Showing posts with label EIFF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EIFF. Show all posts
Edinburgh Film Festival 2011
Just a quick post to highlight the upcoming Edinburgh film festival, which I'll be attending in the first few days. The brochure has just gone live, and one film in particular stood out: they are showing the English language dub of the new Ghibli film The Borrower Arrietty (18 and 20 June), which I'm not going to miss if I can at all help it. By coincidence, they will also be showing Countdown to Zero (21 June), another film I saw while in Japan and well worth a look.
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2010 - Day 5
Skeletons (UK) (trailer)
Davis and Bennett are paranormal investigators, but in a slightly different world where it is treated as an accepted science. These two have been at it for years, part of a shadowy company dealing in all sorts of jobs where paranormal readings might help. Unfortunately, they have been on the bottom rung for quite some time, and head in almost like rat catchers, their aim only being to remove the skeletons from peoples' closets. Literally. Using their tools to enter the memories of these people, they can uncover truths they wanted to tell, or maybe wanted kept hidden, but always best out in the open.
At the same time their boss comes with news of a promotion, they find a particularly tricky job to do. A wife has lost her husband several years ago, and he may be dead. Taking it upon themselves to do what they can in a job one step up the skill ladder from what they are used to, they set about searching the house for spiritual clues, but something isn't right, and the teenage daughter is being a bit too cagey. When things start to go wrong, it gets very bad for both of them.
Restrepo (US) (trailer)
There have been several films purporting themselves to be 'the Afghanistan war film' to watch, but few I have seen have so much raw, up-close footage of life right at the front, taken by the two directors (Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger) who spent 15 months with them dodging bullets and bombs and seeing the casualties on both sides, and to the Afghan civilians caught in the middle trying to survive. The film makes no attempt to be judgmental, rather leaving it as a dry account of the front line, for better or worse, interviewing the surviving soldiers sometime after they manage to leave the place they have both hated and developed a strong bond with. 7.5/10
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2010 - Day 4
Au Revoir Taipei (Tai/US) (trailer)
In the bustling streets of Taipei, diminutive Kai is about to lose his girlfriend. Off to study in France, he's under the impression they are still together. His subsequent calls to Paris are ignored, even when he shows commitment by learning French by chancing his arm as much as he can at the local bookstore, reading the pricey language books for free. When he gets the eventual call from Faye to say it's all over, he can't take it and plans a trip to France to win her back.
Plane tickets are expensive, and for a struggling out of work boyfriend, France is prohibitively far away, but he has a chance if he asks 'Brother Bao', a local real-estate dealer and small-time crime boss, for a bit of a loan to get him there. Bao agrees, but asks him to deliver a small package while he is over there.
Bao leaves much of his dirty work to his nephew, Hong, and his trio of giggling, bumbling idiot friends, who all work at the realtors showing people around. Hong hears of the package, and jealous of a young upstart making a deal, vies to get hold of the package and make some cash, with Kai taking the blame. Throw in an overambitious cop on the trail of the package, young Susie, the bookstore assistant who takes a shine to Kai, and Gao, an amiable dimwit who works in the local supermarket, and you have the makings of an underdog crime caper as their lives intersect.
It's all pretty lightweight, but good airy fun, and plenty of grin-worthy scenes throughout, and as the director hoped as we left the theatre, we all had big stupid grins on our faces, and that's as much as you'd want from a film. 7.5/10
Lucky Luke (Fr) (trailer)
I only know of Lucky Luke from his SNES game many years ago, which in turn was based on a French cartoon character dating back to the 1940's. John 'Lucky' Luke is painted alongside the famous cowboys of the old west, from Daisy Town, a fictional place somewhere near Utah. After seeing his parents die at the hands of The Cheaters Gang, a trio of no good gunmen, he finds himself unable to kill (yes, it is a cliche and not the only one but its from an old comic book so at least it predates many others), although his Colt is used instead to dispatch his foes in a variety of slapstick and improbable ways. He also has a white horse, Jolly Jumper, who helps him on his travels and happens to talk now and again. Oh and he's supremely lucky.
Luke is given the task of the President to clean up Daisy Town, since it lies slap bang on the site of the new transcontinental railroad that's being planned. Daisy Town is pretty bad these days, with bad guys outnumbering the good ones by a good margin, and the numbers are going in the wrong direction. Top of the pile is nasty old Pat Poker, the resident corrupt sherrif with his fingers in serveral pies. Kicking Pat out and taking the position of sherriff, Luke begins the job, attracting the attentions of the saucy Belle. But Pat is not so keen to give up on power and in a duel, Luke ends up killing him outright.
Driven to the edge with guilt at what he did, he hangs up his gun forever, and things quickly slip back to chaos. It's a hopeless situation, but can the arrival of Jessie James, Billy the Kid and Calamaty Jane shake him out of his defeated mindset?
Hamdan was arrested shortly after 9/11 on charges of involvement, and spent some time locked up without charge, maintaining he was merely a driver. A landmark case (Hamdan vs Rumsfeld) saw Hamdan win his case that the Bush administration had overstepped their mark, only for that same administration rush through retroactive legislation to keep him locked up. Half of the film recounts the progress of the reclusive Hamdan as he fights this additional hurdle, with the help of an American military lawyer.
The other half of the film follows Jandal. Now a taxi driver, he was arrested for his involvement of the bombing of the USS Cole, but received good favour when he displayed a substantial knowledge of Bin Ladens' plans and weaponry. On hearing that several of the 9/11 bombers were people he knew personally, Hamdan co-operated and flooded the US intelligence with so much information, they postponed the Afghanistan mission. After going through The Dialogue Committee, a re-education program for jihadists, Jandal was released and provided with protection, and now works to try and influence young men who would be Jihadists, reminding them of the original aims of Islam.
Taking time to allow Jandal and the US representatives to say what they want, the film never feels forced towards an opinion one way or another. This doesn't make for a dull film, especially from the things Jandal says about his position on Jihad. The Dialogue Committee didn't turn him into a cute cuddly hippie, but merely dulled some of the sharper of his blades, and made him think in a different direction. However he is never portrayed as 'evil'. He has a sardonic sense of humour, is a loving father to his son, and though unsettling, it is difficult to say that his position is invalid. A compelling account, putting a human face on some of the most faceless on the earth. 7.5/10
Third Star (UK) (imdb)
In the heart of Pembrokeshire, four friends embark on a hastily arranged trip to the coast, to the favourite place of James, one of their number who has a special reason for returning. He has terminal cancer, and his thirtysomething friends Davey, Bill and Miles have taken time out of their busy lives to have an old fashioned seaside trip like in the days of youth. They have made him a special wheelchair to cope with the moors and beaches, and Bill has brought along a tree he grew from seed to plant there as a commemoration.
The trip is beset with problems, and the plans they made fall by the wayside, but James is determined despite his rapidly failing health that they will make it to Barafundle Bay.
The closing night screening was a special treat. Third Star is a simple, uncluttered and honest tale of old friends and complicated relationships, coming together at a time when nearves are at their most raw. The scripting in particular is excellent, and everyone will identify personally with at least of the group. All of the parts are played excellently, but in particular Benedict Cumberbatch brings to the screen a fantastic performance as James, convincingly playing both a long-time and close friend to the others and a desperate, frustrated man living with an unseen and unstoppable killer inside. He's yet to do a duff production. It's a very sad, very funny and spiritual film that doesn't descend into melodrama. It's complex themes and scenes of nature, overlaid with a beautiful soundtrack, will stay with you long after the end. 8.5/10
In the bustling streets of Taipei, diminutive Kai is about to lose his girlfriend. Off to study in France, he's under the impression they are still together. His subsequent calls to Paris are ignored, even when he shows commitment by learning French by chancing his arm as much as he can at the local bookstore, reading the pricey language books for free. When he gets the eventual call from Faye to say it's all over, he can't take it and plans a trip to France to win her back.
Plane tickets are expensive, and for a struggling out of work boyfriend, France is prohibitively far away, but he has a chance if he asks 'Brother Bao', a local real-estate dealer and small-time crime boss, for a bit of a loan to get him there. Bao agrees, but asks him to deliver a small package while he is over there.
Bao leaves much of his dirty work to his nephew, Hong, and his trio of giggling, bumbling idiot friends, who all work at the realtors showing people around. Hong hears of the package, and jealous of a young upstart making a deal, vies to get hold of the package and make some cash, with Kai taking the blame. Throw in an overambitious cop on the trail of the package, young Susie, the bookstore assistant who takes a shine to Kai, and Gao, an amiable dimwit who works in the local supermarket, and you have the makings of an underdog crime caper as their lives intersect.
It's all pretty lightweight, but good airy fun, and plenty of grin-worthy scenes throughout, and as the director hoped as we left the theatre, we all had big stupid grins on our faces, and that's as much as you'd want from a film. 7.5/10
Lucky Luke (Fr) (trailer)
I only know of Lucky Luke from his SNES game many years ago, which in turn was based on a French cartoon character dating back to the 1940's. John 'Lucky' Luke is painted alongside the famous cowboys of the old west, from Daisy Town, a fictional place somewhere near Utah. After seeing his parents die at the hands of The Cheaters Gang, a trio of no good gunmen, he finds himself unable to kill (yes, it is a cliche and not the only one but its from an old comic book so at least it predates many others), although his Colt is used instead to dispatch his foes in a variety of slapstick and improbable ways. He also has a white horse, Jolly Jumper, who helps him on his travels and happens to talk now and again. Oh and he's supremely lucky.
Luke is given the task of the President to clean up Daisy Town, since it lies slap bang on the site of the new transcontinental railroad that's being planned. Daisy Town is pretty bad these days, with bad guys outnumbering the good ones by a good margin, and the numbers are going in the wrong direction. Top of the pile is nasty old Pat Poker, the resident corrupt sherrif with his fingers in serveral pies. Kicking Pat out and taking the position of sherriff, Luke begins the job, attracting the attentions of the saucy Belle. But Pat is not so keen to give up on power and in a duel, Luke ends up killing him outright.
Driven to the edge with guilt at what he did, he hangs up his gun forever, and things quickly slip back to chaos. It's a hopeless situation, but can the arrival of Jessie James, Billy the Kid and Calamaty Jane shake him out of his defeated mindset?
It mixes American cowboy atmosphere with French humour and feel (which for the most part, isn't a bad thing here) and the result is pretty standard fare, but a nice, shallow piece of cinema that doesn't go off in any unexpected directions and has a good few inventive scenes along the way. Fans of Luke will get more out of it, especially as there were several scenes and references to the original source. It was surprisingly sweary and violent too for a comic book adaptation, suggesting it has been made for the adults who grew up on the comics, rather than todays kids. 7/10
The Oath in question is that of loyalty to the Taliban, taken up by Jihadis when first joining the crusade. The film uses this as a framing device around which the lives of two men, Salim Hamdan, who was detained in Guantanamo Bay for 7 years awaiting trail, and his brother-in-law Abu Jandal, a one-time bodyguard to Bin Laden who walks free, driving a taxi in Yemen.Hamdan was arrested shortly after 9/11 on charges of involvement, and spent some time locked up without charge, maintaining he was merely a driver. A landmark case (Hamdan vs Rumsfeld) saw Hamdan win his case that the Bush administration had overstepped their mark, only for that same administration rush through retroactive legislation to keep him locked up. Half of the film recounts the progress of the reclusive Hamdan as he fights this additional hurdle, with the help of an American military lawyer.
The other half of the film follows Jandal. Now a taxi driver, he was arrested for his involvement of the bombing of the USS Cole, but received good favour when he displayed a substantial knowledge of Bin Ladens' plans and weaponry. On hearing that several of the 9/11 bombers were people he knew personally, Hamdan co-operated and flooded the US intelligence with so much information, they postponed the Afghanistan mission. After going through The Dialogue Committee, a re-education program for jihadists, Jandal was released and provided with protection, and now works to try and influence young men who would be Jihadists, reminding them of the original aims of Islam.
Taking time to allow Jandal and the US representatives to say what they want, the film never feels forced towards an opinion one way or another. This doesn't make for a dull film, especially from the things Jandal says about his position on Jihad. The Dialogue Committee didn't turn him into a cute cuddly hippie, but merely dulled some of the sharper of his blades, and made him think in a different direction. However he is never portrayed as 'evil'. He has a sardonic sense of humour, is a loving father to his son, and though unsettling, it is difficult to say that his position is invalid. A compelling account, putting a human face on some of the most faceless on the earth. 7.5/10
Third Star (UK) (imdb)
In the heart of Pembrokeshire, four friends embark on a hastily arranged trip to the coast, to the favourite place of James, one of their number who has a special reason for returning. He has terminal cancer, and his thirtysomething friends Davey, Bill and Miles have taken time out of their busy lives to have an old fashioned seaside trip like in the days of youth. They have made him a special wheelchair to cope with the moors and beaches, and Bill has brought along a tree he grew from seed to plant there as a commemoration.
The trip is beset with problems, and the plans they made fall by the wayside, but James is determined despite his rapidly failing health that they will make it to Barafundle Bay.
