‘Rumours’ (2024)

A dark and surrealist comedy, ‘Rumours’ catalogs the meeting of the G7 gathering to discuss the latest global crises and construct and issue a statement regarding the same. Intertwining notes of horror, melodrama and absurdism, the film sways between satirical criticism and farcical comedy.

Opening on the G7, the group pose in front of cameras before their summit. This time meeting in Dankerode, Germany, the country’s chancellor Hilda Orlmann (Cate Blanchett) invites her peers to follow to a dig site, where bog bodies are being unearthed. Setting the stage for what is to come, the characters immediately showcase their personalities, none of which correspond with a constructive work-focused mindset.

Unafraid to immediately poke fun at the democratic world leaders, directors and writers Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson and Guy Maddin drop all pretences and display the presidents, prime ministers and chancellor as they are at their core, - human. Albeit somewhat caricaturistic, the G7 are each singular in their mannerisms and quirks, delivering an array of easy to digest exaggerations of unique individuals.

With a slew of experienced actors, it could have been easy to lose one or more in the crowd, yet the film provides enough time and identity to each, allowing their characters to take life and soar as they open up more and allow us to view their innermost personalities.

Leading the cast is Blanchett as the German chancellor Orlmann. Hosting the gathering, her diplomacy and leadership initially hold the group together well, until other parties become less work focused and more concerned about personal matters. Blanchett’s performance mirrors the traits of the well known German chancellor, as she pays tribute to the leader whilst also exploring a fictitious hidden, more romantic side.

Quickly establishing himself as a lost romantic, Roy Dupuis’ Canadian Prime Minister Maxime Laplace is one concerned least with getting anything done, and spends the duration of the feature more in the role of an angsty teenager dealing with personal setbacks rather than acting the part of the leader of Canada. Undoubtedly amusing, Dupuis delivers an array of laughs, mirroring the personal scandals of other world leaders without dragging anyone’s name through the mud.

The group gather and are left alone to share a meal, after which they are to subdivide into smaller groups and work on a joint statement to the public. Immediately highlighting their futile and procrastinatory ways, the group as a whole, manage to string together little before finding themselves abandoned and falling apart. Understanding that something is amiss, they try to re-con and figure out the best way to proceed, before literally being lost in the woods and milling around without producing any actual results.

Surprisingly, the film avoids the narrow path that leads straight to criticism and finds a route to an oftentimes more sincere atmosphere than could have been anticipated. Finding ways to allow for the characters to exhibit genuine sincerity, ‘Rumours’ displays the group as a meandering mess at times, but manages to balance it out by instances of actual heartfelt sincerity.

While at one point Charles Dance’s president Wolcott decides to stay behind so the group may proceed faster, Rolando Ravello’s Antonio Lamorle demonstrated an unexpected moment of self sacrifice and an unwavering sense of commitment when he turns around and goes back for Wolcott.

Diving deeper into abstract symbolism, the film has instances of presenting imagery that may leave most audiences lost as to the intended meaning. While on the whole delivering very obvious and thinly veiled remarks about the current state of political affairs, other times the film seems to go beyond its own intentions and delivers something undecipherable.

Full of genuine laughs and a bleak ending, ‘Rumours’ explores the impotence of our current world leadership. Whilst acknowledging each individuals unique contribution and rich inner world, the film also presents the inefficacy of their actions, that oftentimes disappoint and leave their countrymen wanting for more concrete statements and actions.

Thoroughly enjoyable without restoring to cheap and degrading portrayals of the world leaders, ‘Rumours’ echoes the sentiment of the public by and large in terms of acknowledging the futility of our governments.

Score: 3/4