BERLINALE 2020 - Victoria
70th BERLINALE FILM FESTIVALVictoria is a documentary that uses two parallel levels of narrative techniques: narration and daily exploration — neither of which are realised or executed to their full potential.
Following the daily life, thoughts and relations of its subject, Lashay T Warren, the documentary attempts to present a sublime introduction to a man's life. The feature compiles footage of Warren's real-life video recordings, his comedic — and surprisingly intimate — exploration of his city (through Google street view) and follows the man himself on daily chores where he tries to escape his past in LA by creating a new life in the unfinished California City. On paper, the combination of these ideas should be an absolute win for both the filmmaker and the audience themselves, but in execution these elements start refuting each other's effects, destroying any deeper, emotional connection formed by any one medium.
The editing only deserves half of the blame. While shifts from phone recordings to street-views to exquisite shots of Warren exploring his city or talking to his friends and family can sometimes be very jarring for the viewer, it still isn’t offensive enough to ruin audience engagement. Instead, what kills the documentary's mood entirely is the filmmaker's lack of trust in their subject. Instead of relying on the personality and straightforward unabridged thoughts of Warren himself, they decide to include unnecessarily wide-shot scenery overlaid with an unsubtle, scripted narration and artistic shots that ruin the grounded nature of the life told. In a fictional film, these overlays would have been acceptable, but in a documentary, they feel forced.
That is not to say that Warren does not have any agency in narrating a chapter of his life. However, concerning the fact that the film already showcases Warren's phone recordings — a place where he is at his most natural — and Warren even downright speaks naturally about his life in specific points of the film, it becomes more difficult to justify the choice of scripted narration. Warren already showcases a widely likeable personality, so the film's job is supposed to be to display that personality in its rawest form. But, in pursuit of appearing artistic, the film ends up caging major factions of that personality by using thematic elements.
Warren's story represents emotions and themes at a broader level, and a simple narration could have opened the viewer to receive that message. Essential factors are buried further in and communication becomes more unsubtle than a simple question and answer interview, any emotion and intrigue the subject matter could have brought is killed, leaving this documentary feeling as empty and unfulfilling in its potential as California City itself.