The closing night screening was a special treat. Third Star is a simple, uncluttered and honest tale of old friends and complicated relationships, coming together at a time when nearves are at their most raw. The scripting in particular is excellent, and everyone will identify personally with at least of the group. All of the parts are played excellently, but in particular Benedict Cumberbatch brings to the screen a fantastic performance as James, convincingly playing both a long-time and close friend to the others and a desperate, frustrated man living with an unseen and unstoppable killer inside. He's yet to do a duff production. It's a very sad, very funny and spiritual film that doesn't descend into melodrama. It's complex themes and scenes of nature, overlaid with a beautiful soundtrack, will stay with you long after the end. 8.5/10
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2010 - Day 3
International Shorts 3: Discomfort Zone
Donde Esta Kim Basinger (Where is Kim Basinger) (Fr) - Two middle-aged brothers from France spend an evening in Buenos Aeris. Antonio is unsure and lacking confidence as he speaks little of the language, relying on Marcus to get him around. After a few attempts by Marcus to inject some fun into the situation, he chooses the oldest profession in the world to put a smile on his brothers' face, but the girls have a different idea of a good time, and it involves Marvin Gaye. A funny short film variant of Sideways. 7.5/10
Birthday (Hun) - An outside birthday party is arranged by a strange man, using tatty furnature and cutlery. Children sit down, eat and play with the new toys, and then comes dessert, but where are they, and why is it all a bit.. dirty? An odd film, trying to make a statement of some sort about our throwaway society. 6/10
Incident at a Bank (Swe) - A recounting of a failed robbery that happened in 2006, from the point of view of the witnesses outside, as they slowly stopped their daily business and realised the significance of the tatty moped and its two helmeted riders in front of them. A little funny, a little scary. 7/10
Out in that Deep Blue Sea (Can) - A portrait of a mid-life man deep with the frustrations of life. A door-to-door realtor, with a teenager wanting to disappear off round the world with a man called Wolf, and a wife who just will. not. shut. up. Treadmills and exercise balls dont move the increasing lard building up, and the only sanctury from the incessant causes of stress is sleep, which he doesn't get nearly enough of. A frustrating look at a man with no solutions on the horizon. 7/10
Teleglobal Dreamin' (Sing) - Fictional bit part actor Dale Parsons, who may have spent some time in the same movies as Brendan Frasier finds himself spouting business-isms, trying to help a teleglobal yoga mat sales team in Manila make more sales. He attracts the interest of Rosa, a young telephone saleswoman who volunteers to help dale get over his jetlag and see some of the city. Unfortunately, getting mistaken for Brendan Frasier by Rosa's friends and strangers gets him into both frustration and deep trouble. 7/10
Mai Mai Miracle (Jpn) (site/wiki)
There are some films about very little at all. This is not always a bad thing. There are some films that have taken a lot of license from other films. This is also not necessarily bad. For anyone with a good grounding in the Studio Ghibli films, Mai Mai may look like a cynical carbon copy of that recognisable style; in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if production studio Mad House managed to get some of the animators from Miyazaki's wonders on board for it. It looks the same, and it feels the same, as some of the quieter, older works from the 80's and 90's. In particular, Mai Mai borrows heavily from Only Yesterday, with elements of Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies mixed in there as well.
Mai Mai is about Shinko, a young girl living in post-war Japan, in a little village called Mitajiri, which is near Hiroshima, and, as her grandfather teaches her, was built where Kogua once stood, a thousand years ago. Encouraging an interest in how things change over the years, Shinko begins to focus her imagination on how things were a thousand years ago, and begins to share this with a small group of schoolfriends, including Kiiko, who has just moved from Tokyo with her father. Kiiko is quiet and reserved, and has trouble fitting in, and her and Shinko's stories begin to reflect the life of a lonesome Kogua princess from long ago.
Whether you will like this film or not depends heavily on whether you like the aforementioned films, and whether you can get past the look and feel of it, which is definitely child-like (rather than childish). Like Totoro or Only Yesterday, this is a deceptive sheen, under which lies a meatier slice of life story containing a lot of recognisable, empathatic growing up stories, and a little pinch of magic which can be viewed by both small children and adults with a similar kind of wonder. It would have been so easy for the film to go in the oft-trodden direction of whisping the girls off to ancient Japan for them to have a load of crazy capers, but it doesn't, managing to keep the magic running steadily from the pleasures in the ordinary lives of the people. No major catastrophies, no bosoms, and no explosions (barring popcorn) so your average teen will yawn and fidget, but for those either side of this divide, they have a good chance of really enjoying the beauty within. It's several types of lovely and a welcome surprise. 8.5/10
Jackboots on Whitehall (UK) (facebook)
There is only one conceivable option when asking what would be the result of a plan to make an English version of the brilliant puppet-based satire Team America: World Police. That would be setting it in the middle of an alternate World War II, (to be specific: where Dunkirk went a bit wrong, and Britain is stranded without a ground or air fighting force), pepper it with a raft of English voices, and take time to explore about every cliche in the book. Britain is under attack by subterranean tanks intent on taking its capital and nazi-izing it. Forced far north to Hadrians wall, the last few elements of the resistance await the final battle.
You have a quaint English village populated by everyday farmer boy hero Chris, and his maybe girlfriend Daisy, whose vicar father disapproves of. You have Winston Churchill building a wall around 10 Downing Street. You have Billy Fist, a Rocky Rooster-style Yank showing the English how to win a war single-handedly, and you have Hitler. In a big Queen Elizabeth dress, and loving it. You have Himmler, camp as a row of tents, exchanging pleasantries with a King Hippo style Goring; and Goebbels, whose strained and emaciated stature makes him look like a manx cat trying to cough up a hairball. Oh, and you have the Scottish. From Scot Land, that place of barbarism and.. Mel Gibson.
Jackboots is rude, and very funny, and full of cheeky charm. The Edinburgh audience appreciated their barbarous depictions with hearty laughter and the chocolate box English stereotypes were just as good. The model villages were full of period details, and were as expertly assembled as they were blown apart. There was a whole bag of famous voices, including Ewan McGregor, Alan Cumming, Richard E. Grant, Timothy Spall who was present at the screening, and Sanjeev Bhaskar, who's Major Rupee headed up the only army we had left - the Ghurkas. It was liberally coated with comic book charm and British humour, and was constantly funny from beginning to end. 8/10
Get Low (US) (trailer)
Thanks to Jackboots being a very good film, I missed the first hour of Get Low (my plan being come out of it early if Jackboots was pants). However, if it was as good for the second half as it was for the first, I would definitely recommend it. It's a story set in 1930's America about elderly carpenter Felix Bush (Robert Duvall), who wants to have a 'live funeral' - inviting all the village to have a party and more importantly, to allow Felix to make a big speech about something thats been on his mind for some time. Something that has meant for the last fourty years, Felix has created his own self-imposed jail, away from the main village up in the forests. Bill Murray in his usual deadpan mode plays Frank, the local funeral director who gets on board when he realises the money involved in the arrangements.
From what I saw, the film burns slowly and steadily, the viewer's curiosity maintained as the details of Franks' confession are slowly revealed, until the speech at the end. A few laughs are tempered by the sombreness felt by the end of an era aproaching, in whichever way it will, and the whole thing is shot with slow precision in the golden colours of autumn. If I have the chance, I will see it again from the start. 8/10 (provisional score)
Lola (Sing) (trailer)
Another film set in Manila, Lola takes a documentary style approach to a story of the stabbing of Arnold, a young man living in the choking, cramped, dirty city. His grandmother is left to pick up the mess, and the first ten minutes of the film follow her and her young and unruly grandson going to the murder site to place a candle, and then to the funeral directors to arrange a service, with whatever money they can scrape together. Through all this she has to battle the merciless rain, robbers, and disinterested individuals all making life a little more difficult for her.
The suspect is Mateo, and he too has a grandmother taking the burden of the case from the other side. Mateo is taken in for questioning, and his unsympathetic cousin and unwell uncle are both a strain on an already difficult situation. Eventually meeting, the two grandmothers lock horns. Can Arnold's grandma forgive Mateo's family?
Donde Esta Kim Basinger (Where is Kim Basinger) (Fr) - Two middle-aged brothers from France spend an evening in Buenos Aeris. Antonio is unsure and lacking confidence as he speaks little of the language, relying on Marcus to get him around. After a few attempts by Marcus to inject some fun into the situation, he chooses the oldest profession in the world to put a smile on his brothers' face, but the girls have a different idea of a good time, and it involves Marvin Gaye. A funny short film variant of Sideways. 7.5/10
Birthday (Hun) - An outside birthday party is arranged by a strange man, using tatty furnature and cutlery. Children sit down, eat and play with the new toys, and then comes dessert, but where are they, and why is it all a bit.. dirty? An odd film, trying to make a statement of some sort about our throwaway society. 6/10
Incident at a Bank (Swe) - A recounting of a failed robbery that happened in 2006, from the point of view of the witnesses outside, as they slowly stopped their daily business and realised the significance of the tatty moped and its two helmeted riders in front of them. A little funny, a little scary. 7/10
Out in that Deep Blue Sea (Can) - A portrait of a mid-life man deep with the frustrations of life. A door-to-door realtor, with a teenager wanting to disappear off round the world with a man called Wolf, and a wife who just will. not. shut. up. Treadmills and exercise balls dont move the increasing lard building up, and the only sanctury from the incessant causes of stress is sleep, which he doesn't get nearly enough of. A frustrating look at a man with no solutions on the horizon. 7/10
Teleglobal Dreamin' (Sing) - Fictional bit part actor Dale Parsons, who may have spent some time in the same movies as Brendan Frasier finds himself spouting business-isms, trying to help a teleglobal yoga mat sales team in Manila make more sales. He attracts the interest of Rosa, a young telephone saleswoman who volunteers to help dale get over his jetlag and see some of the city. Unfortunately, getting mistaken for Brendan Frasier by Rosa's friends and strangers gets him into both frustration and deep trouble. 7/10
Mai Mai Miracle (Jpn) (site/wiki)
There are some films about very little at all. This is not always a bad thing. There are some films that have taken a lot of license from other films. This is also not necessarily bad. For anyone with a good grounding in the Studio Ghibli films, Mai Mai may look like a cynical carbon copy of that recognisable style; in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if production studio Mad House managed to get some of the animators from Miyazaki's wonders on board for it. It looks the same, and it feels the same, as some of the quieter, older works from the 80's and 90's. In particular, Mai Mai borrows heavily from Only Yesterday, with elements of Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies mixed in there as well.
Mai Mai is about Shinko, a young girl living in post-war Japan, in a little village called Mitajiri, which is near Hiroshima, and, as her grandfather teaches her, was built where Kogua once stood, a thousand years ago. Encouraging an interest in how things change over the years, Shinko begins to focus her imagination on how things were a thousand years ago, and begins to share this with a small group of schoolfriends, including Kiiko, who has just moved from Tokyo with her father. Kiiko is quiet and reserved, and has trouble fitting in, and her and Shinko's stories begin to reflect the life of a lonesome Kogua princess from long ago.
Whether you will like this film or not depends heavily on whether you like the aforementioned films, and whether you can get past the look and feel of it, which is definitely child-like (rather than childish). Like Totoro or Only Yesterday, this is a deceptive sheen, under which lies a meatier slice of life story containing a lot of recognisable, empathatic growing up stories, and a little pinch of magic which can be viewed by both small children and adults with a similar kind of wonder. It would have been so easy for the film to go in the oft-trodden direction of whisping the girls off to ancient Japan for them to have a load of crazy capers, but it doesn't, managing to keep the magic running steadily from the pleasures in the ordinary lives of the people. No major catastrophies, no bosoms, and no explosions (barring popcorn) so your average teen will yawn and fidget, but for those either side of this divide, they have a good chance of really enjoying the beauty within. It's several types of lovely and a welcome surprise. 8.5/10
Jackboots on Whitehall (UK) (facebook)
There is only one conceivable option when asking what would be the result of a plan to make an English version of the brilliant puppet-based satire Team America: World Police. That would be setting it in the middle of an alternate World War II, (to be specific: where Dunkirk went a bit wrong, and Britain is stranded without a ground or air fighting force), pepper it with a raft of English voices, and take time to explore about every cliche in the book. Britain is under attack by subterranean tanks intent on taking its capital and nazi-izing it. Forced far north to Hadrians wall, the last few elements of the resistance await the final battle.
You have a quaint English village populated by everyday farmer boy hero Chris, and his maybe girlfriend Daisy, whose vicar father disapproves of. You have Winston Churchill building a wall around 10 Downing Street. You have Billy Fist, a Rocky Rooster-style Yank showing the English how to win a war single-handedly, and you have Hitler. In a big Queen Elizabeth dress, and loving it. You have Himmler, camp as a row of tents, exchanging pleasantries with a King Hippo style Goring; and Goebbels, whose strained and emaciated stature makes him look like a manx cat trying to cough up a hairball. Oh, and you have the Scottish. From Scot Land, that place of barbarism and.. Mel Gibson.
Jackboots is rude, and very funny, and full of cheeky charm. The Edinburgh audience appreciated their barbarous depictions with hearty laughter and the chocolate box English stereotypes were just as good. The model villages were full of period details, and were as expertly assembled as they were blown apart. There was a whole bag of famous voices, including Ewan McGregor, Alan Cumming, Richard E. Grant, Timothy Spall who was present at the screening, and Sanjeev Bhaskar, who's Major Rupee headed up the only army we had left - the Ghurkas. It was liberally coated with comic book charm and British humour, and was constantly funny from beginning to end. 8/10
Get Low (US) (trailer)
Thanks to Jackboots being a very good film, I missed the first hour of Get Low (my plan being come out of it early if Jackboots was pants). However, if it was as good for the second half as it was for the first, I would definitely recommend it. It's a story set in 1930's America about elderly carpenter Felix Bush (Robert Duvall), who wants to have a 'live funeral' - inviting all the village to have a party and more importantly, to allow Felix to make a big speech about something thats been on his mind for some time. Something that has meant for the last fourty years, Felix has created his own self-imposed jail, away from the main village up in the forests. Bill Murray in his usual deadpan mode plays Frank, the local funeral director who gets on board when he realises the money involved in the arrangements.
