Yumurta (Egg)

First I have to share with you that when reading about this movie the synopsis and critics/viewers comments were different to what I saw in this movie and I couldn’t believe that I was the only one thinking that there was love in this movie. Finally I found the official press release of the movie and surprise, surprise I’m not alone.

This Semih Kaplanoğlu tells about a poet, Yusuf, living in Istambul that returns to Tire in the Aegean -his birth place- because her mother passed away. He is full of guilt, as since he left he hasn’t comeback much even when he promised his mother to do so. He doesn’t even know a distant relative Ayla that for the past five years has been living with his mother. Mourning and full of guilt he unwillingly agrees to honor a religious pledge her mother did before dying and by doing this founds a new life where he could less imagine.

That’s more or less the outline of the story, but basically tells about what you always wanted to leave behind and how your past becomes a more promising future.

With very little dialogue this full of silences, images and metaphors movie is just a little pleasure to watch for the simple –yet complex- story it tells and the beautiful indoor and outdoors cinematography that suggest careful composition of takes elements. Actors performances are very good as most performing is done with outstanding expressions.

One of the many metaphors is when Ayla gives Yusuf the egg and if that is not love, then I ask you, what else it could be??? This is what puzzled me until I found the official press release.

Anyway the movie has slow pace with nothing much apparently happening, so it is not for all audiences but for those that love art and art cinema movies. The movie was screened in competition at the 2007 Directors’ Fortnight and won 6 awards at the 2007 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival where the film was competing against other great Turkish movies such as Fatih Akin’s Yaşamın Kıyısında (The Edge of Heaven) and Abdullah Oğuz's Mutluluk (Happiness). The movie has other awards and nominations that you can find by browsing the blog.

This is the first film of a trilogy based on the life of Yusuf (it is called Yusuf trilogy) and the following installments are Süt (Milk) and Bal (Honey); what’s interesting is that Yusuf story is going to be told backwards with Süt telling about the time he leaves Tire and Bal about his childhood. I’m looking forward to see the next installments.

Since this is the first Kaplanoğlu movie I see at the beginning I was expecting something to happen, but soon enough thanks to the metaphors I able to start to understand his style and from that moment on, I relaxed and was able to enjoy the visual magic of this film that recalls other directors, so it was no surprise to find that for this movie Kaplanoğlu got his inspiration from great directors such as Tarkovsky, Bresson, Satyajit Ray and Ozu.

Absolutely a must be seen for those that like art and art cinema movies.

Enjoy!!!

La Graine et le Mulet (The Secret of the Grain)

Wow!!! This Abdel Kechiche movie is really something else and something quite different from most movies. Tells an apparently simple story but does it in such a way that creates tension and tension and more tension with nothing-special happening, just a grain that is missing. I’m honestly exhausted and I have never seen a belly dancing like the one is shown here, especially because all the build up but also because the actress that does the dance really steals the whole movie.

The movie tells about a French Arab family and the patriarch that wants to make true his dream after hard working for 35 years, he always dreamed about opening a restaurant that sells couscous and fish as the main attraction. But this is the excuse to present you the life of Arab immigrants with all their cultural contradictions between elders and younger generations.

Have to tell you that the beginning is a little hard to sustain as has irritating dialogues that can drive you crazy, like the long one about potty training or even the extended family lunch with banal conversation. But I see all the irritating chattering as mood setting for the film, besides being representative of the power that Arab women have at home. But it is hard to endure.

But once Slimane Beiji starts to work on his dream and the ship appears in the story the movie slows down its pace -and chatter noise- and develops a story that makes you just love the main characters, especially Rym played by Hafsia Herzi a newcomer that truly steals the movie with her performance in a role that allows her to be serious, strong willed, funny and an extraordinary belly dancing performer in a scene that will amaze you and make you uncomfortable at the same time. This is truly amazing.

There is a moment in the story that is too predictable and well what I thought it would happen, it did. But since that moment the movie picks up the pace again until abruptly ends. Yes, this is that kind of movie that will give you no answers for the end and most viewers not used to the filmmaker not ending the story will be disappointed, as they’ll have to figure it out. But you have all the elements to end the movie as you wish.

As a movie, well has too many moments filmed in real time and most seem like a documentary of a moment in the family life and you feel like an observer/intruder as you are not allowed to become part of whatever they are rapidly chatting. But cinematography is well above average for indoor and outdoor takes.

I honestly have not idea who the natural target of this movie could be, as this is somehow different to regular French or European movies, cannot say is an art movie and my best description is that is such a different movie that perhaps those that enjoy experimental cinema and perhaps only serious cinema lovers could endure its totality. There are so many non-European viewers that didn’t liked the movie, that I’m sure that some of you readers will like it and some will not.

But do not think that this is not a good movie, this is a great movie winner of the prestigious Louis Delluc Prize, and at the 2007 Venice Film Festival the Special Prize, the FIPRESCI Prize, Honorable Mention in the SIGNIS Award and Hafsia Herzi won the Marcello Mastroianni Award; then at the 2008 César Awards won the Best Film as well as Kechiche the Best Director and Hafsia Herzi the Most Promising Actress. The movie, Kechiche and Hafsia Herzi also won awards at the Étoiles d'Or and browse the blog to find other fest were had nominations and wins.

I liked the movie a lot, it make feel so many things -including feeling very uncomfortable at many moments- that I absolutely admire a movie that can do this to me and at the same time engage me with so many words and very little images compositions. Bravo!!!

Absolutely a must be seen for serious cinephiles. By the way the name of the movie comes from the main ingredient in couscous and a mulet is a fish.

Big Enjoy!!!

18th Annual InsideOut Toronto Festival Award Winners

Recently the award winners of this fest were announced and here they are.

Jury Awards

Best Canadian Feature-Length Narrative or Documentary: BE LIKE OTHERS directed by Tanaz Eshaghian
Honorable Mention: SHE’S A BOY I KNEW directed by Gwen Haworth

Best Canadian Short: FOR A RELATIONSHIP directed by Jim Verburg (screened in the Montréal, mon amour program)
Honorable Mention: NO BIKINI directed by Claudia Morgado Escanilla (screened with LIKE A VIRGIN)

Best Up-and-Coming Toronto Film or Video Maker: Barb Taylor for directing TOMBOY (screened with FREE TO BE...YOU & ME)

Audience Awards

Inside Out Award for Best Feature Film or Video: WERE THE WORLD MINE directed by Tom Gustafson
2nd place: RAZZLE DAZZLE: A JOURNEY INTO DANCE directed by Darren Ashton
3rd place: FINN’S GIRL directed by Laurie Colbert and Dominique Cardona

Elle Flanders Documentary Award for Best Documentary Film or Video: SHE’S A BOY I KNEW directed by Gwen Haworth
2nd place: THE BELIEVERS directed by Todd Holland
3rd place: WILD COMBINATION: A PORTRAIT OF ARTHUR RUSSELL directed by Matt Wolf

Mikey/Schmikey Award for Best Short Film or Video: PARIAH directed by Dee Rees (screened in the Dykes in the City program)
2nd place: RAPE FOR WHO I AM directed by Lovinsa Kavuma (screened in the Notes from South Africa program)
3rd place: CONGRATULATIONS DAISY GRAHAM directed by Cassandra Nicolaou (screened in the Hogtown Homos program)

To check the site for all the films, shorts and docs screened go here.

Estrellita

The best thing about this movie is the great music that I only wish they could have more numbers and less melodrama about different cultures, different social classes and differences that at the end they try to prove cannot divide people, but in my opinion fail to convey the message due mainly to poor performances and a director that is still learning and has a long way to go.

Tells about a great violinist that dies and his widow discover that he has a second life that she’s not aware of. In the other life he used to play with a kid that’s a prodigy playing the violin but it is poor and comes from Bosnia. The widow, a Slovenian, decides that the violin must go to someone that uses and gives it away as a present to the kid. Obviously there are many things happening but they are quite melodramatic to take them seriously.

I believe that the story is good and could touch people, but honestly the acting and directing is absolutely below average, perhaps the only exception is the widow, but she cannot save the movie. As a movie there are some good shots like the funeral that is outstanding with the beautiful white building and everyone in black, but then the camera is used only to follow the characters, which is a shame.

I enjoyed the music, it is really extraordinary; but is not enough to enjoy this movie that becomes tedious with the flat camera and the bad acting.

