An intriguing blend of magical realism and observational documentary, Tizian Büchi’s Like An Island (L’îlot) presents the often enigmatic story of two men whose job (or “mission” as one calls it) is to watch over the area around the Vuachère, the burbling river running by Faverges, a suburban neighbourhood in Lausanne in Switzerland where functional buildings housing retirees and immigrant families have recently shot up.
Tizian Büchi’s intent is to try and construct a film that dips into strange and wonderful phantasmagoria. The film opens (in silence) with an on-screen quote that hints at pastoral oddness. “A hole is a measure of the relativity of things. There is a hole only if you look from above. I would rather suggest to glide into the folds of the ground, and conduct our research from there,” reads the line from Loyse Pahud’s The Holes: In Search of a Familiar Geography.
Ambient sound links to atmospheric imagery as light creeps through the undergrowth and dapples the river as someone washes their feet in the bubbling shallow water. A child’s voice reflects that there could be gold down in the river, and in a short interview with five other children they talk boldly about hearing shots fired and drugs being made in nearby buildings, but bravado subsides and they admit they are lucky to live near to the watery woodland.
The film’s languid style is very much reflected in one of the central characters, the well-built and somewhat fatherly Daniel, the lead watchman who keeps an eye on the neighbourhood. He moves slowly and genially, often with a gentle smile and happy to chat to anyone.
He meets up with his new patrol partner Ammar, hands over a yellow armband (“this will be our uniform” says Daniel) along with a torch and a walkie-talkie.
He explains their work to Ammar. “Our mission is clear, it is to watch! We don’t have another mission – we don’t give fines, we only prevent people from accessing the river,” he says, explaining that Ammar will handle the night shift while the pair will also spend some day shifts together as the pair put up security tape along the river’s edge.
The film follows their almost father-and-son relationship as they embark on their rather absurd duties – it is never actually explained why they have to secure the riverbank, though there are fairytale-like stories about people being lost there – and they develop a gentle friendship.
This mysterious îlot (small island) of greenery provides an engaging backdrop to their story, with their routine punctuated by small vignettes featuring other locals – whether it be an elderly man who talks about “forest beings” or a woman who shouts down from a balcony to Daniel to say she doesn’t understand what he is doing. The film gently meanders to an ending rich in magical realism (maybe jarring for some, but of appeal to others) that aims to reflect the enigmatic pastoral nature of the every-changing river woodland that Büchi infuses his film with.
Switzerland, 2022, 106mins
Dir: Tizian Büchi
Production: Alva Film Production
Producers: Thomas Reichlin, Britta Rindelaub
Cinematography: Diana Vidrascu, Camille Sultan
With Daniel Nkubu, Ammar Abdulkareem Khalaf