From what I saw, the film burns slowly and steadily, the viewer's curiosity maintained as the details of Franks' confession are slowly revealed, until the speech at the end. A few laughs are tempered by the sombreness felt by the end of an era aproaching, in whichever way it will, and the whole thing is shot with slow precision in the golden colours of autumn. If I have the chance, I will see it again from the start. 8/10 (provisional score)
Lola (Sing) (trailer)
Another film set in Manila, Lola takes a documentary style approach to a story of the stabbing of Arnold, a young man living in the choking, cramped, dirty city. His grandmother is left to pick up the mess, and the first ten minutes of the film follow her and her young and unruly grandson going to the murder site to place a candle, and then to the funeral directors to arrange a service, with whatever money they can scrape together. Through all this she has to battle the merciless rain, robbers, and disinterested individuals all making life a little more difficult for her.
The suspect is Mateo, and he too has a grandmother taking the burden of the case from the other side. Mateo is taken in for questioning, and his unsympathetic cousin and unwell uncle are both a strain on an already difficult situation. Eventually meeting, the two grandmothers lock horns. Can Arnold's grandma forgive Mateo's family?
Shot in a raw, unforgiving format, your attention is drawn repeatedly to both the harsh conditions these people have to suffer, even in old age, and the concentration of these people in the same spot, all competing for the same resource, be it living space, or government help, or justice for their family. All of which on the knife edge of poverty. Thankfully it also shows the sense of community present, where even the poorest do their best to contribute to their bereaved neighbours. Though the film did go on much longer than what was necessary, it was still an educating window into the difficult lives of the poorest of society. 6.5/10
The Black Panther (Mex) (trailer)
Freelance detective Nico gets a call in the night from God, or someone purporting to be at least. He wants Nico to find 'The Black Panther', without telling him what it actually is. Trouble is, a lot of other people are out to find it as well. Someone else also wants him to find the mysterious mexican Pedrito Infante, who the girls couldn't resist. Although he's meant to be dead from plane crash-itis. Finally, a gangland boss wants Nico to off a woman who is having an affair with his daughter, who may or may not be posessed by the spirit of an alien. Throw in a mysterious man in white, a woman in black, and Rita, his old detective partner who is competing with Nico for the panther prize, AND everyone trying to kill him depending on whether he succeeds or fails.
Maybe it was the fact that it was very late by this point, or that waves of sleep were washing calmly over me, or that I'd seen 9 films before this, but The Black Panther made little sense. It was crazy and unpredictable and loose fitting around framework of a typical film, and this added to the charm in some ways. It was funny sometimes, and intriguing in others, and wasn't as unfollowable as some I've seen, but at the end I was glad it had finished and I could move slowly towards my welcome bed. 5.5/10
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2010 - Day 2
International Shorts 2: Little Earthquakes
Megaheavy (Den) - Tall, gangly early teen Jolly rides her bike down the roads around her home, looking like a prototype Napoleon Dynamite. Earphones connected to a tape player the size and colour of a house brick, playing heavy metal, she tries to get to know her fellow local kids Helle and Kenneth, but they don't seem to want to know. Her single mother is trying to snag a younger man, Michael, but he seems only half interested. When Jolly's interest is rebutted, Michael becomes an obvious distraction as her hormones begin to multiply. What is Jolly's intentions, and where will Michael figure in it? A gentle little look at the confusing life of a period of metamorphosis. 7.5/10
Mosquito (USA) - Mosquito is the nickname of Caesar, a young boy playing a made up ball game with his friends. It's a bit rough, as the rules state that penalties are dished out by pelting the ball as hard as you can at the offender, as he stands prostrate facing the wall. Not the best time for the elder kids of the block sporting their mighty afro's to come along and try their hand at a bit of old fashioned bullying. A nice if slightly loose film about coping with those who don't see you as equal. 7/10
The Bite (Fra) - A mother and child in a park stop for a while. As the mother waits for her boyfriend her daughter conjures up some dolls and a house to play with under a tree. After an exchange of moneys, the boyfriend bites her, vampire like, and leaves, and the girl finds a snowglobe in a tramps' posessions. Yes, it's French. Yes, I tried and failed to get a handle on what the hell it was about. 4/10
Echo (Pol) - Another chance to see the excellent but unsettling Echo, caught last year at Leeds. A pair of teenage boys are forced by the local detective to reinact their murder of a girl at a quarry. 8/10
Cocoon (Ger) - A very short film about the transitory period of a typical teen, as she stops being a child and begins adulthood, told using the simple process of changing her hairstyle, from a long flowing mane stretching down her back, to the much shorter version, in a bid to change who she is and maybe get a bit of attention. The film didn't do very much more than that, but served as an illustration of the need to make physical changes alongside the chemical ones. 6/10
My Invisible Friend (Spa) - A film to make the shy loner in all of us smile warmly at our own teen problems. Tomas is so painfully shy, he has no friends, and can't even ask his parents to pass the salt. When not attending to his expanding frame at the dinner table, he's off in his bedroom doing all the things young teens do in there, except with less interaction. One day however, the little nagging voice in his head telling him to grow up manifests itself in the form of a fish-headed man in a cape. Can it help poor Tomas take that first step into normal adult conversation? 8/10
Behaviour (Den) - Erik, the overworked father of mentally challenged brothers Mikkel and Lukas needs a bit of a hand, and teenager Julie has answered the advertisement. Both brothers are in their mid teens, and although Mikkel is little harm other than excessive dribbling, Lukas' pants are stretched in all sorts of directions at the sight of a young woman in the house. Julie's day is about to get much worse when Erik has to go off on a job, promising faithfully he will be back. All Julie has to do is feed and bath them... 7.5/10
If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (Rom) (trailer)
I entered the Cameo theatre to the beautiful sounds of Voix Bulgares, whom some may know from Takahata's equally beautiful Only Yesterday. I'd recommend either.
Silviu Chiscan is in a juvenile offenders block. His mother left him, not for the first time, 8 years ago and he has been left to bring up his younger brother, Marius. Directionless and without a mother or father figure, he got in with the wrong sorts and petty crime has got him sent down. His time is coming to a close and in 2 weeks, his term - if he behaves himself - will be at an end.
However, Marius visits with bad news - mum is back, and she intends on taking Marius with her back to Italy. Recognising the pattern from his own upbringing, the largely conformant Silviu is set on edge, his anger slowly rising. A mixture of an attractive social worker who doesn't appreciate his advances, and a fellow inmate who sees profit in holding Silvius' future in his hands threaten to push him over the edge into a damaging rage.
Director Florin Serban was present and waxed a little about the 'new wave of Romanian cinema' which is frequently applied as the years go on. Truth is that the Romanian output over those years has been consistently high, surpassing the need for transitive descriptions of 'waves'. Whistle is certainly an impressive addition, although this is not apparent at the start, as it slowly winds itself up to the tense conclusion that manages to be both inevitable and unexpected. 7.5/10
Vital Signs (Fra/Can) (site)
Simone Leger has no direction in life, having dropped out of harvard and half-heartedly pursuing a relationship with on-off boyfriend Boris for some time. The death of her grandmother begins an emotional journey as Simone volunteers to work in the paliative care unit that cared for her gran. As her involvement with the patients there increases, she finds that the comfort in Boris' childish bedroom games wane in comparison to the emotional waves she gets when present during the final hours and days of someone who may not have anyone else.
Most people have spent time at the bedside of a loved one, during the last moments of life, and this film will definitely bring back memories both painful and beloved of those times, and sometimes it hits particularly hard. One of the mechanisms for doing this is with the use of scenes where the patient is shown in their prime of life, perhaps how they would like to be remembered most. It also deals with the uncomfortable subject of whether to assist in bringing those lives to an end, although thankfully there is no message rammed home on either side of the fence.
Vital Signs is one of those films where you can get completely lost in the emotion and both laugh and cry at the content. It doesn't dwell on the depressing for long without swinging over to a light-hearted scene, so you'll never get bogged down in the heaviness of it all, and you get a nice musical number by the doc at the end as the credits roll. 8/10
A Spanking in Paradise (UK) (facebook)
Lauded heavily in the catalogue and the previews as the kind of film that tells the jokes you shouldn't, I think it may have been bigged up too much by its' director Wayne Thallon beforehand. Of course, my disappointment with the film may have been because I'm not Scottish, and I must have missed one word in three due to the thick accents.
Justin Thompson is a freshly graduated human rights lawyer. As he waits for his visa to be processed for work in America, he decides to spend a little time in Edinburgh with a side of his family he hasn't seen for a while. Shame his uncle Rab is the owner of 'Birds of Paradise', a brothel in the middle of the city, populated by a range of, erm, well travelled women, and staffed by Leo, a brooding ball of frustration and hate doing a bit of drug dealing, and Rab, whose aggressive stories of drunken daring do are I think meant to remind us of Tarantino's extended conversations.
So the film is as you would expect, a set of crazy capers where Leo reluctantly carries out his uncle's errands, mixes with the stereotypical underbelly of the city, and teases the viewer with the possibility that he might leave his US girlfriend and fall for Caroline, a fresh-faced new girl who looks wholly out of place amongst the tarts, tugging at our heart strings with throwaway stories of unwell children.
As you can probably tell, I wasn't much impressed by this film. There were a few laughs here and there, and there were a few in the audience (including several of the girls from the film) who gave several whoops and laughs as it went on (although many more sat there as straight-faced as me), so I guess the number of laughs you will get out of it will be proportional to how good you are at desciphering the words through the accent, and how funny you find swear words said for the sake of it. 5/10
Megaheavy (Den) - Tall, gangly early teen Jolly rides her bike down the roads around her home, looking like a prototype Napoleon Dynamite. Earphones connected to a tape player the size and colour of a house brick, playing heavy metal, she tries to get to know her fellow local kids Helle and Kenneth, but they don't seem to want to know. Her single mother is trying to snag a younger man, Michael, but he seems only half interested. When Jolly's interest is rebutted, Michael becomes an obvious distraction as her hormones begin to multiply. What is Jolly's intentions, and where will Michael figure in it? A gentle little look at the confusing life of a period of metamorphosis. 7.5/10
Mosquito (USA) - Mosquito is the nickname of Caesar, a young boy playing a made up ball game with his friends. It's a bit rough, as the rules state that penalties are dished out by pelting the ball as hard as you can at the offender, as he stands prostrate facing the wall. Not the best time for the elder kids of the block sporting their mighty afro's to come along and try their hand at a bit of old fashioned bullying. A nice if slightly loose film about coping with those who don't see you as equal. 7/10
The Bite (Fra) - A mother and child in a park stop for a while. As the mother waits for her boyfriend her daughter conjures up some dolls and a house to play with under a tree. After an exchange of moneys, the boyfriend bites her, vampire like, and leaves, and the girl finds a snowglobe in a tramps' posessions. Yes, it's French. Yes, I tried and failed to get a handle on what the hell it was about. 4/10
Echo (Pol) - Another chance to see the excellent but unsettling Echo, caught last year at Leeds. A pair of teenage boys are forced by the local detective to reinact their murder of a girl at a quarry. 8/10
Cocoon (Ger) - A very short film about the transitory period of a typical teen, as she stops being a child and begins adulthood, told using the simple process of changing her hairstyle, from a long flowing mane stretching down her back, to the much shorter version, in a bid to change who she is and maybe get a bit of attention. The film didn't do very much more than that, but served as an illustration of the need to make physical changes alongside the chemical ones. 6/10
My Invisible Friend (Spa) - A film to make the shy loner in all of us smile warmly at our own teen problems. Tomas is so painfully shy, he has no friends, and can't even ask his parents to pass the salt. When not attending to his expanding frame at the dinner table, he's off in his bedroom doing all the things young teens do in there, except with less interaction. One day however, the little nagging voice in his head telling him to grow up manifests itself in the form of a fish-headed man in a cape. Can it help poor Tomas take that first step into normal adult conversation? 8/10
Behaviour (Den) - Erik, the overworked father of mentally challenged brothers Mikkel and Lukas needs a bit of a hand, and teenager Julie has answered the advertisement. Both brothers are in their mid teens, and although Mikkel is little harm other than excessive dribbling, Lukas' pants are stretched in all sorts of directions at the sight of a young woman in the house. Julie's day is about to get much worse when Erik has to go off on a job, promising faithfully he will be back. All Julie has to do is feed and bath them... 7.5/10
If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (Rom) (trailer)
I entered the Cameo theatre to the beautiful sounds of Voix Bulgares, whom some may know from Takahata's equally beautiful Only Yesterday. I'd recommend either.
Silviu Chiscan is in a juvenile offenders block. His mother left him, not for the first time, 8 years ago and he has been left to bring up his younger brother, Marius. Directionless and without a mother or father figure, he got in with the wrong sorts and petty crime has got him sent down. His time is coming to a close and in 2 weeks, his term - if he behaves himself - will be at an end.
However, Marius visits with bad news - mum is back, and she intends on taking Marius with her back to Italy. Recognising the pattern from his own upbringing, the largely conformant Silviu is set on edge, his anger slowly rising. A mixture of an attractive social worker who doesn't appreciate his advances, and a fellow inmate who sees profit in holding Silvius' future in his hands threaten to push him over the edge into a damaging rage.
Director Florin Serban was present and waxed a little about the 'new wave of Romanian cinema' which is frequently applied as the years go on. Truth is that the Romanian output over those years has been consistently high, surpassing the need for transitive descriptions of 'waves'. Whistle is certainly an impressive addition, although this is not apparent at the start, as it slowly winds itself up to the tense conclusion that manages to be both inevitable and unexpected. 7.5/10
Vital Signs (Fra/Can) (site)
Simone Leger has no direction in life, having dropped out of harvard and half-heartedly pursuing a relationship with on-off boyfriend Boris for some time. The death of her grandmother begins an emotional journey as Simone volunteers to work in the paliative care unit that cared for her gran. As her involvement with the patients there increases, she finds that the comfort in Boris' childish bedroom games wane in comparison to the emotional waves she gets when present during the final hours and days of someone who may not have anyone else.
