This evening I finally got the chance to see The Souvenir Part II. It's been two years since I saw the first part with my mum at the Melbourne International Film Festival (more here). Things have changed since that first introduction to Joanna Hogg's film, both in my life and in the world. I've been overseas, started university, met new people and entered a relationship; all of the things you generally do at the age of 22. While my experience of these things have been almost dream-like and I've often been unsure of where they'll go, they have framed my thinking and ultimately given me a greater sense of personal and artistic confidence.
Two years ago I related heavily to Hogg's Julie; a diffident young woman trying to find her voice in a world full of domineering personalities. In the second part, Julie gains her artistic voice through using her experiences to underpin her work, and in turn, make sense of her mysterious deceased partner, Anthony; a heroin addict. This film has a different tone to the first. It fuses Hogg's typical semi-documentary style with Cocteau-like fantasy, is brighter, and its locations expand beyond Julie's Knightsbridge flat. This corresponds to the momentum of Julie's artistic progression. She's more outward looking and "gathering experience and information" to make the work that she wants to make. This time around, alongside my mum again, I felt more alike the current Julie. I'm more weighted by life and experience, and therefore also have greater insight and confidence to inject into my work.
This is a brief summation of my initial thoughts after seeing the film. I'll come back to this to inform a more elaborate review of my experience of this film. I found The Souvenir Part II an extremely inspiring and life-affirming work, and it will be something that I'll take under my arm as an influence as I venture into future experiences and artistic ambitions.