Only if you really like violin music, then give it a try; otherwise you can skip this movie. I wanted to see this movie because is a movie from Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and I’m not that familiar with their cinema, but then this is not the movie to learn much about it.

What Happens in Vegas

I was not going to read about this movie in the net, as I assumed that critics were going to kill it. Well I was not that wrong, but the surprise is that some did like it, as well as many viewers. Yes, this movie is very niiiiiice (with that many “i”).

With a totally predictable story done already many times, how can a movie be niiiiice? Surprisingly enough because the good performances by Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutsher. The casting is just perfect and now that I think about it, both have been doing similar types of physical comedy… so the two together doing their thing is just fun to watch and yes, they have good chemistry together, both in the funny moments as well as in the almost serious ones.

There are some moments that are annoying but generally speaking, it is a movie that will make you smile, laugh and without noticing you will fall for the characters and when the movie gets sort of serious you are absolutely taken by them. Well, that’s what I call good acting in a very commercial movie that succeeds to engage you.

No damage does to also mention the small appearances by Queen Latifah as Dr. Twitchell, Dennis Farina as Richard Banger, and Dennis Miller as the judge; all have small but funny roles. To my surprise Michelle Krusiec is here in a role that absolutely does not fit the profile I have of her, but I suppose her performance is good, as I find her character very unpleasant and that’s the way it had to be. Then I could kill both actors playing Joy and Jack best friends.

Oops I almost forget to tell you what is all about. Tells about ultra-organized Joy (Cameron Diaz) and sloppy Jack (Ashton Kutcher) that meet in Vegas and while partying get totally drunk and marry each other, but the twist is that they win the big jackpot and the divorce or annulment becomes not that easy when big money is involved. Yep you know it, they fall for each other, but you have to see how this happens.

Anyway if you need or want a moment to escape and have a good time smiling and laughing, then you have to see this movie that I found surprisingly good.

Enjoy.

62nd Edinburgh International Film Festival

From June 18 to 29 this fest that always has interesting British movies will take place in Edinburgh. Here are some of the movies they will screen.

Opening Night Gala: The Edge of Love, John Maybury, UK, 2008 (yes, is “that” film with Kiera Knightley and Sienna Miller…we will soon find what they did with the story.)

British Gala
Better Things, Duane Hopkins ,UK, 2008
A Complete History of My Sexual Failures, Chris Waitt, UK, 2008
Donkey Punch, Oliver Blackburn, UK, 2007
Dummy, Matthew Thompson, 2008
Helen, Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor, UK and Ireland, 2008
Man on Wire, James Marsh, UK, 2008
Somers Town, Shane Meadows , UK, 2008
Stone of Destiny, Charles Martin Smith, UK and Canada, 2008
Summer, Kenny Glenaan, UK, 2008

A Selection from the Director’s Showcase
Gloss: The Director’s Cut, Andrei Konchalovsky, Russia, France and Belgium, 2007 (think Ugly Betty with a dose of new Russian capitalism… wow! This is the synopsis: With dreams of becoming a supermodel, feisty seamstress Galya leaves her small hometown and travels to Moscow, where she attempts to negotiate her way into the fashion industry. In this precarious new world of shallow celebrities, hardened criminals and dissolute politicians, will she ever appear on the cover of Beauty magazine? Veteran director Andrey Konchalovsky’s skilfully-crafted and energetic film is a colourful satire that goes further than The Devil Wears Prada ever dared…)
En la Ciudad de Sylvia (In the City of Sylvia), Jose Luis Guerin, Spain and France, 2007
The Kreutzer Sonata, Bernard Rose, USA, 2007
Avaze Gonejshk-ha (The Song of Sparrows), Majid Majidi, Iran, 2008

A Selection from the Gala Section
Before The Rains, Santosh Sivan, USA and India, 2007 (staring Nandita Das!!!)
Elegy, Isabel Coixet, USA, 2008 (the synopsis: Sexy, intelligent, sorrowful … and that's just Penelope Cruz. Adapted from Philip Roth's novel The Dying Animal, this exquisitely performed drama sees star Sir Ben Kingsley at his peerless best. He plays a professor who falls for Cruz's gorgeous grad student, only to find her sheer loveliness an impossible challenge to his ego. With Dennis Hopper and Patricia Clarkson in support, and confident direction from Isabel Coixet, this is seriously classy stuff.)

There are two retrospectives, one with films with Jeanne Moreau and another with films by Shirley Clarke. There are many more “new” movies in the different sections, some quite interesting, so if you want to check info about the movies go here.

Lucky those that live nearby the fest!!!

Cannes – Prix de l’Education Nationale

Finally today I was able to find in the official site of the Ministère Education Nationale the official press release about the winner of this year prize.

The story is not short but here goes a summary, on May 24 or 25 (I forgot) the news appeared with a movie honored with this prize. I was going to post it here, when suddenly another news appears telling that someone impersonated someone else and that the previous news were false, lol! So, I decided to wait until I find it in the official site and here it is.

“Dans le cadre de la 61ème édition du Festival de Cannes 2008, Robin Renucci, président du jury, a remis le Prix de l'Éducation nationale à « Tulpan », film de Sergey Dvortsevoy, en présence de Xavier Darcos, ministre de l'Éducation nationale, ainsi que de tous les membres du jury, en particulier de Prune Engler, sa vice-présidente.

Décerné par un jury composé de dix membres de la communauté professionnelle et éducative - six enseignants, deux professionnels et deux élèves majeurs - le Prix de l'Éducation nationale distingue, depuis 2003, à Cannes, un film de la Sélection officielle (Compétition et Un Certain Regard), signalé ainsi aux enseignants et aux élèves comme une œuvre forte, digne d'une attention particulière et susceptible de devenir un objet d'étude et de réflexion au sein de l'enseignement du cinéma au lycée.”

So, it is official the Prix de l’Education Nationale goes to Tulpan by Sergey Dvortesevoy.

To check the official press release go here.

61st Cannes Award Winners

A different look for the Cannes Award Winners

Palme d’Or: Entre Les Murs (The Class) by Laurent Cantet



Comments from the Jury

Marjane Satrapi, on the Palme d’Or:
"We all fell in love with it immediately. It's a film that goes beyond the bad neighborhoods, beyond school, to raise the real question of democracy, of all these people who live together. What's more, it doesn't give any answers. Often [in a film], you see a teacher who miraculously settles all the problems in the end. This film doesn't give any answers, but it contains all the questions that are troubling people. I'm also impressed by the quality of the acting and the obvious realism. I was a fervent admirer of this film."

Sean Penn on the Palme d’Or:
"One of the reasons that we agreed unanimously on the Palme d'Or – we start with the art of film. And in that integration and completeness of integration: virtually a seamless film. All of the performances: magic. All of the writing: magic. All of the provocations, and all of the generosity: magic. It's simply everything that you want film to give you. On top of that, because of the things that it takes on, and the issues that it confronts, and the timeliness of them, in a world that, everywhere you go, hungers for education and for a voice – it just touched us so deeply."

Alfonso Cuaron on the reach of the film:
“This is one of those rare films in which we’re talking about high cinema that you can share with really young audiences. That is what it has to say, in the world in which we are living. They are going to be the ones who will be in charge of finding solutions, in the very difficult world they are inheriting.”

Sergio Castellito on the Palme d’Or:
“As I watched this film, I thought of myself as a father, speaking to my son's teachers. That gives the film a universal social reach, without any loss to its poetry… It's a film that seems to have been shot live, that lasts two hours, and covers a one-year period. This narrative quality is amazing."

Grand Prize: Gomorra (Gomorrah), by Mateo Garrone



Also starring Toni Servillo!!!

Best Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan for Üç Maymun (Three Monkeys)



Absolutely a Must Be Seen!!!

Best Screenplay: Le Silence de Lorna (The Silence of Lorna)by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne



Jury Prize: Il Divo by Paolo Sorrentino



Of course Toni Servillo is also here!

Best Actress: Sandra Corveloni for Linha de Passe (Line of Passage) by Daniela Thomas and Walter Salles

To watch a clip of the movie go here or here.

Best Actor: Benicio del Toro for Che by Steven Soderbergh



To watch another clip of the movie go here. It is truly outstanding that was filmed in Spanish! Big Chapeau Mr. Soderbergh!!!