Most people have spent time at the bedside of a loved one, during the last moments of life, and this film will definitely bring back memories both painful and beloved of those times, and sometimes it hits particularly hard. One of the mechanisms for doing this is with the use of scenes where the patient is shown in their prime of life, perhaps how they would like to be remembered most. It also deals with the uncomfortable subject of whether to assist in bringing those lives to an end, although thankfully there is no message rammed home on either side of the fence.
Vital Signs is one of those films where you can get completely lost in the emotion and both laugh and cry at the content. It doesn't dwell on the depressing for long without swinging over to a light-hearted scene, so you'll never get bogged down in the heaviness of it all, and you get a nice musical number by the doc at the end as the credits roll. 8/10
A Spanking in Paradise (UK) (facebook)
Lauded heavily in the catalogue and the previews as the kind of film that tells the jokes you shouldn't, I think it may have been bigged up too much by its' director Wayne Thallon beforehand. Of course, my disappointment with the film may have been because I'm not Scottish, and I must have missed one word in three due to the thick accents.
Justin Thompson is a freshly graduated human rights lawyer. As he waits for his visa to be processed for work in America, he decides to spend a little time in Edinburgh with a side of his family he hasn't seen for a while. Shame his uncle Rab is the owner of 'Birds of Paradise', a brothel in the middle of the city, populated by a range of, erm, well travelled women, and staffed by Leo, a brooding ball of frustration and hate doing a bit of drug dealing, and Rab, whose aggressive stories of drunken daring do are I think meant to remind us of Tarantino's extended conversations.
So the film is as you would expect, a set of crazy capers where Leo reluctantly carries out his uncle's errands, mixes with the stereotypical underbelly of the city, and teases the viewer with the possibility that he might leave his US girlfriend and fall for Caroline, a fresh-faced new girl who looks wholly out of place amongst the tarts, tugging at our heart strings with throwaway stories of unwell children.
As you can probably tell, I wasn't much impressed by this film. There were a few laughs here and there, and there were a few in the audience (including several of the girls from the film) who gave several whoops and laughs as it went on (although many more sat there as straight-faced as me), so I guess the number of laughs you will get out of it will be proportional to how good you are at desciphering the words through the accent, and how funny you find swear words said for the sake of it. 5/10
Edinburgh International Film Festival 2010 - Day 1
I'm finally here. Sat in the Ministry of Gaming listening to moderately offensive rap as I get to grips with some undrinkable black tea and grab some non-film blogging time. A week off from my new work is very welcome, but the garden is a demanding mistress and the first four days were given over to serving her needs. Now it is the time for films.
I headed up to Edinburgh yesterday, making use of the Settle to Carlisle railway and experiencing life as a young pensioner, as a knowledgeable gent relayed stories of dog statues and watering troughs as we passed through the picturesque north of England. After alighting at Haymarket, there was a little time to get to my hotel, lug my suitcase up the several flights of stairs, and then clear off to the first film.
International Shorts 1: Strings Attached
I only got to see the first 2 (of 4) films here or I'd miss the start of the next one.
Rob and Valentyna in Scotland (UK) - Rob and Valentenya are cousins, recently reunited. Rob is an ex-businessman in his mid 20's, who left an uninspiring career to work as a volunteer teacher in the US Peace Core in the Ukraine. A David Duchovny-alike in looks, voice and deadpan wit, he reunites with Valentenya, living in the Ukraine and asks her to go on a trip with her. 2 people from distant lands begin to connect and everything goes well, until Rob, quite drunk gets his feelings mixed up and gives her a kiss. A gentle film about the establishment of boundaries. 7.5/10
Rita (Ita) - Rita is an ambitious but frustrated young girl. Blind it seems from birth, she struggles and complains while her mother tries to fit her up a dress for a wedding. When mum leaves for the shops, Rita is left alone in the house, which is usually not a problem, except this time, she can hear sounds and voices. Someone is trying to break in. Told almost entirely using a head and shoulders shot of Rita as she attempts to process the sounds going on around her, the tension and desire to be able to see whats going on is shared with the audience, with a nice twist at the end. 7.5/10
A Small Act (US) (site)
This documentary is all about how people should not assume their small actions cannot make a big difference. Many years ago, retiring Swedish teacher Hilde Back decided to put a little money aside each month into a Swedish-Kenyan sponsorship scheme, to sponsor a child through secondary school, which in Kenya is about $40 per month per child, and if the family cannot afford it, the child is kicked out. The child that received Hilde's support was Chris, a kid from a small olive-grove villagecalled Mukubu who went on to graduate top of his class, and eventually went to Harvard, gaining a degree in law. He now works in the UN as a human rights lawyer, but never forgot the act of this stranger who he never met. Only knowing her name, he started his own small sponsorship foundation in 2003, with the aim to sponsor one child in every school in Kenya through their secondary education.
Which child is chosen is based on their scores from the KCPE test, and this naturally means that the top children of each participating school face pressure both from their friends and family to do their best; after all, most of the families in the poorest areas have no hope otherwise of getting the money for their education otherwise, and that means a poor existence in the olive groves.
The film flits between the top students of Mukubu school, the stories of Chris and Hilde, and their inevitable meeting, and the wider goings-on of the Kenyan violence brought on by religious conflict and the upcoming elections going on during the filming in 2007. A genuinely lovely lump-in-the-throat film about how small changes can ripple outwards and start great things. 8/10
Nothing Personal (Ned/Irl) (trailer)
An unknown flame-haired girl leaves her comfortable flat in Ireland, leaving the handbagged and blue-rinsed vultures to pick at her posessions outside. She wraps herself up in warm clothes, buys a tent with the last of her money, and disengages completely with society, walking the moors and living as best she can in the wind and rain.
Eventually, after attaining an almost feral state (and acting like a feral animal to anyone she meets), she comes across a farmhouse by the sea which for now is empty. Playing a few songs on the stereo and sleeping in the bed, she leaves, only to come across the owner - an older man - the next day. Both are wary and distrusting, but his wisdom through advancing years recognises a soul in need of healing, and so offers her a deal: food for work, with no questions asked.
Urzula Antoniak was present for the screening, with a Q and A afterwards. Her first film moves slowly and purposefully without dragging, and the fire in the belly of the hurting young woman sets nicely against the quiet patience of the older man as they slowly become closer. Lotte Verbeek is particularly impressive as the woman, portraying someone who has semi-regressed to a wild animal state, displaying physical hardship and psychological behaviour convincingly. 7.5/10
My Words, My Lies, My Love (Lila Lila) (Ger) (review)
An unusually sincere title, taken from the convoluted title of the novel at the centre of this comedy from Germany. Daniel Bruhl - an upcoming talent last seen in Inglorious Basterds - plays David Kern, a waiter who makes his living well as an invisible source of drinks at his local bar, tending to the needs of his clientele, which happens to include Marie, who has a tight hold of his affections, and her boyfriend, Ralph, who is the alpha male of the group of foppish booklovers who sound off about how all the current authors are rubbish while not really getting anywhere themselves (and thus see themselves as undiscovered talents).
His unnoticed existence has a chance of change when he discovers the draft of a novel in an old desk unit by the mysterious Alfred Duster, which has been apparently unpublished. Putting his own name on it, he gives it to Marie to read, who declares it the best thing she has ever read and sets in motion an unexpected and unwanted rise to fame for David, becoming a literary sensation off the back of it.
Uncomfortable in the limelight (especially the readings, where he can't even pronounce the words he wrote!), David copes with the massive changes to his life and fortunes; until one day, one Alfred Duster comes up to him during a book signing. Alfred is a mysterious and slightly drunk old man who won't go away, knowing at least when he is on to a good thing. Though David is clearly a fraud, Alfred's work mixed with David's charm was the magical mix that made the book so irrisistable to the literati. Sticking to David like a limpet, and not letting go even when it puts them both in danger of being found out, Alfred complicates matters immensely, and Marie's love begins to falter as she becomes more suspicious of this strange man taking up all David's time.
Not from the country most known for its' comedies, Lila Lila is actually very good indeed; David's quiet uselessness isn't laid on too thick making him both interesting and likeable; Maria is clearly alert and intelligent enough to pick up on something going on, and Alfred is both canny and annoying, whilst still remaining under considerble influence from the falling-down water. The standard story of a lie getting out of control is presented freshly and with some nice twists and turns, and was nicely sown up at the end. 8/10
My Son, My Son, What have Ye Done? (US/Ger) (wiki)
A film by Werner Herzog and produced by David Lynch was always going to attract the crowds, and the little Filmhouse theatre was packed out to capacity. However, this represents a bit of a departure from Herzog films, being neither the Rescue Dawn nor Aguirre types. In fact, it shows much more of a Lynchian influence, with portions of left field surrealism thrown in here and there. Michael Shannon, complete with crazy-eyed stare plays Brad, a loner on the brink of a deluded messia complex, living with his overbearing mother and who by some accident has managed to attract the attentions of Ingrid, his fiance (for reasons we are not told and we can only guess at). Brad is in a bad place right now. He has killed his mother and has locked himself up in his house which by the time we join the action, is surrounded by an unhealthy number of policemen of varying degrees of intelligence. Ingrid, and Brad's thespian friend Lee recount to the detective (which could only be Willem Defoe) Brad's past and between them try and piece together why Brad has decided to conduct all his worldly communications by shouting like a madman from behind the blinds and under the garage door. It's a toxic mix of God posessed oatmeal, stoned students in canoes, and a greek play about a man on a murderous rampage in which brad seems to have been given entirely the wrong part.
Both Herzog and Lynch have film scenes under their belt where you are left thinking 'WTF?' at the screen, and this has been multiplied here. The standard police cordon scene has been given a surreal undercurrent as the slightly duff cops attempt to communicate with the madman inside, and make sense of the background of this obvious nutjob. Sometimes the narrative flow takes a back seat and things go a bit odd, as the film jumps off to the side for a little while to deal with some side detail, or stranger still, partake in Police Squad-style frozen scenes. It all makes for an oddity of a film, which is by turns entertaining and baffling. Definitely worth a punt for its' uniqueness and the names that come with it, but it might just be a bit too left-field for some. 7/10
I headed up to Edinburgh yesterday, making use of the Settle to Carlisle railway and experiencing life as a young pensioner, as a knowledgeable gent relayed stories of dog statues and watering troughs as we passed through the picturesque north of England. After alighting at Haymarket, there was a little time to get to my hotel, lug my suitcase up the several flights of stairs, and then clear off to the first film.
International Shorts 1: Strings Attached
I only got to see the first 2 (of 4) films here or I'd miss the start of the next one.
Rob and Valentyna in Scotland (UK) - Rob and Valentenya are cousins, recently reunited. Rob is an ex-businessman in his mid 20's, who left an uninspiring career to work as a volunteer teacher in the US Peace Core in the Ukraine. A David Duchovny-alike in looks, voice and deadpan wit, he reunites with Valentenya, living in the Ukraine and asks her to go on a trip with her. 2 people from distant lands begin to connect and everything goes well, until Rob, quite drunk gets his feelings mixed up and gives her a kiss. A gentle film about the establishment of boundaries. 7.5/10
Rita (Ita) - Rita is an ambitious but frustrated young girl. Blind it seems from birth, she struggles and complains while her mother tries to fit her up a dress for a wedding. When mum leaves for the shops, Rita is left alone in the house, which is usually not a problem, except this time, she can hear sounds and voices. Someone is trying to break in. Told almost entirely using a head and shoulders shot of Rita as she attempts to process the sounds going on around her, the tension and desire to be able to see whats going on is shared with the audience, with a nice twist at the end. 7.5/10
A Small Act (US) (site)
This documentary is all about how people should not assume their small actions cannot make a big difference. Many years ago, retiring Swedish teacher Hilde Back decided to put a little money aside each month into a Swedish-Kenyan sponsorship scheme, to sponsor a child through secondary school, which in Kenya is about $40 per month per child, and if the family cannot afford it, the child is kicked out. The child that received Hilde's support was Chris, a kid from a small olive-grove villagecalled Mukubu who went on to graduate top of his class, and eventually went to Harvard, gaining a degree in law. He now works in the UN as a human rights lawyer, but never forgot the act of this stranger who he never met. Only knowing her name, he started his own small sponsorship foundation in 2003, with the aim to sponsor one child in every school in Kenya through their secondary education.
Which child is chosen is based on their scores from the KCPE test, and this naturally means that the top children of each participating school face pressure both from their friends and family to do their best; after all, most of the families in the poorest areas have no hope otherwise of getting the money for their education otherwise, and that means a poor existence in the olive groves.
The film flits between the top students of Mukubu school, the stories of Chris and Hilde, and their inevitable meeting, and the wider goings-on of the Kenyan violence brought on by religious conflict and the upcoming elections going on during the filming in 2007. A genuinely lovely lump-in-the-throat film about how small changes can ripple outwards and start great things. 8/10
Nothing Personal (Ned/Irl) (trailer)
An unknown flame-haired girl leaves her comfortable flat in Ireland, leaving the handbagged and blue-rinsed vultures to pick at her posessions outside. She wraps herself up in warm clothes, buys a tent with the last of her money, and disengages completely with society, walking the moors and living as best she can in the wind and rain.
Eventually, after attaining an almost feral state (and acting like a feral animal to anyone she meets), she comes across a farmhouse by the sea which for now is empty. Playing a few songs on the stereo and sleeping in the bed, she leaves, only to come across the owner - an older man - the next day. Both are wary and distrusting, but his wisdom through advancing years recognises a soul in need of healing, and so offers her a deal: food for work, with no questions asked.
