Chelsea Lupkin
Amedieval fever dream turned nightmare, The Licensed Fool is as gritty as it is beautiful to watch, with a grotesque sense of humor that perfectly captures the sentiment of the times. Produced by Alexander Handschuh and Jamie MacDonald, the art direction, craft, and commitment to the bit makes Gareth Bowen’s film a playfully twisted dramedy, set during a historical moment when upsetting the Queen could be deadly. So when a jester, known as The Licensed Fool, is tasked with entertaining the Monarch, he crosses paths with fellow entertainers and finds himself as the target of a very long winded joke – one that may cost him everything.
“It turned into a kind of trippy twisted folktale”
In what feels like a sinister retelling of a folktale, The Licensed Fool follows a jester who must learn a very important lesson: never trust your competition. Set in a time when jokes were crude and basic, the titular fool – captivatingly portrayed by German actor Pit Bukowski – sought to elevate his humor, only to forget just how high the stakes were at that time. “Pitting a group of depressed heavy drinking jesters together seemed like a rich idea”, Bowen explains, “and from there it turned into a kind of trippy twisted folktale”. Adding that in “some ways the film is a very longwinded fart joke”, I suppose there are worse things than being the brunt of someone else’s joke, right?
Bowen’s approach to filmmaking is delightfully stylish and even though his short is set in medieval times, the goal with the aesthetic was to make it look like it was filmed in the 70s. Though The Licensed Fool was actually shot digitally by cinematographer Wouter Verheul, the use of zoom lenses and post design made it feel wonderfully authentic. “The ethos from the get go was to create a film that felt as if it had been dug up, the director reveals, “as if we had found it in the earth, scrubbed the mud from the celluloid, and brought it back to life.”
Angharad Bowen as the Queen in The Licensed Fool.
Beyond the film’s aesthetic, the authenticity of The Licensed Fool’s medieval setting owes much to the outstanding work of production designer Melina Vei Veropoulou and costume designer Lucy James. Their dedication to making the short look period-accurate took this film to the next level. The Queen, dressed in an elaborate gown that fits perfectly with her Elizabeth I inspired hair and makeup by Dash Taivas, creates a truly regal presence. While the jester’s dirty and unhygienic appearance in his prison quarters captures the era’s rough reality. “The intention for this film was to create an immersive experience.” says Bowen, “one telling a propulsive and hypnotic story, that transports the viewer to a different time and place.”
Having originally written the script as a short story during the 2020 lockdown, Bowen had his piece published in a flash fiction magazine called Young Punch. Like many great ideas, this one began from going down a deep internet rabbit hole, which eventually led him to jesters. It goes to show that any idea can be transformative and we loved how this one turned out for Bowen. The Licensed Fool won Best Screenplay at Rhode Island Film Festival and screened at the London Short Film Festival, Aesthetica and Bolton Film Fest.