Actually the best site to watch clips of all the movies in Cannes, winners or not, plus interviews and reviews is arte.tv; to check the site go here.

2008 Cannes Awards Winners

Tonight at the closing ceremony they gave the In Competition Awards and as posted in the official festival site these are the winners.

Palme d’Or: Entre Les Murs (The Class), Laurent Cantet, France

Grand Prize: Gomorra (Gomorrah), Mateo Garronne, Italy
Jury Prize: Il Divo, Italy and France
Best Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan for ÜÇ Maymun (Three Monkeys), Turkey, France and Italy
Best Actress: Sandra Corveloni for Linha de Passe (Line of Passage), Daniela Thomas and Walter Salles, Brazil
Best Actor: Benicio del Toro for Che, Steven Soderbergh, Spain, USA and France
Best Screenplay: Jean Pierre et Luc Dardenne for Le Silence de Lorna (The Silence of Lorna), Belgium, Italy and France

61st Festival de Cannes Award goes to Catherine Deneuve and Clint Eastwood. President Sean Penn and the jurors awarded a Special Award of this 61st Festival de Cannes to the French actress Catherine Deneuve and director/actor Clint Eastwood for their careers.

For those interested in viewing the closing ceremony it will be posted soon here. Right now they only have videos for the red carpet arrival and when Sean Penn announces the Palme d’Or.

So, this is it until next year. There are many interesting films in this edition that I hope to be able to see them during this year and the beginning of next.

A Bientôt!!!

2008 Cannes – Caméra d’Or and Short Film Palme d’Or

These are the announcements for the most recent awards.

Awarded by the President of the Cinéfondation and Short Film Jury Hou Hsiao Hsien, the Palme d'Or for the Best Short Film went to Megatron by Marian Crisan (Romania). Special Mention was given to Jerrycan by Julius Avery (Australia).

Director Bruno Dumont, President of the Caméra d'Or Jury and Dennis Hopper awarded the Caméra d'Or to Hunger by Steve McQueen (UK) presented in Un Certain Regard. A Special Mention was granted to Everybody Dies But Me by Valeria Gaï Guermanika (Russia), presented in Critics Week.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I believe that it’s hard to review movie as has one of the most loved fictional characters of all times. There are so many viewers (and critics) that are die-hard fans of Indiana Jones that whatever anyone did with the character controversy was surely to arise.

If you browse the net for reviews and viewers comments you will find many that love the fourth installment, many that are in the middle (50/50), and many that didn’t enjoyed as much as they did the first installment or any of the other two. Then you have the ones that dissect the movie, the character, and almost every single scene and tell you about the good, the average and the bad.

So, let set the grounds for my comment about this movie. I’m no die-hard fan of Indiana Jones but of course I’ve seen all movies and I enjoyed them all as great entertainment. I’m no Indiana Jones scholar that will dissect the character as an icon representative of any pop culture; nope I would not do that for this movie or any other installment. Also, I would not complain about historic inaccuracies in this movie (even when I couldn't help to notice them) or any other installment. See, I have very clear that all Indy movies are fiction and their sole purpose is to create an escape moment by telling a good old fashion entertainment story with very good production values.

Within this context I have to say that the movie is good entertainment that starts with lots of fun action, goes into a slow entertainment moment that continues the story build up while introducing a new character (Indy III), pickups the pace and ends with stunning visual effects and tension at the climax in the circle scene.

Then I have to admit something else. The only reason I rushed to see this movie is Cate Blanchett! For months my desktop pic has been Cate’s photo by Annie Leibovitz as she looks so good. But I was worry because she was playing an evil character as I wonder if she could deliver, at least better than Nicole Kidman. Well, yes she does, as Irina Spalko looks and behaves in a credible way, even in that sequence when she’s fencing with Henry the third! I have to say thanks to Mr. Spielberg for such a good evil casting and for not killing her fast, as Blanchett’s character absolutely adds to viewing pleasure and entertainment.

See, I believe that a movie like this one you do not have to take it seriously, you do not have to think much while watching it and you will end up enjoying it a lot! That’s exactly what I tried to do and well, eventually I was able to stop thinking and just get into the movie/story and from that moment boy!, I just enjoyed the ride.

As a movie obviously is not bad at all. Cinematography is excellent, most special and visual effects are stunning, and tech specs are top notch. But then all is expected from one of the most successful entertainment duos of all times, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.

Of course I recommend this movie to all audiences and I just suggest that you find a comfortable seat at your nearest movie theater, sit down, RELAX, stop thinking and prepare yourself for a good entertainment ride. I had fun with this movie, so much that I know I will see it again and when the DVD comes out, yeah it’s going to my collection near the other three installments.

Enjoy!!!

2008 Cannes – Other Awards

The following are the press releases for other awards given outside the main competition.

The Ecumenical Jury Prize was awarded to Adoration by Atom Egoyan, presented in Competition. The six-member jury (made up of journalists, ministers, theologians, researchers, etc.), all members of the Christian faith, come from a variety of world cultures. The Ecumenical Jury Prize was created in 1974, in order to distinguish those works that "display human qualities and touch upon the spiritual existence.”

The 27th Prix de la Jeunesse (Youth Prize) went to Tulpan, by Kazakh director Sergey Dvortsevoy, presented in Un Certain Regard. This prize, created in 1982 by the French Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Community Organizations, is intended for emerging filmmakers. The young jurors' mission is to "look at cinema with new eyes and go out and discover as yet unknown authors and works.". The same young jury awarded two Regards Jeunes Prizes, to Eldorado by Bouli Lanners (Belgium/France), presented at Directors Fortnight, and to Everybody Dies Except Me by Valeria Gaï Guermanika (Russia), which screened at Critics Week.

The FIPRESCI (International Film Critics Federation) gave the International Critics Prize to Delta by the Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó, presented in Competition. Hunger, screening in Un Certain Regard and directed by Steve McQueen (UK), was also singled out for an award. Lastly, among the films in the parallel sections Directors Fortnight and Critics Week, the FIPRESCI gave its award to Eldorado by Bouli Lanners.

The 2008 Radio France-Culture Prize, which is awarded yearly to a filmmaker in recognition of his oeuvre or the strength of his commitment, went to actress-director Sandrine Bonnaire. This year, the Radio France-Culture jury was presided by actress Ariane Ascaride, and included, in particular, Gilles Jacob, president of the Festival de Cannes, Laure Adler, and Frédéric Mitterrand. Presenting the award, Ariane Ascaride noted that Sandrine Bonnaire "has made an indelible mark on French cinema." She expressed "total respect for her as an actress, a director, and a woman." "Everyone dreams of being your sister," added Ariane Ascaride, at a reception in a luxurious Cannes hotel hosted by Radio France president Jean-Paul Cluzel. In 2006, Sandrine Bonnaire directed Elle s'appelle Sabine ("Her Name is Sabine"), an intimate and committed documentary about autism and her sister. Presented in 2007 in Directors' Fortnight, a parallel section to the Festival, the film won the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize.

40th Directors’ Fortnight Awards

These are the awards winners of this parallel section.

Label Europa Cinemas for Best European Film: Eldorado, Bouli Lanners, Belgium and France
6th Regards Jeunes Prize: Eldorado, Bouli Lanners, Belgium and France
SACD Prize: Les Bureaux de Dieu (God's Offices), Claire Simon, France
CICAE Award: Slepe Lasky (Blind Loves), Juraj Lehotsky, Slovakia
FIPRESCI Prize: Eldorado, Bouli Lanners, Belgium and France

Un Regard Neuf (A Fresh Look) Short Film Prize: Muro, Tião, Brazil

To check the awards at their site go here.

Un Certain Regard Awards

Tonight at the closing ceremony the award winners were announced and here they are.

Un Certain Regard GAN Fondation Prize: Tulpan, Sergey Dvortsevoy, Germany, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Russia and Poland

Hope Prize: Johnny Mad Dog, Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, France, Belgium and Liberia
KnockOut Prize: Tyson, James Toback, USA
Jury Prize: Tokyo Sonata, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan
One-From-The-Heart Award: Wolke 9 (Cloud 9), Andreas Dresen, Germany

Cinéfondation Award Winners

This is a reproduction of the awards news for the Cinéfondation section.