Urzula Antoniak was present for the screening, with a Q and A afterwards. Her first film moves slowly and purposefully without dragging, and the fire in the belly of the hurting young woman sets nicely against the quiet patience of the older man as they slowly become closer. Lotte Verbeek is particularly impressive as the woman, portraying someone who has semi-regressed to a wild animal state, displaying physical hardship and psychological behaviour convincingly. 7.5/10
My Words, My Lies, My Love (Lila Lila) (Ger) (review)
An unusually sincere title, taken from the convoluted title of the novel at the centre of this comedy from Germany. Daniel Bruhl - an upcoming talent last seen in Inglorious Basterds - plays David Kern, a waiter who makes his living well as an invisible source of drinks at his local bar, tending to the needs of his clientele, which happens to include Marie, who has a tight hold of his affections, and her boyfriend, Ralph, who is the alpha male of the group of foppish booklovers who sound off about how all the current authors are rubbish while not really getting anywhere themselves (and thus see themselves as undiscovered talents).
His unnoticed existence has a chance of change when he discovers the draft of a novel in an old desk unit by the mysterious Alfred Duster, which has been apparently unpublished. Putting his own name on it, he gives it to Marie to read, who declares it the best thing she has ever read and sets in motion an unexpected and unwanted rise to fame for David, becoming a literary sensation off the back of it.
Uncomfortable in the limelight (especially the readings, where he can't even pronounce the words he wrote!), David copes with the massive changes to his life and fortunes; until one day, one Alfred Duster comes up to him during a book signing. Alfred is a mysterious and slightly drunk old man who won't go away, knowing at least when he is on to a good thing. Though David is clearly a fraud, Alfred's work mixed with David's charm was the magical mix that made the book so irrisistable to the literati. Sticking to David like a limpet, and not letting go even when it puts them both in danger of being found out, Alfred complicates matters immensely, and Marie's love begins to falter as she becomes more suspicious of this strange man taking up all David's time.
Not from the country most known for its' comedies, Lila Lila is actually very good indeed; David's quiet uselessness isn't laid on too thick making him both interesting and likeable; Maria is clearly alert and intelligent enough to pick up on something going on, and Alfred is both canny and annoying, whilst still remaining under considerble influence from the falling-down water. The standard story of a lie getting out of control is presented freshly and with some nice twists and turns, and was nicely sown up at the end. 8/10
My Son, My Son, What have Ye Done? (US/Ger) (wiki)
A film by Werner Herzog and produced by David Lynch was always going to attract the crowds, and the little Filmhouse theatre was packed out to capacity. However, this represents a bit of a departure from Herzog films, being neither the Rescue Dawn nor Aguirre types. In fact, it shows much more of a Lynchian influence, with portions of left field surrealism thrown in here and there. Michael Shannon, complete with crazy-eyed stare plays Brad, a loner on the brink of a deluded messia complex, living with his overbearing mother and who by some accident has managed to attract the attentions of Ingrid, his fiance (for reasons we are not told and we can only guess at). Brad is in a bad place right now. He has killed his mother and has locked himself up in his house which by the time we join the action, is surrounded by an unhealthy number of policemen of varying degrees of intelligence. Ingrid, and Brad's thespian friend Lee recount to the detective (which could only be Willem Defoe) Brad's past and between them try and piece together why Brad has decided to conduct all his worldly communications by shouting like a madman from behind the blinds and under the garage door. It's a toxic mix of God posessed oatmeal, stoned students in canoes, and a greek play about a man on a murderous rampage in which brad seems to have been given entirely the wrong part.
Both Herzog and Lynch have film scenes under their belt where you are left thinking 'WTF?' at the screen, and this has been multiplied here. The standard police cordon scene has been given a surreal undercurrent as the slightly duff cops attempt to communicate with the madman inside, and make sense of the background of this obvious nutjob. Sometimes the narrative flow takes a back seat and things go a bit odd, as the film jumps off to the side for a little while to deal with some side detail, or stranger still, partake in Police Squad-style frozen scenes. It all makes for an oddity of a film, which is by turns entertaining and baffling. Definitely worth a punt for its' uniqueness and the names that come with it, but it might just be a bit too left-field for some. 7/10
What to do in 2010
It's well into the new year before my first post. I am not ashamed, however because my time has been spent constructively taking lots of soil out of my back garden and hulking it into a skip. The unusually frosty weather has meant that the soil comes out in handy chunks, and the frozen-solid ground has allowed me to get my way to the skip without falling flat on my arse and breaking something.
And that is basically my background task this year, get my damn garden sorted since its been in a state of limbo since about 2005. I have to dig a big trench, put in a reinforced wall before the sides of the trench fall in on themselves and bury me alive, hoik all the remaining soil over the wall, and then lay a crapload of paving where currently there is mud. concrete, piping and heavily established trees. It is for this reason that I have had little chance to type and may not get the chance to do other things in my increasingly busy life.
So, assuming I can find some time to do other things, what events have pricked up my ears for this year? Here are a few:
Bradford Film Festival 2010 (18-28 March)
Bradford has always had an inferior fest to the Leeds one, (compare the site contents with the Leeds 09 output for comparison) and consequently I've glossed over it in recent years. I'm guessing Bradford council's budget is mostly taken up by their enormous white elephant redesign of the town centre into a lovely lake that chavs can drive stolen cars into, and there's little left for cultural pursuits.
Anyways, what is there includes not only some output that I missed at Leeds (the saucy Modern Love is Automatic, historical retelling Bluebeard and the claustrophobic Dogtooth, plus Crying with Laughter, which I managed to see at Leeds and can easily recommend.) but also some international films that have appeared since. It doesn't include the new version of Metropolis with extra scenes reinstated, or the new Michael Moore film Capitalism: A Love Story, but I'm sure they will come around in time.
Fuse Leeds 2010 (???? May)
Hopefully this will be running, the website is still all 2009-ed up, and the last one before that was 2006, so its a maybe at the moment, but myself and Ms. Plants enjoyed the tail-end of last years and hope to see more this time.
Edinburgh/Cambridge Film Festivals 2010 (16-27 Jun, ??? September)
Currently packed in ice and snow (or at least slush), Edinburgh was the first of last year's festivals I went to, and if there is time, maybe I can manage a weekend or so up there. Ditto Cambridge, which is usually lovely at its slot of September-ish.
Bingley Music Festival 2010 (??? August/September)
Hopefully in the middle of a warm, dry British summer, the Bingley Music Festival sounds like fun, with past years showing some surprisingly recognisable names over the three day weekend. The first day is free as a taster, and the other two will be about 20 quid. Bargain.
Japan 2010 (??? September/October)
Yes, this year will include another trip to the far east. Probably another 3 weeks, and almost certainly in a modified version of my freeform backpacking stint that this blog was created for in 2008. It's all up in the air at the moment, but I want to do at least:
Leeds Film Festival 2010 (??? November)
The big one (as far as film festivals go), Leeds always delivers in terms of location, size and variety, and although I've promised myself and others that last year's film count will not (and for my health's sake) be topped) I will try to see between 50 and 100 films while its on.
If I can fit all that in, and get a decent-looking garden out of it too, I'll consider that a good year.
And that is basically my background task this year, get my damn garden sorted since its been in a state of limbo since about 2005. I have to dig a big trench, put in a reinforced wall before the sides of the trench fall in on themselves and bury me alive, hoik all the remaining soil over the wall, and then lay a crapload of paving where currently there is mud. concrete, piping and heavily established trees. It is for this reason that I have had little chance to type and may not get the chance to do other things in my increasingly busy life.
So, assuming I can find some time to do other things, what events have pricked up my ears for this year? Here are a few:
Bradford Film Festival 2010 (18-28 March)
Bradford has always had an inferior fest to the Leeds one, (compare the site contents with the Leeds 09 output for comparison) and consequently I've glossed over it in recent years. I'm guessing Bradford council's budget is mostly taken up by their enormous white elephant redesign of the town centre into a lovely lake that chavs can drive stolen cars into, and there's little left for cultural pursuits.
Anyways, what is there includes not only some output that I missed at Leeds (the saucy Modern Love is Automatic, historical retelling Bluebeard and the claustrophobic Dogtooth, plus Crying with Laughter, which I managed to see at Leeds and can easily recommend.) but also some international films that have appeared since. It doesn't include the new version of Metropolis with extra scenes reinstated, or the new Michael Moore film Capitalism: A Love Story, but I'm sure they will come around in time.
Fuse Leeds 2010 (???? May)
Hopefully this will be running, the website is still all 2009-ed up, and the last one before that was 2006, so its a maybe at the moment, but myself and Ms. Plants enjoyed the tail-end of last years and hope to see more this time.
Edinburgh/Cambridge Film Festivals 2010 (16-27 Jun, ??? September)
Currently packed in ice and snow (or at least slush), Edinburgh was the first of last year's festivals I went to, and if there is time, maybe I can manage a weekend or so up there. Ditto Cambridge, which is usually lovely at its slot of September-ish.
Bingley Music Festival 2010 (??? August/September)
Hopefully in the middle of a warm, dry British summer, the Bingley Music Festival sounds like fun, with past years showing some surprisingly recognisable names over the three day weekend. The first day is free as a taster, and the other two will be about 20 quid. Bargain.
Japan 2010 (??? September/October)
Yes, this year will include another trip to the far east. Probably another 3 weeks, and almost certainly in a modified version of my freeform backpacking stint that this blog was created for in 2008. It's all up in the air at the moment, but I want to do at least:
- Visit an Onsen - something it is a crime not to do when over there.
- Return to K's Backpack Hostel, and maybe visit some others dotted around the island.
- Converse more in the native tongue (thanks in part to my purchase of My Japanese Coach, now all I need is a DS :) )
- Try more of the food. I was too squeamish last time and relied on the Japanese love of Italian food.
- Visit Kyushu - The furthest west I managed last time was Mt. Misen, so the more tropical climes were largely ignored.
- See some of the autumn festivals.
Leeds Film Festival 2010 (??? November)
The big one (as far as film festivals go), Leeds always delivers in terms of location, size and variety, and although I've promised myself and others that last year's film count will not (and for my health's sake) be topped) I will try to see between 50 and 100 films while its on.
If I can fit all that in, and get a decent-looking garden out of it too, I'll consider that a good year.
The Golden Plantpots 2009
It's cold and wet and slippy outside, and I am so full of food. Hope you had a good Christmas and that you have a big pile of pressies to work through. Myself and Ms. Plants have the great opposing forces of a Wii Fit and a pile of choccy, biscuits, choccy biscuits and all sorts of over-bought party packs.
In this quiet interim, and since the pavements are sheet ice out there, I thought maybe I should get some plantpots dished out for the best of the 200 or so films I went to see this year. To get full reviews of all the films I saw at this years' various fests, clicketty on the following links:
As with last year, I'll award some golden pots to some of the best films out there, which are unlikely to make it to a cinema near you (especially now) but I would definitely recommend you rent or buy the DVD if you can get at them. There's also a handful of rubbish that I would not wish upon anyone to go waste their cash on, although of course, this is all my opinion so YMMV - and this year there was certainly less to deride.
There were so many films this year, and so many of a high standard, that the honourable mentions list has grown in size. I'll try to keep it brief, and if you want to know more, search for the film in the box above to find my original post. On the other hand, did you see one of the festival films and think I gave it a poor/inflated score, or is it not even on the list? Tell us all about it in the comments!
Best Film - Mary and Max (Australia)A claymation film from an unknown production house in Australia about the friendship between a lonely young girl and an overweight old man with Asburgers sounds like the last film you would expect on a best of list, let alone getting the top spot. It's a beautiful example of storytelling in its most honest form. Frank, unpretentious and both lump-in-the-throat beautiful and darkly humorous. I defy anyone to see Mary and Max and not like it.
Honourable Mentions:
- Mad, Sad and Bad (UK)
It's sad to think that many people may skip over this film about the adult lives of two brothers and a sister trying to find happiness whilst trying to please their unpleasable mother, because the family in question are Asian. If you can see it, do so; it is a thoroughly entertaining, heartwarming, funny, sad and happy film about accepting what you are naturally drawn to in life.
- Departures (Japan)
Yet another film that surprised me with it's ability to grab my attention. Departures won 2009's foreign language film Oscar, telling the tale of a young man who finds himself in the socially derided profession of encoffinment. It's gentle pace and respect for the changes to society and how traditions bend around it, mixed with warm humour and an absence of the zany-wacky physical comedy that often peppers Japanese cinema, make this accessible for everyone except the most ardent subtitle-avoiders.
- Terribly Happy (Denmark)
The first film I saw this year got the festival off to a great start with a semi-tense, semi-comic thriller about a policeman drafted to a quiet, backwater town and coming up against the people there who do things 'their way' was entertaining and chilling in equal measure.
- Kin (UK)
This ultra low-budget suspense about the [re-]imprisonment of a middle aged man with learning difficulties when he answers a plea from his sister to help take care of their mother depended on how convincing the principal parts were played, and it's the quality of these performances, mixed with surprising depth and conversation points to chew over long after the end of the film, made for a really satisfying experience.
- Cracks (UK/Irl)
This unassuming but thrilling and occasionally shocking debut from Jordan Scott (daughter of Ridley) was beautifully set in the period between the world wars, where charismatic and unconventional teacher Miss G teaches her tight-knit group to spread their wings. It completely bowled me over and by the end left me with one of the most powerful endings I had seen in film.
- Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (Jpn)
Receiving critical acclaim as you would expect from one of Hayao Miyazaki's efforts wherever it is shown, Ponyo is a beautiful, hand-crafted film in watercolour. Every frame shows love from it's composers and the story canters along at the pace of a child who has just discovered the joys of exploring. Both parents and children sat happily throughout with a big silly grin on their face, sharing the experience as the ever-young mind of a white-haired old man poured it's contents with style and care onto the screen.
- Bright Star (UK/Australia)
The short and precious life of the poet John Keats is played brilliantly by Ben Wishaw, with Abbie Cornish as his muse and love Fanny Brawne. The film chronicles only their short time together, but manages to pick the right elements and explore them with accuracy and respect. It is an intelligent film that is best enjoyed with a relaxed mind.
- Tales from the Golden Age (Romania)
Though rather long (and technically 5 films), Tales took a light-hearted stab at bringing to life five Romanian urban myths to life. Best of the bunch were the fantastic 'official visit' about the perils of arranging a village celebration for a state visit, and the 'greedy policeman', who manages to get a pig for Christmas - which turns out to be still alive and quite angry at being bundled into a cramped flat. If you have the time, they're well worth it.
- Hierro (Spain)
A late-night cracker of a film about a woman who loses her child on the ferry to a remote island has elements of horror, psychological thriller and tense murder-mystery mixed in without making it unpalatable for anyone averse to those kinds of film. Guillermo del Toro added his considerable influence to tighten up the script, and the whole thing worked especially well.
- Crying with Laughter (UK)
Stephen McCole actually played the role of stand-up comic Joey Frisk, the lead from this film in the pubs and clubs of Edinburgh to get into the part, having never performed on-stage before. His portrayal of a boozy, foul-mouthed man who loves his daughter but is on the wrong end of a divorce was utterly convincing, and the unpredictable, brooding Frank, a quiet man with a past somehow connected with Joeys' is masterfully played out.
- The Misfortunates (Belgium)
Some people are just born into the wrong family, and Gunter's retelling of his early years in the chaotic household of the Strobel family with five grown-up, drunken, abusive and violent sons (one of which is his father) barely contained by their elderly mother, is both wickedly funny and strangely heartwaming at the same time. Even though the family holds together by the most frayed of threads, it is difficult not to find yourself warming to them in their more lucid moments, and laughing with them in the lesser ones. If you like Shameless, you'll love it.
- The Men Who Stare at Goats (UK/US)
It's not had a complete thumbs-up everywhere, but I really enjoyed this opening film at Leeds. Based loosely on the book of the same name, it tells of some of the weird and wonderful things the US army was working on to keep one step ahead of the enemy. Kevin Spacey and George Clooney put on great performances of old army grunts used by the First Earth Batallion to test out their crazy ideas, and Ewan MacGregor plays the role of Jon Ronson, handcuffed to the rollercoaster trying to find out as much as his luck will allow him to. More of this is true than you would think..
- Baraboo (US)
The Lynchian influences of collaborator-turned-director Mary Sweeney were absent in this gentle view of a sleepy American town, where the balance of the community has shifted slightly and things have started to slide out of control when one of its inhabitants returns visibly changed from serving as a soldier in Iraq. It is a beautifully shot film about the importance of community and the stabilising influence it brings to a close-knit group, without ever sinking into saccharine disney-ified sweetness.
Best Short Film - Echo (Romania)Sometimes short films can be the more powerful than full-length features. Echo is one such example; the deeds of a young teenager and his reluctant accomplice are played out in the minds of the viewer as the inspector assigned to the incident brings them back to the scene and gets them to describe the events.
Honourable Mentions:
- The Horribly Slow Murder with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon (US)
A trailer for a nonexistant 9-hour super-movie about a man pursued relentlessly by a deathly figure whose chosen weapon is a small teaspoon. The movie would have been a horrible trial, but this short spoof was great fun.
- Fard (France)
A really innovative work, creating a computer generated future world where everything has been made super-efficient by placing the rough edges of reality behind a screen. When Oscar finds a package containing a torch, his eyes are opened to the real-world underneath.
- The Stars Don't Twinkle in Outer Space (UK)
The imagination of a pair of children help them cope with the harsh reality of their lives in this cleverly shot film.
- The Tube with a Hat (Romania)
This charming little film told the story of a young boy and his journey with his father to fix the family TV set, an antique from the days where you could open the back up and tinker with the insides.
- Surviving History (UK)
A sobering look at the lives of Lithuanian Jews whose ordeals did not stop with the end of the second world war. They share their thoughts and fears candidly with the viewer about a world increasingly distanced by time from that which should not be forgot.
- Poste Restante (Poland)
A beautifully crafted film, clearly reflecting a fascination of the director, about the thousands of letters that cannot be delivered to their intended recipient for one reason or another. The film is played as a cycle as the letters are stored, opened by mail staff, forwarded if possible, and if not, recycled.
- Photograph of Jesus (UK)
A short film which could so easily have been a full feature, about the sometimes crazy requests for photographs from the Getty Images Hulton Archive. Told with animation using the vaults as a backdrop and some of the myriad images as characters, this film deserved much more attention.
- Slaves (Sweden)
Using a unique animated style, an audio transcript of a meeting between two newly liberated Sudanese slave children and a documentary film crew manages to capture with great accuracy the subtle movements of souls struggling to express what they have encountered in their short lives.
- The Little Dragon (France/Sweden)
Putting the essence of Bruce Lee inside a Bruce Lee doll is a stroke of genius, and the journey he takes across the bedroom of an untidy student is both excellently crafted and very funny.
- Boy (UK)
Powerful and unsettling, told from the point of view of a man who realises he is a paedophile, when a young boy begins to hang around his allotment.
- Red Sands (UK)
The divisive subject of bullfighting and the views of an elderly veteran of the bull run as he describes it's place in his countries' tradition, it's brutality and beauty, and his thoughts on whether it should be stopped, were examined here in frankness and with a surprisingly unbiased viewpoint.
- The Yellow Smily Face (Romania)
Replayed from last year, this gentle film about the struggles of two techno-phobic parents to use their son's computer to communicate with him is something any son or daughter would recognise and identify with.
- Monsters and Rabbits (UK)
The loneliness of two imaginary friends as the children who created them meet and find a kinship amongst the bullies and squabbling evokes memories of the viewers' own childhood, and is played in a way that both adults and children can enjoy.
Best Animation - Mary and Max (Australia)Out of nowhere, Adam Elliot created something special with Mary and Max. Largely ignoring the influence of computer graphics, it manages to produce with clay more 'real' situations than a load of pixels could ever do. On top of that is an intelligent script, narrated with the reassuring tones of Barry Humphries, about the friendship between polar opposites, who find common ground thousands of miles away through their honesty and innocence in letter form.
Honourable Mentions:
- Ponyo On the Cliff By The Sea (Japan)
In any other year, Ponyo would have won, but it was beaten fair and square by Mary and Max. Ponyo, as with many other Miyazaki films, is written from the viewpoint of the children in the audience, with enough intelligence and charm to also enthral the adults, and both sit mesmerised as this charming tale of love and friendship plays out.
- Summer Wars (Japan)
Some are citing director Mamoru Hosoda as the new Miyazaki, and though it's not quite time for him to take over that position, he's making great progress toward it. The efforts of unlikely partners Kenji and Natsuki to shut down a virus in a gigantic virtual world of the future, while playing sweethearts to the extended Natsuki family in real life have the twin-layered complexities not often explored in other art forms, and the positive vision of the future, where technology has correctly found its place as servant, not master is a refreshing one not often explored.
- Angel's Egg (Japan)
A rare chance to see this early effort from now-famous anime producer Mamoru Oshii and character designer Yoshitaka Amano could not be passed up, and although it would be impossible to justify as a new project in the current cut-throat world of film production, it stands as a beguiling, confusing, but ultimately mesmerizing and beautiful tale of a young girl protecting a mysterious egg, and the soldier she meets in the middle of her distopian world.
- Chick (Poland)
A high-energy short film about the romantic entanglings of a man and woman, using heavily stylised animation to draw attention to all the details each side puts into the preparation to meet. If you don't laugh at the copious jiggling, there's something wrong with you.
- Fard (France)
Using a mix of computer generated worlds and live action is nothing new, but combining both in the same character certainly is, and Fard, whilst not posessing the most innovative plotline, certainly made for a pioneering and striking visual experience.
- Time Masters (France/Switzerland/Germany)
The best of the Rene Laloux trilogy, Time Masters is the coming together of two matured and seasoned artists, Laloux and Jean Giraud (AKA Mœbius) about an abandoned child, Piel whose parents have died on a hostile planet, and the heroic attempts by family friend Jaffar to rescue him. Playing with the ideas of family ties, friendship and betrayal and temporal relativity, Time Masters features none of the typical Laloux obsession with nudey women, and instead delivers a celebration of pre-computer age animation.
- The Little Dragon (France/Sweden)
A great short film, the Little Dragon uses stop-motion animation to describe the adventures of a Bruce Lee doll enfused with the spirit of the dragon.
Best Documentary - Outrage - (US)It is no secret that America has a more backward intolerance of gay and lesbian people than Europe, (although that has a few large creases to iron out as well). It is thanks to movers in the area such as Michael Rogers of BlogActive.com that things change for the better. This powerful and informative documentary shows the institutional homophobia within the American political system, practised even by the gay men and women within its walls, whose self-loathing and hate spurs them on to vote in anti-gay legislation affecting thousands of others. Powerful without relying on overbearing music or down-your-throat messages, informative without getting bogged down in data, this film shows just what closeted people do to maintain their house of cards, and the benefits they only see when that house has been pushed to the floor.
Honourable Mentions:
- Episode 3: Enjoy Poverty (Netherlands/France)
Even though Renzo Martens spoils the show a little by insisting on parading his pretty-boy looks into the camera while his hire crew struggle with his luggage, there is no denying that he has a pragmatic, though controversial solution to the persistent state of poverty in the third world nations: turn the poverty and the pain and suffering into a resource, and make money out of it. Martens sells his idea with enthusiasm and attempts to provide solutions to some of the hurdles along the way, showing us a side to the current humanitarian effort provided by UNICEF et al we neither knew about nor wanted to see. It made me think twice about how I would give my money in the future.
- The Crimson Wing (US/UK)
Disney revived its Nature arm with this cinema documentary, told in similar style to March of the Penguins, with Mariella Frostrup taking over from Morgan Freeman. Shot over the salt plains of Africa, showing the mating rituals, births of the young chicks, their young lives, and finally the long journey through the dangerous salt lakes to the fresh water beyond. The cinematography was breathtaking in places, the narration was kept sparse and tight, and the film did not shy away from the harsher aspects of nature.
- Slaves (Sweden)
A short animated film putting to video a transcript of two African children and a pair of journalists shortly after their liberation is told to simple but sobering effect.
- Disco and Atomic War (Estonia/Finland)
An unassuming but smartly presented history lesson about the shifting of power between the Estonian communist government and its people, helped in part by the rogue television signals seeping in from nearby Finland. Though it may sound dull as dishwater, it was nothing of the sort, showing the government attempts at censorship to be as ridiculous as they were ineffectual and portraying it all as a humorous caper between the plucky underdogs and the bumbling management. Funny, entertaining, informative.
- Kinshasa 2.0 (Africa)
A campaign to free political activist Marie-Thérèse Nlandu from her exiled state outside the DRC is the subject of this short film, or rather, the method by which she still manages to communicate by satellite internet connection to her friends and colleagues, using a specially created world within Second Life.
- Below Sea Level (Italy/US)
When times become hard, those who cannot provide the government with their daily taxes drop off the map. Some end up at an abandoned naval base in the American border with Mexico, where they live an existence of sorts, relying on each other to come together and solve the problems of policing, healthcare and food and water. Living in cars and old school buses, this lawless community is mostly ignored by the outside world, but rarely seems to care. Worth it for the ramblings of Insane Wayne alone.
- Mental (Japan)
Though long, Mental was a gentle look at the lives of several patients at the barely surviving surgery and communal house in a downtown area of Tokyo. It only survives as it does largely due to the selfless and freely-given contributions of Dr Yamamoto, who acts as lecturer to the local college and locum to the many mental patients who come through the doors, struggling with the hectic lives demanded of a resident of Tokyo. Approaching this film with anything other than a state of Zen meditation will probably result in fidgeting and a lot of clock-watching, as the secret to it's enjoyment is to let it happen in front of you at life's pace, enjoying the moments of joy and progress as and when they happen, and allowing the patients to tell their often heartbreaking stories at other times.
- Isolation (UK)
A documentary about the lives of war veterans once they come back from life on the front line. Those without horrendous injuries often find readjustment to civilian life impossible after what they have been through and go off the rails. Stuart Griffiths is a veteran of the first Gulf War, and after losing his home and becoming separated from his family, picked up his life from the streets and decided to record and help others like him by joining the Ex-Forces Fellowship. This film follows Stuart as he interviews several war survivors, concentrating on the difficulties they have experienced readjusting, returning to their families, and even getting help from the government who put them there in the first place.
- Dancing on the Edge (UK)
A short film about the Dadao Live Art Festival in China, taking place against the dislike of the government, who reluctantly allow it but see the expressionism on show as decadent and corruptive, as the form is often used to make an artistic, or political statement. A view clearly demonstrated when a couple of festival performers decide to stray beyond the venue limits and perform on the street.
- Another Planet (Hungary)
With no interference from behind the camera, Another Planet quietly sits and allows the subjects to express their views, or do their jobs, and let the audience decide what to make of it. The child subjects all have one thing in common; they form the very bottom layer of society in a range of locations around the world; pimps and prostitutes, child labourers, soldiers, slaves, and others forced to grow up long before they should. It's difficult viewing, but an important contribution to the education of the world outside.
