So, sadly, no stand out masterpieces this year a la "Incendies" last year or "White Ribbon" the year before.
My favourites, then, in no particular order...
Tyrannosaur
Pure
This Is Not A Film
Dreileben
Nana
Policeman
Nuit#1
Le Havre
The Artist
Elena
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Friday Oct 15 - Day 16
62. Black Bread (***)
20th century conflicts continue to provide fertile soil for heavy European drama. In this case, it's Spain after the Civil War. A original, shockingly brutal opening sets the stage. An adolescent boy perspective suggests innocence, but as reality slowly emerges and dark secrets surface, social and sexual politics clearly still have a long way to go. As for morality, there isn't even room on the table. War and its aftermath are hell!
63. Happy, Happy (**)
A quirky snow-bound comedy that keeps taking unexpected turns, mainly due to Scandinavian open-minded directness. Love ducks and weaves and ultimately settles, all punctuated by four-part harmony transitions supplied by a spiritual singing Greek chorus.
64. Nuit #1 (***)
This one blew me away and I was tempted to give it my first 4 star rating of the festival. Two thirty-somethings hook up and have urgent, graphic sex. The aftermath, however, is more challenging. Over the course of the night, these two people bare their souls to each other and end up raw, exposed and vulnerable. And, somehow, in the process, they expose the condition of a whole generation. Intensely honest and impossible to look away from. Fiercely committed performances.
20th century conflicts continue to provide fertile soil for heavy European drama. In this case, it's Spain after the Civil War. A original, shockingly brutal opening sets the stage. An adolescent boy perspective suggests innocence, but as reality slowly emerges and dark secrets surface, social and sexual politics clearly still have a long way to go. As for morality, there isn't even room on the table. War and its aftermath are hell!
63. Happy, Happy (**)
A quirky snow-bound comedy that keeps taking unexpected turns, mainly due to Scandinavian open-minded directness. Love ducks and weaves and ultimately settles, all punctuated by four-part harmony transitions supplied by a spiritual singing Greek chorus.
64. Nuit #1 (***)
This one blew me away and I was tempted to give it my first 4 star rating of the festival. Two thirty-somethings hook up and have urgent, graphic sex. The aftermath, however, is more challenging. Over the course of the night, these two people bare their souls to each other and end up raw, exposed and vulnerable. And, somehow, in the process, they expose the condition of a whole generation. Intensely honest and impossible to look away from. Fiercely committed performances.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Thursday Oct 13 - Day 15
57. Blood In The Mobile (***)
As if there weren't enough reasons to resent cell phones, this fearless Danish film maker offers a few more: rape, murder, slave labour! The problem is the mineral supply chain and corporate intransigence when it comes to principle vs. profit. The best kind of doc, the kind that makes you angry.
58. Bonsai (***)
Low key and a very clever structure - story within a story within a film. Gentle metaphors and a plot full of echoes and literary references. Familiarity with Proust would probably help. Something about this movie sticks with me.
59. You Can't Go Home Again (*)
I'd be reluctant to recommend this movie to anyone that wasn't there. Raw, crude 60s underground style. It's easy to forget that today's technical take-it-for-granted was born in some of this experimental stuff. Distorted, solarized images may be irritating today but Ray was actual using the technique that pioneer visual artist Nam June Paik was wowing the art world intelligentsia with at the time. But today - of historical interest only.
60. The Artist (***)
Tremendously entertaining homage to silent films and movies in general. Not a single false note in this very affectionate story of change, loss, love and happy endings. Played straight as a silent movie with two very funny sound gags.
61. Roadie (**)
Another movie about change and loss. Rock and roll is fading into history and sometimes the only place you can go is home. After years on the road, Jimmy's at the end of his but just not ready to accept it. Back in Queens, the old neighbourhood is the same but sadly different - stroke afflicted neighbour, mother showing understated early signs of dementia. A desperate, painful attempt to connect with the past helps Jimmy stumble to something resembling acceptance. Another movie that's probably easier to connect with if you were there.
As if there weren't enough reasons to resent cell phones, this fearless Danish film maker offers a few more: rape, murder, slave labour! The problem is the mineral supply chain and corporate intransigence when it comes to principle vs. profit. The best kind of doc, the kind that makes you angry.