The Cinéfondation Prizes, awarded to the best films from film schools all over the world, were announced on Friday in the Buñuel amphitheatre by the official Cinefoundation and Short Films Jury and its President, director Hou Hsiao Hsien from Taiwan.

First prize went to Elad Keidan from the Sam Spiegel Film and TV School – Israel for his film Himmon (Hymn).

Second Prize to Claire Burger of Femis – France for Forbach.

Third Prize was awarded jointly to Park Jae-ok from the Korean Academy of Film Arts, South Korea, for Stop, and Juho Kuosmanen from the University of Art and Design – Finland, for Kestomerkitsijät (Road Signs).

The President and the members of the Jury, Olivier Assayas, Suzanne Bier, Marian Hands and Larry Kardish stressed the exceptional quality of this year’s selection and encouraged all the young directors present to continue to develop their art.

This year the work done by the Cinéfondation to discover and support young directors through its various missions (Selection, Residence, Workshops) is reflected in the presence of no fewer than 11 Cinéfondation films in the various official selections.

The career of Kornél Mundruczò is particularly noteworthy – prizewinner in the Cinéfondation Selection 2004, selected for Un Certain Regard in 2005 and in Competition this year with Delta which he wrote while in Residence with Cinéfondation.

Also worthy of mention is the success of Aïda Bejic, supported by 'L'Atelier' 2007 for Snow, which has just received one of the prizes awarded before the official Prizes.

47th International Critics’ Week – Award Winners

I have to say that I’m sad that Cannes is about to come to an end, as I will miss all my activities around this Mother of all festivals. The first parallel section yesterday reached the finish line and announced the award winners and here they are.

Feature Films Awards

Critics’ Week Grand Prix: Snijeg (Snow), Aida Begic, Bosnia-Herzegovine, Germany, France and Iran.

SACD Award for Best Screenwriter: Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem and Pat Van Beirs for Aanrijding in Moscou (Moscow, Belgium), Christophe Van Ropaey, Belgium

ACID/CCAS Support Award: Aanrijding in Moscou (Moscow, Belgium), Christophe Van Ropaey, Belgium

OFAJ/TV5MONDE Young Critic Award: La Sangre Brota (Blood Appears), Pablo Fendrik, Argentina, France and Germany

Prix Regards Jeunes: Vse Umrut A Ja Ostanus (Everybody Dies But Me), Valeria Gaï Guermanika, Russia (A Must Be Seen!)

The Center of Film Writings Residence Award supports the directors discovered at Critics’ Week for the writing of their next film by offering two residencies. The winners will be announced in June.

Short Films Awards

Grand Prix Best Short Film: Next Floor, Denis Villeneuve, Canada
Kodak Discovery Award for Best Short Film: Skhizien, Jérémy Clapin, France

Still have to check the winners of the Grand Rail d’Or for best feature film and the Petit Rail d’Or for best short film, as are not announced yet at their site.

To check photos and more info go here. The short films presented in competition will be available on Vodmania for three weeks, so I suggest you check them fast here.

Enjoy the shorts!

Riparo (Shelter or Shelter Me)

This Marco S. Puccioni film tells about a couple that makes the worst possible mistake and allows a third person to come to live at their house, only to accentuate the couple multiple differences. But I also believe that is about power and about people that use money to buy people that need help.

The twist that the movie has is that two women form the couple and the third is a young Tunisian illegal alien, so you have a film that deals with two of the most crucial contemporary issues in Italy. But because of the power drama I think that the issues get lost, consequently losing the message that the director claims was his intention in many interviews I read.

But has something quite good, the performances by Antonia Liskovea that plays Mara, Maria de Mederios that plays Anna and Mounir Quadi that plays Anis are truly remarkable each with a very troubled character that have a hard time dealing with their complex and somehow contradictory lives. See Anna belongs to an upper class that does not tolerate her lifestyle, loves Mara but does not allow her to become part of her life; Mara is separated from her husband, her father is dying, is Anna’s lover and works at Anna’s family shoe factory in a manufacture line; and Anis is the typical young man that escapes his life at his country and with little knowledge of the new country language tries to easily find a new life, which obviously easily he will not find it.

As a movie is not bad as has nice cinematography that gives the movie an air of arty cinema, but does not really fit the style to become a normal European movie that tells a slice of life of the main characters. Still I believe that Puccioni and his actors did a good job, as you are able to engage with the story and the characters especially when you start to see how vulnerable each character is.

Not your usual genre film as I find that a regular couple could easily have substituted the two women couple and the story could have work the same. So, I think that this award winner film in some festivals is not for all that like the genre; you also have to like European dramas.

I liked the movie but I wouldn’t called a masterpiece; to me was an okay entertaining European movie.

Enjoy!!

Каток и скрипка, Katok i skripka (The Steamroller and the Violin)

Not very often I will comment about short films here, but this is one that deserves a post here and more. This short film by Andrei Tarkovsky is his thesis film that earned him his diploma at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) and the grade of отличный (excellent) that was the highest possible distinction.

No matter what I read about this short film (most claim that is not a good Tarkovsky) I need to mention that I definitively do not agree and I mention for your consideration that the unit for children’s films of the Mosfilm studio produced the short even when it was a student short film. The excellence of this short plus the above fact has to mean how even in his beginnings his outstanding work was recognized, including by the major studio in the USSR. So please do not think that this is not a masterpiece as absolutely it is.

Let me reproduce Tarkovsky words regarding this short.

“It will be a short-feature film. My original idea was not to use this screenplay for a full-length feature - that would ruin the entire composition. The story in the film is very simple. The action takes place within one day, the dramaturgy is without sharp conflicts, it is non-traditional. Its main characters are a young worker driving a steamroller at a road construction and a young sensitive boy who is learning to play the violin. They become friends. Those two people, so different in every respect, complement and need one another.

Although it's dangerous to admit - because one doesn't know whether the film will be successful - the intent is to make a poetic film. We are basing practically everything on mood, on atmosphere. In my film there has to be the dramaturgy of image, not of literature. I offered the role of the worker to Vladimir Zamyansky, an actor from the youngest and perhaps most interesting theater "Sovremennik." The little Sasha is played by a seven-year old music school student, Igor Fomchenko. I am very happy with them.”

The short tells like Tarkovsky says about the friendship that grows between little Sasha and the worker and the short is totally inconsequential if you see it only for the story, that by the way was co written by Tarkovsky and fellow student Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky. But according to me the story is about contrasts, about art and labor or if you wish “the spiritual” and “the material”. Totally Tarkovsy.

To me this short is absolute Tarkovsky as here you can see his themes, methods and ideas. You have the dream scene, water falling as rain and the takes of the water in the street, the demolition scene, the boy playing violin for the worker in the alley, camera angles, reflections, pace, lighting, texture, etc. all are here and they seem to be taken care almost to perfection.

This is a masterpiece short that most film students have to wish to emulate, one that those that love Tarkvosky have to see, one that with the children story is very accessible to all audiences and a must be seen to all that enjoy serious cinema.

Big Enjoy!!!

Yella

This quite strange movie by Christian Petzold has a clean and clear look within a very dark situation that you will never see in the screen but will feel at all times. You may suspect there is something else, you see all the elusive relations to water, the sound and Yella losing her blank face with a pain alike grimace… and if when you see this movie you feel like what I been describing you will be absolute right, as this movie is about two or three dark things.

First it is important that you’re familiar with Germany geography as Yella lives in East Germany, finds a job in West Germany and when she tries to cross the old border, the Elbe, something happens that probably has happened to many Germans nowadays when there is only one Germany. This is related to the quest of having more than whatever you have now, to succeed, looking forward to go on with your life while trying to forget your past, and moving like a senseless robot in this nowadays senseless way of life doing whatever you have to do, no mater what. Touching as even if here is Germany, in reality it applies almost everywhere.

Second dissects the western way of doing business in a very straightforward way that truly impacts, especially if you are or were involved in any job related to business transactions. Brilliantly disgusting!

Then there is a lot of fantasy in the all so real world you see in the screen, but with the somehow expected end (I figure it out earlier in the movie, but then I have seen Gespenster the second installment of this trilogy) everything comes into place as a total irony according to me.

The movie is impeccable, with a nice pace, good cinematography that emphasizes the clean and empty outdoors plus the incredibly good performance by Nina Hoss that plays Yella and is almost in every single scene of the movie wearing a red blouse that totally contrasts with the bland surroundings creating a hypnotic effect. Amazing!

