Matinee screening Fri, Sat, Sun

I’m Not There

Todd Haynes, 2007

Screening Fri 13 Oct

Velvet Goldmine

Todd Haynes, 1998

Screening Sat 14 Oct

The Velvet Underground

Todd Haynes, 2021

Screening Sat 14 Oct

Wonderstruck

Todd Haynes, 2017
Screening Sun 15 Oct

TADAO ANDO ON FILM

Tadao Ando: From Emptiness to Infinity

Mathias Frick, 2013

+

Tadao Ando

Michael Blackwood, 1988

Double Screening Tues 17 Oct

ARTIST FILM WORKSHOP

No screenings this week

ASTOR CINEMA

The Shining (Extended Cut)

Stanley Kubrick, 1980

+

Doctor Sleep

Mike Flanigan, 2022

Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour

Sam Wrench, 2023

Screening Fri, Sat, Sun

Friday the 13th

Sean S. Cunningham

Screening Fri 13 Oct

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Henry Selick, 1993

Screening Sat 14 Oct

Nothing Left to Do but Cry

Roberto Benigni, Massimo Troisi

Screening Sat 14 Oct (Italian FF)

Possession
Andrzej Zulawski, 1981

Screening Sat 14 Oct

Foe

Gareth Davies, 2023

Screening Sun 15 Oct

BBBC CINEMA (GALLERYGALLERY BRUNSWICK)

Closed until summer

THE CAPITOL

No Screenings this Week

CHINATOWN CINEMA

The Creator

Gareth Edwards, 2023

Screening Daily

Moscow Mission

Herman Yau, 2023

Screening Daily

The Ex-files 4: Marriage Plan
Tian Yu Sheng, 2023
Screening Daily

CINÉ-CLUB (Carlton)

Re-opening soon

CINEMANIACS (ACMI)

Beyond the Door

Ovidio G. Assonitis, Roberto D'Ettorre Piazzoli, 1974

Screening Sat 14 Oct

CINEMA NOVA

Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour

Sam Wrench, 2023

Screening Fri, Sat, Sun

Lie with Me

Olivier Peyon, 2023

Screening Daily

The Crime is Mine

Francois Ozon, 2023

Screening Daily

Sick of Myself
Kristoffer Borgli, 2022
Screening Daily

Shayda

Noora Niasari, 2023

Screening Daily

Cobweb
Kim Jee-woon, 2023
Screening Daily

Past Lives

Celine Song, 2023

Screening Daily

A Haunting In Venice
Kenneth Branagh, 2023
Screening Daily

Theater Camp
Molly Gordon & Nick Lieberman, 2023
Screening Daily

Asteroid City
Wes Anderson, 2023
Screening Daily

Talk To Me
Danny and Michael Philippou, 2023
Screening Daily

Barbie
Greta Gerwig, 2023
Screening Daily

Oppenheimer
Christopher Nolan, 2023
Screening Daily

DOGMILK DEGUSTATIONS: @ Miscellenia

Stay tuned for details on Season 3.

FRENCH FILM CLUB

Fat Girl
Catherine Breillat, 2001

Screening Thurs 12 Oct @ Arts West Interactive Cinema Space (room 353)

GAY24

No screening this week

HITLIST (9 Gertrude St, Fitzroy)

No screening this week

LIDO / CLASSIC / CAMEO

Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour

Sam Wrench, 2023

Screening Fri, Sat, Sun

Lie with Me

Olivier Peyon, 2023

Screening Daily

The Crime is Mine

Francois Ozon, 2023

Screening Daily

Sick of Myself
Kristoffer Borgli, 2022
Screening Daily

Shayda

Noora Niasari, 2023

Screening Daily

The Creator

Gareth Edwards, 2023

Screening Daily

A Haunting In Venice
Kenneth Branagh, 2023
Screening Daily

Scrapper
Charlotte Regan, 2023
Screening Daily

It Lives Inside

Bishal Dutta, 2023
Screening Daily

Theater Camp
Molly Gordon & Nick Lieberman, 2023
Screening Daily

Biosphere
Mel Eslyn, 2022
Screening Daily

Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story
Paul Goldman, 2023
Screening Daily

Past Lives
Celine Song, 2023
Screening Daily

Blackberry
Matthew Johnson, 2023
Screening Daily

Asteroid City
Wes Anderson, 2023
Screening Daily

Talk To Me
Danny and Michael Philippou, 2023
Screening Daily

Barbie
Greta Gerwig, 2023
Screening Daily

Oppenheimer
Christopher Nolan, 2023
Screening Daily

THE MELBOURNE CINÉMATHÈQUE (ACMI)

Assault on the Pay Train
Roberto Farias, 1962
Screening Wednesday 18 October 7pm
+
Tocaia no Asfalto
Roberto Pires, 1962
Screening starts at 9:00pm

MELBOURNE HORROR FILM SOCIETY

No screening this week

MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY: SCREENING IDEAS

No screening this week

PALACE BALWYN / BRIGHTON /COMO / KINO / PENTRIDGE / WESTGARTH

THE 2023 St ALI ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL
Program Here

Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour

Sam Wrench, 2023

Screening Fri, Sat, Sun

Lie with Me

Olivier Peyon, 2023

Screening Daily

The Crime is Mine

Francois Ozon, 2023

Screening Daily

Shayda

Noora Niasari, 2023

Screening Daily

The Creator

Gareth Edwards, 2023

Screening Daily

A Haunting In Venice
Kenneth Branagh, 2023
Screening Daily

Asteroid City
Wes Anderson, 2023
Screening Daily

Barbie

Greta Gerwig, 2023

Screening Daily

Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story

Paul Goldman, 2023

Screening Daily

Talk To Me
Danny and Michael Philippou, 2023
Screening Daily

Oppenheimer
Christopher Nolan, 2023
Screening Daily

SUN CINEMAS YARRAVILLE

Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour

Sam Wrench, 2023

Screening Fri, Sat, Sun

Lie with Me

Olivier Peyon, 2023

Screening Daily

The Crime is Mine

Francois Ozon, 2023

Screening Daily

Shayda

Noora Niasari, 2023

Screening Daily

The Creator

Gareth Edwards, 2023

Screening Daily

A Haunting In Venice
Kenneth Branagh, 2023
Screening Daily

Theater Camp
Molly Gordon & Nick Lieberman, 2023
Screening Daily

The Nun II
Michael Chaves, 2023
Screening Daily

Ego: The Michael Gundinski Story

Paul Goldman, 2023

Screening Daily

Past Lives

Celine Song, 2023

Screening Daily

THORNBURY PICTURE HOUSE

Shayda

Noora Niasari, 2023

Screening most days

Sick of Myself

Kristoffer Borgli, 2022

FINAL SCREENING Thurs 12 Oct

The Exorcist

William Freidkin, 1973

Screening Fri 13  & Mon 16 Oct

Paw Patrol: The Might Movie

Cal Brunker, 2023

Screening Sat 14 and Sun 15

Sweet Country

Wawrick Thornton, 2017

Screening Sat 15 Oct

The Birds

Alfred Hitchcock, 1963

Screening Sun 15 & 18 Oct

Scrapper

Charlotte Regan, 2023
Screening Sat 7 Oct

Asteroid City

Wes Anderson, 2023

Final screening Tues 17 Oct

UNKNOWN PLEASURES (BILL MOUSOULIS + CHRIS LUSCRI)

No screening this week