58. Bonsai (***)
Low key and a very clever structure - story within a story within a film. Gentle metaphors and a plot full of echoes and literary references. Familiarity with Proust would probably help. Something about this movie sticks with me.
59. You Can't Go Home Again (*)
I'd be reluctant to recommend this movie to anyone that wasn't there. Raw, crude 60s underground style. It's easy to forget that today's technical take-it-for-granted was born in some of this experimental stuff. Distorted, solarized images may be irritating today but Ray was actual using the technique that pioneer visual artist Nam June Paik was wowing the art world intelligentsia with at the time. But today - of historical interest only.
60. The Artist (***)
Tremendously entertaining homage to silent films and movies in general. Not a single false note in this very affectionate story of change, loss, love and happy endings. Played straight as a silent movie with two very funny sound gags.
61. Roadie (**)
Another movie about change and loss. Rock and roll is fading into history and sometimes the only place you can go is home. After years on the road, Jimmy's at the end of his but just not ready to accept it. Back in Queens, the old neighbourhood is the same but sadly different - stroke afflicted neighbour, mother showing understated early signs of dementia. A desperate, painful attempt to connect with the past helps Jimmy stumble to something resembling acceptance. Another movie that's probably easier to connect with if you were there.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Wednesday Oct 12 - Day 14
53. Wish Me Away (**)
Conventional format doc with high emotional engagement quotient. You wouldn't want to be a lesbian country singer in Nashville/America, even today, and neither did Chely Wright. In fact, for 30 years she prayed God would fix her. Lots of fear and tears as once again we're reminded that America, for all its progress and influence, still has a very dark side fuelled by superstition and unevolved ignorance.
54. Comforting Skin (*)
Shot, very effectively, in Vancouver. There's probably a decent psychological thriller here buried, unfortunately, by first time director missteps. Social misfit with hints of mental illness background and a best friend agoraphobic roommate gets a tattoo to shake things up. And, does it ever. Turns out it's a pretty possessive, jealous tattoo that moves all over her body in a caressing way when it feels like it (interesting arousal scene in an elevator), less gently when it's angry. Unfortunately, the soundtrack is amped up and jarringly discordant, not to mention irritating, and just ends up drowning out the whispering "dialog" that comes from the tattoo and might have helped make more sense of things. Fearless performance by Victoria Bidewell, though.
55. The Fairy (*)
Another view of Le Havre, this time as the setting for French farce, also with echoes of Tati and, oddly, Robert Altman's "Popeye" (without the music). It had me pretty firmly for about the first 15 minutes. Then it started in on a progression of increasingly silly set-ups that I just found tiresome. People around me were laughing - I had no idea why.
56. Everything and Everyone (***)
It's pretty hard for me to be objective when it comes to locally made films. I find I often enjoy them even when their flaws and weaknesses are apparent to me (cf. Carl Bessai). However, no flaws whatsoever intruded on my thorough enjoyment of this little gem. Strong acting and smart dialog and a script that doesn't falter for the cheap connective link. I liked all these very real characters and found myself caring about what happens to them. Much of the dialog is razor sharp and Gabrielle Rose is a local treasure.
Conventional format doc with high emotional engagement quotient. You wouldn't want to be a lesbian country singer in Nashville/America, even today, and neither did Chely Wright. In fact, for 30 years she prayed God would fix her. Lots of fear and tears as once again we're reminded that America, for all its progress and influence, still has a very dark side fuelled by superstition and unevolved ignorance.
54. Comforting Skin (*)
Shot, very effectively, in Vancouver. There's probably a decent psychological thriller here buried, unfortunately, by first time director missteps. Social misfit with hints of mental illness background and a best friend agoraphobic roommate gets a tattoo to shake things up. And, does it ever. Turns out it's a pretty possessive, jealous tattoo that moves all over her body in a caressing way when it feels like it (interesting arousal scene in an elevator), less gently when it's angry. Unfortunately, the soundtrack is amped up and jarringly discordant, not to mention irritating, and just ends up drowning out the whispering "dialog" that comes from the tattoo and might have helped make more sense of things. Fearless performance by Victoria Bidewell, though.