The movie was in competition at the 2007 Berlinale where Nina Hoss won the Silver Bear for Best Actress, the movie and Nina as well as Hans Fromm the cinematographer had other wins and nominations in other German fests and awards. If you browse the blog you will find more info including a post with the synopsis as I have been waiting to see this movie for more than a year and it was worth the wait.

I believe that this is a very intellectual exercise that some critics comment is not entertaining; well, it may not be the usual entertainment but definitively it did entertain me for quite a while and left me thinking a lot about many things. Still I understand that this movie is not for all audiences, you have to like art cinema with what seems like banal situations running in the screen and be able to read between the lines, otherwise you will be bore to death by this movie as many that have seen it say.

But if you want to spend about an hour and a half with a strange and interesting proposition about life, then this movie is for you.

Enjoy!!!

Jodhaa Akbar

I’m torn with this movie, as I did like it a lot (have seen it twice) but at the same time I find that to my western eyes is not as entertaining as for example Guru, Umrao Jaan or even the light Dhoom:2. Why? Well the beginning of the movie with those many not interesting battles almost killed me and almost made me stop the movie.

Is not that I do not like epic battles in movies, I do. I just love most Japanese and Chinese movies with those grandiose battles that look like a choreographed dance between rivals. Okay I do not like most American movies battles as most go for the fierce and violent confrontations that appeal to many but not to me. So, I think that battles here while not violent as in American films, are not as beautiful to watch as in other eastern movies. They are boring.

But when Jalaluddin (aka Akbar) grows up and the romance story starts to be told the movie becomes not only one of the most interesting romance stories with historic consequences, but also seeing Aish and Hrithik together is an incredible experience of beautiful people together, with outstanding performances (eastern style) and strong screen presence.

The movie loosely based on historic events tells about the Muslim emperor that rudely conquered India and with the help of a marriage of convenience to Hindu and Rajput princess Jodhaa decides to allow religious tolerance in India between Muslims and Hindus. The movie centers in how Jalaluddin (Hrithik Roshan) wins the heart of strong willed Jodhaa (Aishwarya Rai Bacharan) and as is told at the end of the movie, about how Jodhaa in silence influences Jalaluddin historical decisions. So, is a love story about two people with different cultures and religions that because of love change the history of a world’s region.

I suggest that if you’re familiar with that region history, do not look for historic accuracy as you will not find it here, and its inaccuracy has been the cause of many incidents in different regions of India (was banned in many places) and many viewers displeasure with the movie.

Cinematography is spectacular as always is in Bollywood movies and I just missed more beautiful dances, as the film has mostly very nice songs. The sets are unbelievable beautiful as well as the colorful costumes. This movie is truly a feast to your eyes.

I don’t have to say that Aish looks so beautiful as most of you will believe that I’m biased, but truly there are so many scenes where you cannot believe how beautiful she is and looks, but also how great an actress she can be. Just loved her choreographed sword fights (remember her in the Last Legion?) that become beautiful dances! But I have to say the same about Hrithik, in this movie he is so handsome and beautiful that hurts your eyes! His performance is totally a surprise to me, as I have seen him only in light movies, but here he really performs well and creates such chemistry with Aish that seldom you can see in romance movies from allover the world.

This movie will surely become a classic in Bollywood cinema, as is a movie of epic dimensions, I just wished that they would have made the battles more interesting to watch and then this movie will have been a big 10 for me. Still, as I say in the beginning I loved this movie!

I strongly recommend this movie to all that like Bollywood movies and to those that still have to discover how good Bollywood movies can be. If you get bored as me with the battles, I suggest you fast forward to when Aish and Hrithik characters are older.

Big Enjoy!!! (Skipping the battles)

Cannes - Tony Manero - Quinzaine

A glimpse at this movie... gee looks so pathetic that I have to see this movie!!!

Sarkar Raj - Trailer

Since now I'm into posting trailers, I could not resist posting these trailers for very obvious reasons, lol!





Well, Aish is using her married name in this movie: Aishwarya Bachchan and June 2008 looks now very promising!!!

Cannes – Ashes of Time Redux

Is not that I needed reassurance but after reading some reviews about the premiere of the work of a young Wong Kar-wai, I know that I have to see this film. Check some comments.

"For Hong Kong, it was the decade from the mid-80s to the mid-90s, when directors like Tsui Hark and John Woo were revitalizing the crime film, and when young Wong Kar-wai was revolutionizing the misty romance. At the time, Hong Kong also had perhaps the world's greatest roster of glamorous stars, and prominent among them were Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, the two Tony Leungs, Jacky Cheung, Carina Lau and Charlie Young. All of them are in Wong's 1994 martial-arts reverie Ashes of Time, which had a special screening last night in a version revised by the director."

"The first surprise about Wong Kar-wai's revamped, re-edited and rescored version of his 1994 cult wuxia classic Ashes of Time is just how little has been changed," writes Lee Marshall in Screen Daily. "The second is how much these minor tweaks still have helped clarify the Hong Kong auteur's interpretation of Louis Cha's historical fantasy novel The Eagle-Shooting Hero, confirming that his most poetic, experimental film belongs not in the curiosity cabinet but on the big screen."

"Wong was not content merely to repeat or reinvigorate the genre when he began shooting Ashes of Time more than 15 years ago, but decided to reinvent it completely," writes Peter Brunette in the Hollywood Reporter. "[O]ne wonders what fecundity of imagination - or perversity of artistic willfulness - it took to shoot a costume epic that is made up almost entirely of dark rooms, close-ups and tightly constricted long shots... Wong's obsessive themes of memory, the irretrievability of the past and the impossibility of love, trump those of the traditional wuxia film, which tend to deal more with honor and the indomitability of the spirit."

"The original 1994 Ashes, which I haven't seen (it's available in a poorly done DVD version) apparently didn't make much sense, and it certainly doesn't now, but, lord, is it a vision to behold - a wuxia film turned into an abstract expressionist action painting," writes the Boston Globe's Ty Burr.

But this comment totally “kills” me.

“In the end we are left with the feeling that Wong has simply restored, rather than revisited, one of the most remarkable works of his career. Ashes Of Time uses its wuxia source material as a peg on which to hang a ravishing study in displaced, frustrated desire and loneliness, with a star-studded cast at their prime (Maggie Cheung has never looked more beautiful, or Tony Leung Ka-fai more tragically romantic). The drifters that pass through the film's remote desert locus are bound together by the film's narrator, the late Leslie Cheung, playing a world-weary agent who, for a fee, puts clients in touch with swordsmen-for-hire. Four years after Cheung's suicide, Ashes Of Time Redux reminds us of what a fine actor he was.”

Absolutely a must be seen for me!!!

Hîrtia va fi Albastrã (The Paper Will Be Blue)

By now most of you know that I do like to discover recent new Romanian cinema films and my last discovery is this Radu Muntean film set on the evening of Nicolae Ceauşescu's fall that tells about a night patrol of a militia unit that with a malfunctioning radio is patrolling a Bucharest suburb, but young recruit Costi wants them to defend the TV station and when the lieutenant does not agree, he leaves the unit to go by himself. From that moment on you get a glimpse at what probably happened during that night from a different point of view, the view of the armed forces.

Basically is a tale about how communications rule today’s armed conflicts (against taking physical spaces) and when you fail to communicate only chaos, confusion, uncertainty and dead comes. As a matter of fact I was all confused and had no idea of who was fighting against whom and I truly believe that was done totally on purpose to allow you viewer to live the moment.

Besides the beginning (that actually is the end) there is no violence in this movie, as the story is told almost like in real time and with on-purpose banalities to let you know about and care for the main characters. Then the cinematography is dark, grainy with umbral quality that only contributes to the confusion –does not even allow you to clearly identifying the characters in the beginning- and gives at times the feeling of a documentary. But as the story moves on, the cinematography changes to facilitate the more clearly identification of everyone and everything.

Have to admit that this is one of the rare occasions I had to really enjoy a movie with “the other side” vision and because the way Muntean decided to tell the story and how he film it, this extraordinary opportunity became a cinematic pleasure. BRAVO! The movie truly is a sedative hypnotic tale that will keep your eyes glue to the screen, so be aware that the pace is slow and there is not much really happening in the screen… but you get to feel everything that’s happening in that night until the early morning.