- Turn It Loose (US)
An unexpectedly enjoyable flick about the lives, loves and dreams of several 'BBoys' as they breakdance themselves silly in the annual BC-One tournament. A surprisingly gentlemanly sport, the physical face-offs give way to some amazing bodily contortions and stunts, and the director makes clever use of the 360-degree cameras to slow down the action at crucial moments. An interesting peek at an alien culture told through enthusiastic and positive imagery.
- Red Sands (UK)
The balanced view of Spanish bullfighting is explored from the viewpoint of an elderly veteran as he struggles with his opposing emotions on the subject.
- Carmen Meets Borat (Netherlands)
Enjoy The Journey Award - The Butterfly Tattoo (UK)A new category for those films whose plots and eventual outcomes are obvious from the off, and so won't win prizes for originality; or they don't have a defined ending as such at all, but are still thoroughly enjoyable while the film rolls.
The Butterfly Tattoo wins this category because it clearly showed the tragic outcome of the film in the first minute, and then replayed the events leading up to that moment over the course of the film. Like a slow motion train crash, you cannot keep yourself from seeing what happens, and hoping that somehow everything will be all right, as the two central actors give great performances for characters that you eventually end up caring about.
- If You Are The One (China)
Romantic comedies don't often hail from China, but this one did. It was obvious that Qin Fen and Smiley were going to somehow end up together by the end, but getting there was a pleasant mixture of cynical humour, beautiful locations and a healthy pace, spoilt only slightly by the poor quality of the copy.
- At the Center of the Earth - Of Wells and Men (Africa)
A beautiful short film about the well-builders of the African desert, and their ability to create perfectly cylindrical wells through sometimes solid rock by hand, a process which takes years to complete. It didn't progress much beyond the well-digging and the lives of those connected to it, but it was a quiet look at an unknown profession.
- The Two in Tracksuits (Japan)
If ever a film was made deliberately to follow its tail in a circle, this charming film from Japan is it. Father and son take their yearly break from the choking closeness of the Tokyo summer, and head to Mount Asama, where the weather is much fresher. The film meanders happily through the beautiful countryside, gently prodding the characters for little bits of their daily lives, but never spoon-feeding it directly. What you get is a gentle summers break in the company of two family members with warm humour and bits and pieces of life that everyone can identify with.
- Creation (UK)
The life of Charles Darwin is chronicled time and time over, especially this year in the 150th year of his publication of The Origin of Species, and though the film touches briefly on his work to piece together his ground-breaking theories, the film actually concentrates on Darwin the family man, and in particular his relationship with his daughter Anna who died aged ten following a bout of scarlet fever, and with his sternly religious wife, who has serious problems with the work he is doing. Darwin is played to a tee by Paul Bettany, and his real life partner Jennifer Connelly plays Emma Darwin with equal constance, in a film whose eventual purpose is not to convince the viewer either way about his theories, but to understand and connect with the turmoil that raged within the household at the time.
- Summer Wars (Japan)
There was no chance that Summer Wars was going to end up with anything other than Kenji and Natsuki ending up together by the end, but the constantly high animation quality, over the top computer generated virtual worlds put next to with old style Japanese households, and a bouncy, entertaining narrative meant getting there was fun.
- The Maiden Heist (US)
What could have been a 'by the numbers' made for TV style American movie about a trio of elderly museum security guards who try to swap their favourite pieces for fakes before they are carted off to the other side of the world, actually turned out to be a very entertaining piece; the well-trotted but dependable 'will-they-wont-they manage it? of course they will' caper style was peppered with fun and humour, well acted and tightly scripted, and always felt like the actors were having a good laugh throughout.
After the Credits Roll - Kin (UK)This new category is for those films that are particularly good at encouraging debate and chatter at the end about what you have just seen.
Kin was a great talking piece, mainly due to what was not said about the lives of the wretched people within. Expressions, half-sentences and reactions all had their own significance, and nourished the sparse dialog to present a full-blown description of the back stories, wholly constructed by the viewer.
- Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (US)
Not to try to sing the praises of Expelled, because it is a prime example of misinformation and misguidance, but as a talking point between a Creationist and a Scientist, Expelled is very effective and will remain a point of contention and argument long afterwards.
- Hierro (Spain)
Another film where that which is said is dwarfed by that which isn't, Hierro managed to skilfully show us the horror of losing your child and the desperation of getting him back, whilst also conveying the backstory of the situation in actions and symbolism, not words.
- Seven Minutes in Heaven (Israel/France/Hungary)
The ambiguous nature of the ending to this film warrants a second viewing, and it's multi-layered mystery will keep any two film buffs debating the outcome all the way home.
Emotional Kick - Wolfy (Russia)There was no greater film this year at depicting the corrosive influence of immaturity and selfishness on the life of a child. A selfish, drunken mother abandons her newborn baby to its grandmother in the pursuit of a carefree, single life, and only after several years does she decide to visit, upon which a token gesture of a small toy welds the child to her mother's leg, who reacts with brutal coldness. A shocking, powerful film and very affecting.
Honourable Mentions:
- Slovenian Girl (Slovakia)
The life of a young call-girl, using the generated income to get her through university, is turned on its head when two pimps masquerading as punters try to take over her life. Barely escaping with her life, she has to call on the favours of friends, ex-fiancée's and most of all, her father, none of which know about her other life. Genuinely tense throughout, Slovenian girl tugs at both sides of your feelings for her as her house of cards collapses and she has to make amends.
- Before and After 22/12/1989 (Romania)
A short film about the changes brought about after the overthrow of the Ceauşescu regime by the Romanian Revolution, exemplified by two typical days in the life of a family living in both time periods. The sense of freedom and relief in the second part from the constant fear in the first is palpable in the audience.
- Surviving History (UK)
The experiences of the few surviving Lithuanian Jews from the time of the second World War are told with quiet reverence here. Their stories are very affecting, and the brooding menace of the emerging Neo-Nazi movement can be seen hanging over them, meaning that peace is never truly going to be theirs.
- The Stars Don't Twinkle in Outer Space (UK)
A short, quietly shocking film about how imagination acts as a natural coping mechanism when two young children play at spacemen.
- Can Go Through Skin (Netherlands)
As Marieke attempts to heal her mental wounds from an attack in her own home, she moves to an abandoned house and re-invents herself. The process of healing is slow and strewn with potholes, and her scars are deep, and the audience is taken through the full experience.
- Echo (Romania)
Truly raw in its' depiction of the aftermath of a young teenager's murderous attack on a young girl. Instead of showing the incident, this short film is made more powerful by centring in on the police investigation afterwards, where the boy and his friend are made to replay their actions, using a terrified girl in place of the victim. An extremely powerful film.
- The Heart of Amos Klein (Israel/France/Netherlands/Denmark)
The life of a hard-hearted and brutal Israeli general is played backwards, concentrating on crucial points in his life, where his attitude to others is shifted as a result of the mistreatment by those around him, or just plain unfortunate luck, at major historical events. It shows how even the most evil of men can start out as cherub-faced and innocent children and is a truly impressive work.
- La Pivellina (Austria/Italy)
An abandoned girl named Asia barely old enough to walk, is found by a poor husband and wife travelling circus and taken in. Her adorable personality immediately fills the film with colour, especially as young Asia seems unwilling to return to her birth mother. A beautiful and loving film about the kindness of strangers.
- Desire (UK)
Playing out like the pages of a novel, Desire is an unusual and slightly saucy story of a typical London 2+2 family, who are changed forever when Nene, an au-pair arrives. Getting close to both father and mother, and bonding well with the kids, the viewer ends up wishing for the unconventional ménage et trios to remain because, strange as it is, it works. I found myself transcended from my initial interest of jiggling ladyflesh to a feeling of empathy and warmth towards this unit, and reacting with dismay when it's existence was threatened.
Twist Award - Hierro (Spain)The twist at the end of Hierro forced you to re-evaluate all that you had seen for the past hour, and look again at the desperate actions of Maria to find her missing son.
Honourable Mentions:
- A Thousand Oceans (Luxembourg/Sweden)
A massive twist in the middle of the film turns the first half completely on its head, requiring you to relive it through new, more informed eyes.
- The Stars Don't Twinkle in Outer Space (UK)
When this short film lets you into the real life of these two children, it's whole meaning and gravitas is made clear.
- White Night Wedding (Iceland)
The last days of Jon's ex-wife Anna become the focus of the flashbacks between the preparations for the wedding to his young fiancée Thora. Only toward the end of the film do we truly see what caused Jon to have such self-loathing in his life.
- West of Pluto (Canada)
Almost like two separate films, West of Pluto played as documentary, followed seamlessly by a slice-of-life look at the hopes and dreams of a group of rebellious teenage kids in a French-Canadian town.
- Cracks (UK)
Some of the more shocking scenes from Cracks were of the sort no-one could prepare for the first time you saw them, made even more unexpected by the overall feel of the rest of the film, which started off as your typical period drama, but morphing into something much darker.
- No Way Through (UK)
A brilliant short film set in a fictional Britain, where a seemingly straightforward situation where a woman is knocked down and an ambulance is called, turns into a life-threatening situation for the driver. Only on seeing the final few moments do you suddenly hit on the point being made.
- Seeds of the Fall (Sweden)
A totally unexpected accident sets the spark back in the lives of a couple of mature bedfellows.
- Small Crime (Germany/Cyprus/Greece)
This low-budget whodunnit mystery keeps the viewer guessing until the very end what happened to Zaharias, who lies dead at the bottom of the cliffs with a daft grin on his face and his shoes missing. Only Leonidas, the local plod, bored out of his wits at the lack of crime on his little island, can crack the case.
- Day In Day Out (Brazil)
A quiet, but unsettling short film about the life of a woman as her husband goes to work, but when he doesn't return, she makes a terrible discovery, but one that will keep you guessing until the end.
- The Refuge City (Poland)
Only in the final moments of this tense standoff between two skinheads and a gun at a football match, do we see which way the situation will end up, and it might involve many more people.
- Seven Minutes in Heaven (Israel/France/Hungary)
This brooding thriller keeps you guessing up to the end as to the real intention of this film, about Galia, a survivor of a Jerusalem bus bombing with a flaky memory of the events, her boyfriend Olek, who possibly didn't make it out alive, and Boaz, a medic and possible new flame who seems to know more about her than he should.
Cleverest Film - A Thousand Oceans (Luxembourg/Sweden)The idyllic holiday on an island in the Maldives for Michael, his friend Bjorn and two girls apparently along for the ride, begins to take a wierd turn. Bjorn decides to stay when it's time for the plane to leave, and on arriving home, his parents are acting strangely. The twist in the middle of this film is one of the most well thought out I have seen in a long time, forcing the viewer to re-examine everything that has gone before it, and see the rest of the film in two lights; one through the eyes of someone not let in on the secret (as Michael isn't) and the other from the more enlightened viewpoint.
Honourable Mentions:
- Outrage (US)
It's clever use of statistics (in a non-boring fashion I'll add) fills you in on the bigger picture as several high-ranking American politicians have their voting records examined with regard to gay rights legislation. The actions of the main catalyst of the film, Michael Rogers, to out some of these politicians as gay has an unexpectedly positive effect both for the electorate and the politician themselves.
- Desire (UK)
Desire has the ability to take a situation that should not in real life work - that of an au-pair carrying on with both mum and dad, and getting on well with the kids, and deftly turns it into a warm-hearted tale of the right person fitting the right place in the puzzle.
- Puccini and the Girl (Italy)
Though far away from my favourite film of the year, Puccini and the Girl cleverly uses nearly no dialogue to tell the story of the man and his forbidden affair with a young woman of less than noble stock, relying on the use of gestures and expressions to carry the messages, and the beauty of the music and the locations to keep up the interest.
- Echo (Romania)
Using the teenagers to recount their heinous deeds at the scene of the crime is a much more powerful method of storytelling than showing it outright, and the mental conflicts within the mind of the perpetrator are shown through his barely controlled rage and confusion throughout.
- Fard (France)
The clever overlaying of live action characters and objects into a computer generated virtual world can only be truly appreciated as you watch this film about the shroud of a perfect world falling away.
- The Revenant (US)
The typical tread of the zombie-horror flick is given a more cerebral twist, as Bart, a soldier killed in the Iraq war, wakes in his coffin to find himself turned into a revenant zombie - clearly dead but with all his morals and braiiins intact. He still needs to feed, however, so the question is, where should he get his blood from?
- Red Sands (UK)
This short film surprised me with it's reluctance to go down the expected 'bullfighting bad, stop it now' route and instead allow it's tradition to be told through the experiences of a bullfighting veteran as he struggles with his conscience on the matter.
- Next Floor (Canada)
An inventive short film about a fictional but disgusting gluttonous banquet set high up in a skyscraper, where the floors below become the new location when the one above can't take the weight of them eating themselves to death.
- The Little Dragon (France/Sweden)
An innovative stop-motion short film about the escapades of a Bruce Lee doll and the forces of evil he comes across as he makes his way through the detritus of a teenager's bedroom.
- Disco and Atomic War (Estonia/Finland)
Use of animated diagrams and funny clips of people subverting the Estonian government's attempts to crack down on 'evil capitalist broadcasts' from nearby Finland rises this above a typically dry documentary about life in communist Russia.
Biggest Laugh - The Misfortunates (Belgium)Many films managed to generate laughs here and there, but the ones in The Misfortunates were the most numerous and consistent. The recounting of the dreadful upbringing of Gunther in a house full of rampaging, drunken older men and their effect on their community at large is by equal measure tragic, life affirming, and hilarious. I defy anyone not to laugh at the naked bike race.
