Territory

One of Europe’s border zones, Gibraltar is reputed for the three-century long diplomatic discord it has sown between the United Kingdom and Spain. British but Iberian, the Rock is also apish: the colony of macaque monkeys that live there is now growing bolder. This new kind of alley cat is taking over the town, hanging from lamp-posts, jumping from balconies and invading public parks. The shock weapon (peashooters) for the authorities of this planet of apes has not yet proved effective. Sensitive to the strangeness of this very British enclave in a Mediterranean landscape, Eleanor Mortimer relies solely on her editing to depict the animals’ playful defiance as a metaphor of the political tensions that have constantly afflicted this tiny territory. The astonishingly precise cuts to the monkeys’ gaze capture the almost rebellious spirit of these residents, who can historically claim to have arrived long before the subjects of the British monarchy. Ultimately, the entire structure of Territory is about this impossible sharing. Less comical than the previous short scenes, a striking change of décor in the film documents a historic moment and lends it a disturbing allegorical forcefulness. (Charlotte Garson)