It is truly amazing what Muntean was able to do with this movie that can make you smile, laugh and even cry, but most of all it will make you feel confused and uncertain, probably as confused and uncertain as most people who lived that night were. BIG CHAPEAU!!!

The movie has some wins in film festivals and some nominations including being in competition at the 2006 Locarno fest for the Golden Leopard.

I tend to think that this movie could be for all audiences, but I know that not all audiences are opened to see armed forces movies were there is no “action”; so I believe that the movie is suited for those that like arty movies. Perhaps this movie is the easiest to watch from those magnificent movies that belong to the new Romanian cinema wave and if you haven’t tried any of the ones I have seen before, perhaps this is the one to start.

I’m sharing with you that my Romanian has improved beyond what I could ever imagine and by know I understand a lot better the language and consequently the story, at least more than with the many times bad subtitles, this obviously adds to viewing pleasure.

I highly recommend this movie to all that -like me- are in the quest to find movies that belong to the new Romanian cinema.

Big Enjoy!!!

P.S. I just want to record here that there is another movie by Muntean called Furia, 2002.

Cannes Tribute

This post is dedicated to a dearest friend and to the body of work of this extraordinary director.

Tribute to Manoel de Oliveira

On the occasion of Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira’s 100th birthday, the Festival de Cannes will pay a tribute on Monday, May 19th, to the man who has been part of a century of cinema.

On the stage of the Grand Théâtre Lumière, in the presence of Clint Eastwood and many other directors, the tribute will start with the screening of a film by Gilles Jacob: One Day in Manoel de Oliveira’s Life (9’). The director will then be presented with a Palme d’Or for his lifetime achievement. The event will end with the screening of his first film, Labor on the Douro River (18’).

The Portuguese director will attend the event with his wife and his grandson, Ricardo Trépa. Other guests will be Ms. Christine Albanel, Minister of Culture and Communication, Mr. Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, the European Ministers of Culture, Mr. Joao Bénard Da Costa, Director of the Portuguese Film Library and Michel Piccoli and his wife.

Cannes Trailer - Sanguepazzo

Check this trailer from Sanguepazzo starring Monica Bellucci.



This is a must be seen for me!

Sappho

I got interested in this movie because two reasons, one because it claimed to be inspired by the life of Sappho and her poems, and two because it was a film from Ukraine and I have limited knowledge of their cinema.

Well the movie is not bad, it is AWFUL. Not only the story is terribly developed and totally fragmented, but also as a movie is truly-truly dreadful with what could have been nice cinematography spoiled by terrible use of light and the most awful performances by unknown actors speaking English as it has a British unknown director with the name of Robert Crombie.

If you’re familiar with Sappho’s probable life you know that the story does not have a happy ending and well it is a very interesting story; but here they just destroy it with the most awful dialogues and the worst part is the main actress doing Sappho’s poetry and sounding totally silly.

Then the movie looks like an old fashion ‘70s soft porn movie with the most unappealing sex scenes that are supposed to be love scenes; in this context I believe that the original Emmanuelle was a lot better than this one even if I see it today, many decades after I saw it for the first time.

I cannot recommend this movie, it is really bad and if you still want to give it a try just because it totally belongs to the genre, do it at your own risk.

19th Ankara International Film Festival Award Winners

Not long ago this festival was held in Ankara, Turkey and since I do like Turkish cinema (wish I could see more) here are the award winners for this year.

Best Film: Riza, Tayfun Pirselimoğlu
Mahmut Tali Ongoren Special Award: Mutluluk (Bliss), Abdullah Oğuz
Best Director: Tayfun Pirselimoğlu for Riza
Onat Kutlar Best Script Award: Fatih Akin for Yasamin Kiyisinda (The Edge of Heaven)

To check all the movies, shorts and documentaries go here. Strangely enough they do not have the award winners in the site, but you’ll find information about all films in the festival. The list of all the award winners is here.

Closing The Ring

This Richard Attenborough film looks and feels like an “old-fashion” movie with a portrait of endless love that will take you back and forth in time from the ‘40’s to the 90’s, it is a bittersweet melodrama that some will find moving while others will dismiss as bland and hardly credible.

Basically there are four stories running simultaneously, two in Ireland and two in Branagan, Michigan; then two are happening in the early 40’s and two in the early ‘90’s. Obviously all stories are connected and lead to one simple story that perhaps if the director had chosen to tell without moving in time, it could have been simpler to follow but definitively it would have been less interesting. Tells the story of a woman, Ethel and three close friends that love her, but she really loves Teddy, a man that her parents would not approve. The simple story is about digging up the past both literally and figuratively, about coming to terms with life, and the need to honor the promises we make.

The story is told via flashbacks from the older characters with Shirley MacLaine playing widowed Ethel and have to say that is quite different to be able to see her performing a non-likeable character as her character is absolutely sour, grumpy and well, disgusting. Then you have Christopher Plummer playing older Jack and his performance is acceptable, as well as all the younger characters played by Misha Barton (Ethel), Gregory Smith (Jack), Stephen Amell (Teddy) and David Alpay (Chuck). Then the same applies to the Irish side of the story performances where you have Pete Postlethwaite playing Michael Quinlain, John Travers as young Quinlain, Marint McCann as Jimmy Reilly, and Brenda Flicker as Grandma Reilly.

Not a cinema masterpiece but one that could touch the emotions of especially adults that like movies liked the Notebook. The movie had two nominations at the Irish Awards.

I cannot say that I didn’t like it, I enjoy it as a period drama with good production values and well, truth is that I shred at least one tear at the end when Shirley MacLaine’s character becomes human, even do I couldn’t help thinking that the make you feel good ending it was too Hollywood for me.

Enjoy a little…

Cannes 2008 Trailers

This special post is especially dedicated to my photographer friend, but hope that everyone can enjoy it.

Il Divo


Waltz with Bashir


Un Conte de Noël



A Festa da Menina Morta - Un Certain Regard



Ting Che (Parking) - Un certain regard



L'Etranger en Moi - Semaine de la Critique



La Frontière de l'Aube



La Mujer Sin Cabeza



ÜÇ Maymun (Three Monkeys)



The Pleasure of Being Robbed - Quinzaine



Rumba - Semaine de la Critique




Enjoy!

Bandits

This 1997 film by Katja von Garnier tells the story of four women that while in prison form a rock band and eventually are able to escape from prison only to become a successful rock band (you guessed the band's name: bandits)that everyone loves… including me!

Well the story has to be taken as a fantasy as is very hard to believe, but the great performances plus the music makes this film one that you just cannot get your eyes from the screen or from the lead Jasmin Tabatabai that some of you may remember from her great performance in Unveiled.

Tabatabai plays Luna the rebel and lead singer and she sings for real! Attractive Nicolette Krebitz plays Angel the weakest link and guitar player, Jutta Hoffmann plays Marie the oldest and piano player, and Katja Riemann plays Emma the cerebral, cool and drums player. But they were serving time for: Luna for robbery; Angel for fraud and bigamy; Marie for poisoning her husband, and Emma for shooting a man that beat her. So this quartet is not sweet.

This is like a long music video that the director plus the editing made it not only interesting to watch (even if it has a thin story) but also made it truly hypnothic.

Not a masterpiece but who can resist a movie with four female leads? Not me, besides the film has 4 wins and 4 nominations in festivals and awards mainly in Germany, but also in USA and Japan.

The film is a little crazy, loud (one or two songs are soft) and with a lot of visual movement and effects, so it is not suited for all audiences but for those that really like movies than resemble music videos, not a great story, good performances and lots of music.

I just wish I could get hold of the movie soundtrack, as I liked how Tabatabai sings; that's why instead of the movie poster I posted the cd cover.

Enjoy!!

Cannes Openning Ceremony

This is the link to the video of the Opening Ceremony that is about 30 minutes long.


Ceremonie d ouverture Cannes 2008

The best part is the medley of many movies that will be screened during the festival. My impression is that there are too many American movies in this edition, but it is interesting to find that Che is in Spanish, think I'm going to like the South Korea movie, the Vicky Cristina Barcelona looks very promissing if most dialogue is like the clip, Kun Fun Panda looks nice, and of course I know I'll like (if not love) Nuri Bilge Ceylan movie. There are so many clips that I'm sure I'm missing more comments but I have to say that there was a special second where they showed Aish in the audience, as well as always beautiful Cate Blanchett.