Honourable Mentions:
- Departures (Japan)
When it wasn't charming me with it's solemn and respectful depictions of the dressing ceremonies by those derided individuals performing the act of encoffinment, Departures had me in bursts of laughter as nappies and 'unexpected thingies' entered into the proceedings.
- Tales from the Golden Age (Romania)
Though spread out over five films, some of the stories presented in this collection had me breathless with laughter.
- Vampire Girl Vs. Frankenstein Girl (Japan)
Too mad not to include, those Japanese certainly know how to do crazy. Although it was too way over the top to seriously consider in other categories, there was no denying several scenes had me in tears of confused laughter, not quite knowing what to make of it all.
- The Men who Stare at Goats (UK/US)
The outlandish attempts by the American army to get one over on the enemy are just ridiculous enough to be true, and it's the ones that make you stare at the screen and think 'they made that one up, surely' that provide the biggest laughs.
- Photograph of Jesus (UK)
A short film not short on warm humour, its portrayal of the long list of mad requests the picture archive receives every year could and should be made into a full length programme.
- Chick (Poland)
A hugely stylised film about a man and a woman getting ready for, and then performing, a night of passion cannot be looked at with a straight face. The high-energy frolics results in some, *cough* quite pendular jiggling, and if that doesn't bring out the Benny Hill in all of us, I don't know what will.
A Thousand Words - The Crimson Wing (US/UK)A new category for those films that are not necessarily great from a story point of view, but excel in their cinematography, art style, the beauty of the places they were set in, or the quality of the soundtrack.
The Crimson Wing cannot be beaten in this category due to it's often breathtaking cinematography, shot in high definition as one of the world's most beautiful birds comes together in huge flocks in one of the harshest, but purest places on the planet to re-enact the courtship practised by millions gone before.
- Seraphine (France/Belgium)
This biopic of Seraphine de Senlis is a recent darling of Franco-Belgium cinema, and quite rightly so, being an extensive and beautifully shot film about the life of an unlikely painter during and after the first world war years. Not only are there gorgeous locations set in the French countryside, complete with period architecture and spot on acting - particularly by Yolande Moreau as the childlike Seraphine - but the reproductions of the beautiful and naive paintings, often 8 or so feet tall provide the most compelling reason to pass through the life of this unassuming woman.
- Follow the Master (UK)
A gentle and affectionate walk through the Somerset South Downs by Matt Hulse, his partner Lucy, and their bouncy dog Tippi, re-treading the path once laid down by his late grandfather many years previous and told through grainy home camera film and his grandfathers' notes. The inspirational beauty of the pilgrimage and the love it shows for a much missed family member, is matched only by that of the journey itself, through (thankfully still) unspoilt wilderness on this very isle.
- Mary and Max (Australia)
As if the funny, tragic, heartfelt story wasn't enough, Mary and Max can be appreciated purely for the work of its artisans, creating a complex, detailed and believable world into which two oppressed souls find each other by chance.
- Little White Lies (Germany)
Little Alexandres' life in 1930's Germany, coping with the small-life struggles of his schooldays as a not so subtle parallel to the reasons behind the rise of the Nazi movement at the time was solidly made, but it is it's film locations that sold it more for me; beautifully recreated snow-topped villages, giant, unending factory complexes and cold, birch-whipped classrooms.
- Creation (UK)
Everything presented in Creation just felt right to see on the big screen. Paul Bettany was a perfect fit for the lead role, but the use of many of Darwin's haunts for the filming (including Downs House in Kent) made for a visually very appealing film as well.
- Turn it Loose (US)
There is little that can come close to when the BBoys got their moves perfect on the dance floor, and the use of 360 degree cameras ensured you caught every detail as they pulled off what sometimes seemed impossible with confidence and grace.
- Mental (Japan)
Though short on majestic views, Mental gets a mention due to it's quiet observance of a forgotten and under-supported section of Japanese society. Simply looking in through this window into the lives of both the patients and staff was a bit special.
- White Night Wedding (Iceland)
Iceland has some beautiful nature, and when summer comes, you can enjoy it 24 hours a day without ever having to get your torch out. This film took advantage of its location on Flatey to set much of it outside, to capture the spirit of the place. It became a character in the film.
- Love and Rage (Denmark)
We know that Daniel has both the amazing musical skills and the unbalanced mental state inherited from his father at the beginning of the film, but just how much and whether he can control it so as not to lose everything he has.
- Puccini and the Girl (Italy)
A film with almost no dialogue had to rely instead on the attractiveness of it's visual and aural experience, and both were handled very well in this beautiful, although ultimately quite tiresome film of the less publicised life of the Italian composer.
- Vanquished (Belgium/Spain)
The realisation of a boy that his father was not killed and buried with dignity, but instead was one of many casualties of the Franco dictatorship, was set in the undulating mountains and valleys of the beautiful Spanish countryside.
- Ander (Spain)
The gently progressing life of the unmarried Ander takes place in the Catalunian alps, where the air is fresh and the nature goes on seemingly forever, barely changed from how it must have been a millennia ago. To see it is to realise how transient we are as humans and how privileged such people must have been to live there and experience it.
- Dunia (Poland)
A charming short animation about a girl and her protective cat, where each frame of animation is presented in beautiful watercolour.
- The Cat Piano (Australia)
In an art style almost imperceptible from that of Don Bleuth, The Cat piano portrays a stylish, shadowy world where cats have human qualities, and seem to live by the sensibilities of the 1940's. The animation is smooth, the artistry beautiful and the story is entertaining, for its 8 short minutes on the screen.
- Blow Horn (Spain)
As a film that reflected the experiences of a group of Europeans living in a Buddhist monastery for a year, I thought Blow Horn fell a little short; it's narration was sparse, and it just didn't hang together tightly enough, but it worked very well as a visual record of a journey through the roads less travelled in Tibet.
Best Indie to Show Your Friends - The Men Who Stare at Goats (US/UK)If it wasn't for the average casual filmgoers insistence that a flick be in English (subtitles? I'm not watching no foreign muck), and that it be live action (what am I watching a cartoon for?), this would probably have been a close fight between several of the other films below, but I have reluctantly decided to settle for The Men Who Stare at Goats, because it is the best compromise. It's pacey, its funny, it's smart and occasionally it's a little bit shocking when you think that somewhere, sometime, some soldier will have been trained to do it.
Honourable Mentions:
- Ponyo (Japan)
A beautiful story to fill the mind of a child with magic and wonder, without the need for Elton bloody John to crop up in the middle of it and start singing. And, if your audience doesn't want to have to deal with subtitles, there is a high-quality English dub available, full of easily recognisable actors.
- Mary and Max (Australia)
A great film full stop, and one that exemplifies that, no matter what the plot is, or the medium it is told through, a great story is a great story told.
- The Revenant (US)
A perfect horror film for those who don't fancy horror films much. Smart, funny and a refreshingly cerebral alternative to what you typically expect from the genre.
- The Butterfly Tattoo (UK)
A great film to spend with your partner, being an up-to-date re-imagining of the classic Romeo and Juliet.
- A Boy Called Dad (UK)
The confused life of a council estate kid, spurned by his missing father and sent off the rails when he returns just as he learns he is a father, is accurately realised on screen here, and would be great for those who like their bit of gritty realism.
- Mad, Sad and Bad (UK)
Meera Syal heads a bulging cast of British actors and actresses in a funny and warm tale of acceptance that is intelligently written and spans ethnic borders. It should have got much more attention than it did.
- Baraboo (US)
Another gentle film that bestowed a sense of satisfaction and calm upon its viewers as they left. This film should be seen if your group is chilled out.
- Cracks (UK/Ireland)
The perfect film to show an audience that is perhaps weary of period dramas, as this seemingly by-the-books film hides a few shocks that will make them re-evaluate what they saw.
- A Thousand Oceans (Luxembourg/Sweden)
If subtitles are not a problem, A Thousand Oceans is definitely one to catch, the innovative plotline and crucial mid-film twist will impress, as everything is suddenly made clear.
- La Pivellina (Spain)
Only the hardest of hearts can possibly withstand the onslaught of cute from little Asia, as she asserts her authority on the new family that has adopted her. This is one film particularly suited to a group of broody ladies.
- Crying With Laughter (UK)
Foul-mouthed comic Joey Frisk's life gets more and more chaotic, and his silver tongue can only help him so much. This film has aspects of comedy, thriller and mystery, and is perfect for a lads night out.
- Departures (Japan)
Again, if subtitles are not an issue, this one is very worthy of consideration. Departures is a beautiful, funny film about making the best of your situation, with plenty of laughs mixed with genuine pathos throughout.
- Bright Star (UK/Australia)
This beautifully shot film about the short, tragic life of poet John Keats is another one for couples to go see together. Lines of prose straight from the mouth of a dying poet can't get much more romantic.
The Manky Sankey Awards
This year, I am happy to report that there was relatively few manky films, and so this section is pretty short.
Biggest Let Down - Boogie Woogie (UK)You would have thought a film lampooning the vacuous and empty lives of the London fashionista as they ponce about their self-important galleries squabbling over who gets the next painting of a load of squares would be a cracker, especially as it contains such a large roster of recognisable names. But it just didn't work. It was crass and exploitative, and not even in a sense that you could attribute the crass-ness to the character types in that line of work; I felt that, much as I deride these sort of people for not going out and getting a proper job, that they were simply paraded as animals to be picked off with blunderbuses.
Dishonourable Mentions:
- Wide Open Spaces (Ireland/UK)
Father Ted is one of my most favourite comedies, and to hear about a film that featured several of the actors and producers was for me a big pull, so imagine my disappointment when it turned out to be a flat, emotionless missed opportunity, with few genuine laughs.
- Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (US)
I wanted this film to at least be honest with me. If the ID-er's have any valid contribution to make, surely they can do it by making a film that sets out, in no uncertain terms, why their way of looking at the world is the correct one. When watching it, I felt manipulated, and at several times I had to hold myself back from gesturing audibly at the screen as more half truths were spun out to the monotonous nasal drawl of Ben Stein. If this is what they want to use to put their point across, I pray (no irony intended) that all they attract is the already converted.
- Cold Souls (US)
Paul Giamatti playing Paul Giamatti sounds like an ideal starting point for a film doesn't it, but only so much of his face-pulling can be considered funny before I began to tire a little of the film. It wasn't a bad film, but it had trouble sticking it's head above the crowd, and I was left a little cold myself.
- Dr. S Battles the Sex-Crazed Reefer Zombies: The Movie (US)
The film ran out of steam too early, relying on rehashing the same cigar-chomping jokes just too many times for it to be funny any more. The students who made the film had clearly got bored midway through creating the script and just got to the end a bit reefered up themselves I suspect.
Most Pretentious - Episode 3: Enjoy Poverty (NetherFrance)An honourable mention elsewhere doesn't stop this one getting the manky prize for pretentiousness, as Renzo Martens spoils his own film by not only sticking his mug into the camera for long periods, but - shudder - sings right in the middle of it for no reason at all.
Dishonourable Mentions:
- Puccini and the Girl (Italy)
There was no particular reason given exactly as to why there had to be no dialogue in this film, and that lent it a degree of pretentiousness, as the film ruggedly tried to stick to it's unfounded principles and labour through several scenes where a bit of dialogue would have sorted them out in seconds.
- Silence (Latvia)
Arty films set in an art gallery means pretentiousness squared. A woman goes through an art gallery in a silly, unconventional way and daft things happen. Bleh.
- West Point (France)
An example of experimental film was predictably pretentious, using the well-worn cod-philosophising and over-talking, the typical fare in the poorer quality French films.
Most Drawn Out Scene - Angel's Egg (Japan)Loathe as I am to admit it, Angel's Egg lost it's beauty somewhat by suffering from some of the most drawn out scenes this year, mainly down to the low budget constraints, meaning that the meeting between the young girl and the unnamed soldier contained sequences where neither moved at all for what seemed like minutes.
Dishonourable Mentions:
- 199 Tips to be Happy (Chile/Spain)
Billed as a raunchy, steamy love triangle, became one long drawn out scene of angst between the three main protagonists, with no real outcome to speak of.
- Blow Horn (Spain)
Too many times, Blow Horn spent it's minutes on the screen just observing, expecting the tourists-cum-Buddhists to do something when there was naught to really do. Quiet contemplation is more than welcome in a film, but it has to go somewhere.
- Stingray Sam (US)
Though entertaining, this ultra low budget film did have a couple of 'filler' scenes, put there seemingly to pad out the episodes to their allotted length. Chief suspect amongst the drawn-out scenes was the 'Fredward' Song, which though very funny, was ridiculously long.
Most Annoying Film - Trickster (Germany)How to make a short film seem like a long one. Trickster went from impressive, to odd, through to downright annoying. A clown plays to an audience except he doesn't seem to know he's a clown and he's really obnoxious and can't seem to communicate using anything other than grunts. And then his costume changes twice so you aren't sure its still him.
Dishonourable Mentions:
- The King of Escape (France)
Somehow the French seem to excel at films that annoy. I have no idea why. Maybe its just me; maybe I was knocked down by a mime as a child and never quite got over it. However, I defy anyone to watch this film through and not be bothered by its undertones.
- Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl (Japan)
There were plenty of laughs to be had, but this film just went too close to the bone in places, relying too much on the shock element to try and get the humour across.
- Episode 3: Enjoy Poverty (Netherlands/France)
Although packed with important messages for the world, director Renzo Martens seemingly wanted us to wade through pictures of his own pouting self before we got to them, as if it was some sort of trial. Those sections should have been jettisoned.
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That's all I'm doing this year. I hope you've enjoyed reading about them all as much as I enjoyed battering my eyes seeing them and blogging about them. The film festivals start up again in March with the Bradford Film Festival, which I may attend for the first time next year. After all, I've got a 200 film total to beat :).
Happy New Year!
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