A corpse is put on trial in 19th-century Liverpool in Dorian Jespers’ new short film, Loynes.
Brought before a rambunctious auditorium and laid in front of the judge’s bench, it is never made entirely clear what the unknown individual is being tried for, but everyone is very keen that they are guilty. Jespers’ presents this ludicrous scenario – rare, but not unheard of in history – in a baroque fashion that calls to mind the mayhem of Hogarth’s A Rake’s Progress or even the hellish visions of Hieronymus Bosch. It is a surreal but utterly transfixing short, which descends further into absurdity before a left-field turn into the metaphysical.
There are signals along the way, though; from a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it modern interlude to a fantastical opening. Loynes begins with a sequence in which the camera, and whoever’s perspective it is representing, hurtle through the sky towards a mountainside. Shortly thereafter, a cadaver is winched up from the crags of the same locale and brought by cart to the court. Much of the following action takes place in the chaotic courtroom amphitheatre peopled by ranting masses who holler and scream, sat between ramshackle piles of texts while a judge (Sheila Breen Rickerby) hammers her gavel and a hapless solicitor (Elaine Collins) is trundled out to speak for an unknown, deceased defendant.
The proceedings are undoubtedly grotesque, even before the corpse seems to vanish and they decide to substitute in another one – and that is well before past and present appear to elide. Jespers and cinematographer Arnaud Alberola capture the texture and play of light that makes the film feel like a canvas come to life, but one in which the noise and smell of history is unvarnished and justice seems to be a stretch. “We didn’t die / We are just back with a different song,” proclaims a sung voiceover in the film’s bold final scene – whether Loynes sees that as a positive or negative is another case to be argued, but regardless, watching this unreal trial unfold is gripping.
Director: Dorian Jespers
Cast: Elaine Collins, Vicenc Altaio, Johan Opstaele, Sheila Breen Rickerby, Margaret O’Kell, Brian Philips, Terry Briscoe
Producers: Clyde Gates, Jules Reinartz
Screenplay: Raphael Meyer, Dorian Jespers
Cinematography: Arnaud Alberola
Editing: Ariane Boukerche, Charles Dhondt, Liyo Gong, Omar Guzman
Sound: Thomas Becka, Leo Caresio, Raf Enckels, Zakhar Semirkhano
Production design: Lucie Beauvert
Costume design: Rezvan Farsijani
Production companies: Scum Pictures (Belgium), Films Grand Huit (France)
Venue: Sarajevo Film Festival (European Shorts)
In English
25 minutes
Read more of our short film coverage over at Verdict Shorts