Enjoy!!!

Cannes Red Carpet

For those that want to see a brief summary of the always crazy Cannes Red Carpet, check the video here. Yes, there are a few seconds with Aish! Strange to find out that she's about the same height as Eva Longoria... hmmm.


Grand Journal 14/05 : Montee des Marches

As soon as I get the link for the Opening Ceremony, I'll posted here too.

Dek Hor (Dorm)

Not very often I decide to watch a movie with the horror label but I felt that today was a good –as any other- day to try a Thai horror movie. I think I understand why the movie is described as a horror film and find totally related to marketing purposes as horror is in high demand in Asia; see, the story has some scary moments mainly due to the music and not what you see in the screen but that was all. This is no horror movie.

This Songyos Sugmakanan film is a fantasy/drama about a father that makes his kid go to a boarding school where like in many schools kids welcome him with ghost stories. The fantasy is that he can see the ghost of another student that died at the school. But everything is just a metaphor to growing-up, learning about friendship and learning to forgive your parents.

What makes this movie very interesting is the lead character Ton (Chalee Trairat) that not only is a very cute kid but delivers a great performance as a shy kid, but all the children performances are very credible, including the one that is a ghost.

The movie is quite unusual as has very high production values and an extraordinary cinematography that is clearly seen with the few daytime scenes and with the indoor and night scenes where you can see that the director totally plays with light and music to create very nice takes and the movie mood. There is one outstanding scene that is quite beautiful to watch even when it tells about the ghost student dying everyday at the same time, but you have to see it to understand how magnificent something like that could be.

The movie won the Crystal Bear at the 2007 Berlinale and the Junior Prize at the 2007 Cannes; has other awards and nominations allover the world. I could say that this movie is suited for all audiences, but I believe that those that really like horror movies will be disappointed with it. Then the movie could be a must be seen for those interested in getting to know good arty Thai Cinema.

Enjoy!!

The Savages

This film written and directed by Tamara Jenkins takes a different look at families with problems when tells about two siblings that have to deal with their estranged and sick father that they haven’t seen for many years. The difference is that is told with a simple story with no dramatics and some humor; yet, you can see and feel how difficult is everything for everyone. Then in my opinion the story is more about educated damaged adults that have a hard time dealing with all kinds of relationships due to a damage childhood.

What the movie really has is two outstanding performances by Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman, not only they’re absolutely credible, but also their characterizations allow you to understand beyond what is said and you end up with excellent character development via their silent performances too. Consequently this also means that the director was able to extract from her actors two magnificent performances and for this and a well written screenplay I say chapeau to Jenkins.

Laura Linney got an Oscar nomination for this role at the 2008 Academy Awards and she totally deserves it; I just cannot understand why Philip Seymour Hoffman didn’t got one too for this role, but then I remember that he got an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Charlie Wilson’s War, so perhaps they gave him the Oscar more for his body of work during 2007 than for that specific role that impressed me less than his role here. Tamara Jenkins was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 2008 Academy Awards. All three have other wins and nominations in many fests and awards allover the world.

This multiple award film is one that adult audiences that enjoy a well done smart written and straight forward drama with excellent performances will surely like as much as I did.

Enjoy!!!

20th NewFest

From June 5 to 15 this fest will take place in New York City and here are some of the films and docs they will screen

2 Mums and a Dad, directed by Miranda Wills. NYC Premiere. Documentary. A lesbian couple co-parenting with a single gay man run into serious problems.

Affinity, directed by Tom Fywell. NYC Premiere. Narrative. The latest adaptation of the work of acclaimed author Sarah Waters finds a woman falling in love with an imprisoned spiritualist.

Butch Jamie, directed by Michelle Ehlen. NYC Premiere. Narrative. Gender-bender comedy in which a butch actress is cast as a man

Don't Go, directed by Amber Sharp. Narrative. Melrose Place meets The L Word in the smart multi-cultural ensemble drama.

Drifting Flowers, directed by Zero Chou. NYC Premiere. Narrative. The interconnected stories of three Taiwanese women living in different times.

In Sickness and In Health, directed by Pilar Prassas. NYC Premiere. Documentary. A lesbian couple suing for marriage rights find themselves confronting a terminal illness.

This Kiss, directed by Kylie Eddy. NYC Premiere. Narrative. Former high school best friends confront old and new demons when they reunite after ten years.

Love My Life, directed by Koji Kawano. NYC Premiere. Narrative. A romantic comedy in which college student girlfriends face pressures from school, family, and society.

The New World, directed by Etienne Dhaene. NYC Premiere. Narrative. A lesbian couple tries to have a baby in this charming comedy.

Out Late, directed by Beatrice Alda & Jennifer Brooke. NYC Premiere. Documentary. Portraits of people who waited until their 50s, 60s, and even 70s to come out as LGBT.

No End, directed by Roberto Cuzzillo. US Premiere. Narrative. A cancer scare threatens a lesbian couple's plans for motherhood.

Searching 4 Sandeep, directed by Poppy Stockell. NYC Premiere. Documentary. An Australian lesbian begins an online relationship with a closeted British Sikh woman.

The Secrets, directed by Avi Nesher. NYC Premiere. Narrative. In a Jewish women's seminary, two women explore forbidden desires after they help a dying French woman (Fanny Ardant).

Seeds of Summer, directed by Hen Lasker. NYC Premiere. Documentary. A filmmaker returns to where she first fell in love with a woman: combat training in the Israeli army.

Sugar Rush, directed by Sean Grundy. US Premiere. Narrative. 15-year-old Kim has a desperate crush on her sexy and fabulous best friend, Maria Sweet, AKA Sugar.

The World Unseen, directed by Shamim Sarif. NYC Premiere. Narrative. An unexpected love develops between two Indian women against the backdrop of the beginnings of apartheid in 1950s South Africa.

The complete program will be on the fest site next May 16, so check for it here after that date.

La Banquière (The Woman Banker)

This Francis Girod film is simple, light and very cynic that tells the story of a very strong woman that went from rags to riches only to fall hard because she became a threat to men in many ways.

Set in the so-called French “les annees folles” (or crazy years –between the two wars) tells about very unconventional Emma Eckhert (Romy Schneider) that from being a hat shop clerk becomes a very successful (yet pitiless) banker thanks to the help of her lover Camille (Noëlle Chatelet) millions and her successful playing with the stock exchange. But when she decides to share her wealth with her customers and gives an 8% interest rate while the other bankers give 1%, she becomes the banker to beat and that’s exactly what Horace Vanister (Jean-Louis Trintignant )does with the help of upper financial authorities. She discovering that she likes men and falling for Rémy Lecoudray (Daniel Mesguich) only marks her downfall.

As a film probably today is not easy to watch as recalls French cinema of a different time, but it is considered one of Girard’s best and a classic within French cinema. One of the many things you will find here is a special care to set and costumes details that really look and feel like France in les annees folles.

I have been wanting to see this film because one reason, I’m a huge fan of Romy Schneider since I was a little kid and was exposed to her Sissi movies and that’s a long-long time ago. So, do not be surprised if I say that I liked a lot this movie mainly because Schneider’s performance is quite interesting, as this is a portrait of a strong character when in most of her movies she portrayed fragile characters. Besides she really has a great performance here that won her a César for Best Actress.

Most interesting was to find that the ficticious Emma Eckhert is a thin disguise for Marthe Hanau a real life banker who defrauded French financial markets in the 1930s. Reading about Hanau I found many similarities with the fictional character like her hunger strike and the claims that she could return all the money, among many others. Also there is a book about this movie that is called “La Banquière Sur un scénario de Georges Conchon Récit de Jean Noli et Eric Chanel” that unfortunately there are no references in the net, but found that explains all the relation between history (Marthe Hanau) and the creation of the fictional character. For those that read French here is an excerpt from the book.

"Ainsi est né le scénario du film de Francis Girod : "La banquière". L'histoire était trop belle, trop riche en rebondissements, en péripéties d'amour, de haine , de mort pour la laisser aux seuls cinéastes, pour n'en pas faire un livre. C'est pourquoi nous avons demandé à un écrivain, Jean Noli et à un économiste, Eric Chanel, de raconter à leur manière cet exceptionnel destin de femme qui donne à l'entre-deux-guerres une image nouvelle : derrière la bonhomie des banquets radicaux sourd, la violence."