55. The Fairy (*)
Another view of Le Havre, this time as the setting for French farce, also with echoes of Tati and, oddly, Robert Altman's "Popeye" (without the music). It had me pretty firmly for about the first 15 minutes. Then it started in on a progression of increasingly silly set-ups that I just found tiresome. People around me were laughing - I had no idea why.
56. Everything and Everyone (***)
It's pretty hard for me to be objective when it comes to locally made films. I find I often enjoy them even when their flaws and weaknesses are apparent to me (cf. Carl Bessai). However, no flaws whatsoever intruded on my thorough enjoyment of this little gem. Strong acting and smart dialog and a script that doesn't falter for the cheap connective link. I liked all these very real characters and found myself caring about what happens to them. Much of the dialog is razor sharp and Gabrielle Rose is a local treasure.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Tuesday Oct 11 - Day 13
50. Los Acacias (**)
I like minimalism as a stylistic choice generally (e.g. "The Limits of Control"), but this effort, I'm afraid, goes beyond my threshold. There are definitely things to like here - the tight in-cab composition, the baby's expressiveness, but mostly it feels like one long pregnant pause. Edited down to a 30-40 minute short feature would be another story altogether.
51. Brothers & Sisters (**)
It's hard not to like a Carl Bessai film. He brings so much creative energy and such a generous collaborative process to these improvisational works that I really want to overlook the shortcomings. However, finding the story arc in the editing process results in all four story lines lurching awkwardly to their resolutions.Fun while it lasts, though.
52. Low Life ()
Warmed over Godard 50 years late. Relentlessly pretentious and numbingly interminable. Don't ever let these people near a camera again.
I like minimalism as a stylistic choice generally (e.g. "The Limits of Control"), but this effort, I'm afraid, goes beyond my threshold. There are definitely things to like here - the tight in-cab composition, the baby's expressiveness, but mostly it feels like one long pregnant pause. Edited down to a 30-40 minute short feature would be another story altogether.
51. Brothers & Sisters (**)
It's hard not to like a Carl Bessai film. He brings so much creative energy and such a generous collaborative process to these improvisational works that I really want to overlook the shortcomings. However, finding the story arc in the editing process results in all four story lines lurching awkwardly to their resolutions.Fun while it lasts, though.
52. Low Life ()
Warmed over Godard 50 years late. Relentlessly pretentious and numbingly interminable. Don't ever let these people near a camera again.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Monday Oct 10 - Day 12
47. Le Havre (***)
Serious things happen in this film - murder, illegal immigrants, cancer - but the overall tone is very light and clean with regular touches of gentle humour. The story is simple enough: an old man saving a fugitive African teen from deportation and helping him reach his mother in England. But, the journey is through a rich, uncluttered landscape of characters that inhabit a charming French seaport. There's something very slightly offbeat about this film, particularly with the dialog, which serves to focus our attention on the wonderful faces that make up the landscape. A little reminiscent of Tati.
48. Policeman (***)
A very taut thriller. Constructed of two discrete stories presented separately that intersect at the violent, bloody climax. First we get to know a tough Israeli anti-terrorist squad, off duty, awaiting a judicial judgement on a prior mission. These guys are tough and tightly wound even when they relax. The second segment observes a group of misfit, middle class revolutionaries (Jewish, not Arab) as they plan a terrorist action to publicize their manifesto. Their comfortable backgrounds work against them, though, as do the confused group dynamics. As they execute their plan, the squad from the first half moves in to "neutralize" them. A couple of very small false notes, but engaging throughout.
49. Trash (**)
There's a good movie in here somewhere. The characters are well defined and believable and the setting is terrific - garbage management in a lower class suburb of Montreal. Atmosphere galore! There's even a solid back story that explains much about the protagonist. Too bad the script falls apart about half way in. When the main character starts making bad decisions, one after another, for the sole purpose of fuelling the plot, it's time to seriously consider the next draft. Too bad.
Serious things happen in this film - murder, illegal immigrants, cancer - but the overall tone is very light and clean with regular touches of gentle humour. The story is simple enough: an old man saving a fugitive African teen from deportation and helping him reach his mother in England. But, the journey is through a rich, uncluttered landscape of characters that inhabit a charming French seaport. There's something very slightly offbeat about this film, particularly with the dialog, which serves to focus our attention on the wonderful faces that make up the landscape. A little reminiscent of Tati.
48. Policeman (***)
A very taut thriller. Constructed of two discrete stories presented separately that intersect at the violent, bloody climax. First we get to know a tough Israeli anti-terrorist squad, off duty, awaiting a judicial judgement on a prior mission. These guys are tough and tightly wound even when they relax. The second segment observes a group of misfit, middle class revolutionaries (Jewish, not Arab) as they plan a terrorist action to publicize their manifesto. Their comfortable backgrounds work against them, though, as do the confused group dynamics. As they execute their plan, the squad from the first half moves in to "neutralize" them. A couple of very small false notes, but engaging throughout.
49. Trash (**)
There's a good movie in here somewhere. The characters are well defined and believable and the setting is terrific - garbage management in a lower class suburb of Montreal. Atmosphere galore! There's even a solid back story that explains much about the protagonist. Too bad the script falls apart about half way in. When the main character starts making bad decisions, one after another, for the sole purpose of fuelling the plot, it's time to seriously consider the next draft. Too bad.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Sunday Oct 9 - Day 11
43. Buddha Mountain (**)
This must be what "indie" feels like in China. No real plot but the characters develop and evolve and their relationships emerge and grow. Aside from the periodic, high volume histrionic outbursts, which seem to be a staple of Asian films, I was engaged by these characters and the eventual Buddhist resonance of the film's resolution.
44. A Separation (**)
I have to admit - I come to Iranian films with certain expectations. I know that vicious fuckwits are in charge of the country so I'm always looking for seditious subtext. Its presence in this film is subtle. Up front, we have social drama and it's remarkably rich. In a setting that's a mind-bending stew of modernism (TV, late-model cars, computers) and primitivism (religious superstition, which is taken for granted, a chaotic judicial system) a marital drama plays out and, while the women have a voice, the final say is as elusive to them as the freedom to live their lives without the oppression of heavy linen body gags.
45. Sleeping Beauty (***)
This movie made me think of "The Story of O" and Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut". It actually made me think of Kubrick for other reasons as well - like style. So, pretty hard not to like, for me, since I saw all those references as positive and successfully realized. But, let's be clear, this movie is decidedly un-erotic. Emily Browning gives a fierce performance, doubling the main character's unreserved commitment to the task at hand, putting herself at the mercy of whatever unfolds.
46. Donovan's Echo (**)
A well-crafted local production (Langley, Maple Ridge) that's thoroughly entertaining. Danny Glover's an anchor for this movie and he's in every scene. A sort of variation on the premonition/he must be crazy story but with the low key cast and locale, it does feel fresh. Made me think of "The Dead Zone" a couple of times.
This must be what "indie" feels like in China. No real plot but the characters develop and evolve and their relationships emerge and grow. Aside from the periodic, high volume histrionic outbursts, which seem to be a staple of Asian films, I was engaged by these characters and the eventual Buddhist resonance of the film's resolution.
44. A Separation (**)
I have to admit - I come to Iranian films with certain expectations. I know that vicious fuckwits are in charge of the country so I'm always looking for seditious subtext. Its presence in this film is subtle. Up front, we have social drama and it's remarkably rich. In a setting that's a mind-bending stew of modernism (TV, late-model cars, computers) and primitivism (religious superstition, which is taken for granted, a chaotic judicial system) a marital drama plays out and, while the women have a voice, the final say is as elusive to them as the freedom to live their lives without the oppression of heavy linen body gags.
45. Sleeping Beauty (***)
This movie made me think of "The Story of O" and Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut". It actually made me think of Kubrick for other reasons as well - like style. So, pretty hard not to like, for me, since I saw all those references as positive and successfully realized. But, let's be clear, this movie is decidedly un-erotic. Emily Browning gives a fierce performance, doubling the main character's unreserved commitment to the task at hand, putting herself at the mercy of whatever unfolds.
46. Donovan's Echo (**)
A well-crafted local production (Langley, Maple Ridge) that's thoroughly entertaining. Danny Glover's an anchor for this movie and he's in every scene. A sort of variation on the premonition/he must be crazy story but with the low key cast and locale, it does feel fresh. Made me think of "The Dead Zone" a couple of times.
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