Another outstanding fact about this 1980 movie is that it has many well-known great French actors that were already sacred in French cinema like Jean-Lois Trintignant, Marie-France Pisier, Claude Brasseur, among others and two actors that not only look very young but obviously were in their way to become very honored and famous: Daniel Auteuil and Thierry Lhermite. Trintignant’s performance is spectacular especially when he plays a non-likable character.

Well, yes this is a lesbian interest film, as the main character is lesbian (until she finds she likes one man…), there are some lesbian scenes (mainly in the beginning) and there are two or three (the woman in the photo) lovers shown within the story. But the story is not centered on this situation and I feel that depicts the character sexual preference as one of the many threats to men, which they tolerate because the character has power as a successful banker. Just check the beginning when she was not famous, that shows even people in the street rejecting her for her sexual preference. So, it is not a very nice portrayal of a powerful woman and as far as I could read about Marthe Hanau she was not particularly lesbian, consequently it was added by the screenplay to perhaps justify why the character was so strong and successful, as actually the whole character resembles more a man than a woman. Still, there is one shot that is worth the whole movie, to be able to see Romy Schneider dressed in a white tuxedo!

Anyway, I believe that most that like the genre will not necessarily like this film, but if you are a Romy Schneider fan –like me-, if you care about classic French films and if you enjoy French period dramas with an outstanding cast then this is a film that you have to watch.

Enjoy!!

P.S. As a comment I have included a detailed synopsis of the story in the film that totally spoils the movie, but I wanted to save it here. Is in French.

Sans Moi

This is a very strange film by Olivier Panchot mainly because the way he decided to tell the story about a divorced woman with two children that hires a nanny to help her with the kids, as she works at home. As soon as Lise, the nanny, comes into Anna’s life she is totally seduced by her and what follows is like an orchestrated ballet full of sensuality told basically by sights.

This is a free adaptation of a novel by Marie Desplechin and is free because in the novel the story is told from the young girl point of view, while in the movie Panchot decided to tell the story from the older woman point of view. Perhaps because of all the changes the story feels fragmented and you can hardly explain or understand the character motives. At the end it is supposed to be an essay about loneliness, but according to me is a story about falling in love with someone up to the point of obsession and never act upon your feelings, until you go absolutely mad.

Nevertheless is a very beautiful movie to watch, as the cinematography is fantastic with outstandingly beautiful views of Paris and many outdoors and indoor takes with excellent framing and lighting. In a way it seems that Panchot paid more attention to the images (which to me is excellent) and less attention to the story he was telling.

Still the two actresses performances are amazing with Yaël Abecassis playing an Anna that starts so assertive and transforms herself as the attraction consumes her; then Clémence Poésy looks and behaves like a normal young girl, until her life mysteries unravel right before our eyes. By the way some of you may recognize Poésy as she was in one Harry Potter movie playing Fleur Delacour. Okay Lise character double life is somehow too much to be believable, but I think is because the changes from the novel.

Not an easy movie to watch and even if is totally lesbian interest I know that many that enjoy the genre will not like this movie. The best reference is if you enjoyed La Tourneuse de Pages (The Page Turner) then perhaps you will like this strange movie that is not a thriller but mostly a sensuous drama.

Enjoy.

An American Crime

What a terrible and horrific story this movie tells, is so sickening that it becomes almost unbelievable that this story happened, but then is based in the real life Indiana 1965 crime by a housewife, her children and other children.

So why would I be interested in watching such an awful story that the movie title clearly suggests that is going to be a crime story? Well, Ellen Page plays Sylvia Likens the girl that is tortured for months until she dies of brain hemorrhage, shock, and malnutrition. I may be biased as after Juno and Hard Candy, I’m just crazy about this young actress, but I find that her performance as a victim is quite interesting even when her character in the movie was possibly toned down from what the real life girl had to live. Even when I do believe that showing more real incidents would have made this story more disturbing, I do regret that the screenplay co written by director Tommy O’Haver decided to not exploit more Ellen Page’s dramatic abilities.

I couldn’t help reading more about the real life crime and what I found is an even worst account than what the movie tells. Again, telling everything more close to reality would have been awfully disturbing, but it would have been more accurate and could have made a more impact full story. When I say this I’m thinking about a terrible crime movie that most of you probably have seen: In Cold Blood that told the awful crime with more accuracy and spectacular cinematography; consequently touched people more. Unfortunately this movie lacks cinematic values and the story stays in the surface, detaching viewers who become only spectators.

I can't believe I’m deconstructing this movie, but honestly the only value this movie has is the story it tells and well, Ellen Page, as I didn’t liked Catherine Keener performance and I blame the director for that.

This is a movie that probably ended up in the “to avoid” list of many and I suggest you keep it there. But if you like Ellen Page performances, you have to see it.

Meet Bill

I was in the mood to see something different so I decided to give this movie a try as was screened at the Toronto Film Festival. Basically it starts very promising but then nothing much happens, except more of the same basic slapstick humor in a screwball comedy.

Tells about a sedate and obedient guy that finally sees that he’s living a worthless life and decides to change everything, but you won’t be able to see how he changes as it takes him the whole movie to realize that he is a loser.

I wasn’t expecting a totally comedy and during the movie I was hoping the drama part could start, but it never did. Also I have no idea what Jessica Alba is doing in this movie as the character she plays could have been played by any unknown actress and would have been the same. As a movie is average and the camera is basic concentrated in the characters and nothing else.

Think that the natural target of this movie could be men that perhaps could enjoy it more than women. But unless you enjoy the classic American humor in most teenager movies, you should skip this movie. No, I didn’t like it at all.

El Baño del Papa (The Pope’s Toilet)

This is a charming story about smuggling between the Uruguay and Brazil border and the 1988 real life Pope’s visit to Melo, where the very poor inhabitants were hoping for thousands of visitors and to make some money they decided to invest everything they had into providing food, drinks and souvenirs. One man decides that if the many visitors are going to eat and drink they’ll need to refresh themselves and with many sacrifices decides to build a toilet.

This César Charlone and Enrique Fernández film (they also wrote the screenplay) is not great but is quite entertaining and most interesting is to learn that Fernández was 10 years old, living in Melo and the story he narrates is inspired in his real life neighbor and all the Melo inhabitants.

As a movie I find it average, there is nothing outstandingly good or bad; the actors and non-actors performances are acceptable and with the magnificent outdoor views I just wish they had worked better the cinematography.

The movie was screened at the 2007 Un Certain Regard and has 10 wins and many accolades in fests allover the world. I’m thinking about the natural target for this movie and the only thing I could think of is that will please those that like Latin American cinema with bittersweet stories. To me this movie was a little bit depressing, even when there are some laughs and has a hopeful ending.

Enjoy a little…

Nostalghia - Ностальгия (Nostalgia)

Today I had to see a great outstanding film and I chose to see Andrei Tarkovsky Nostalghia. I never expected to see such a wonderful masterpiece and one of Tarkovsky most impressive films because one exceptional thing: the use of light. I was absolutely mesmerized, breathless and totally immersed into the most incredible succession of light changes that I have ever seen. This is a true masterpiece in every sense of art forms like photography, paintings and moving pictures.

Since the use of light was what most captivated me I did a little research and found some extraordinary information that I reproduce here to record it forever and to remind me that as according to what I read, I just had the experience of many others when after seeing this film they decided to become filmmakers. Yes, that’s exactly how I feel and even if I never act upon this feeling (or maybe I should…) this has been one of my most glorious experiences while watching a film.

"Andrei used to tell me that cinema uses time like a narrative element, while the photography normally remains constant for the duration of a sequence. It is precisely time that the ‘dynamic photography’ exploits to render a different consistency to the film. An example is the atmospheric conditions within nature: if during a cloudy day the sun comes out at a certain moment this will modify the condition of the light. In an interior space if someone enters a dark room and turns on the light this will change the condition of the light. However, this is all tied to precise actions. This discourse is amplified in Nostalghia, where in addition to variations in natural light were added variations which correspond to emotional motivation rather than any sense of logic.

During the shooting phase we used a transport mechanism posted in front the lights -a series of metal sheets hung on a frame- to vary the light intensity without modifying the color temperature. While in the postproduction there was a much more marked technical intervention because the film was printed with a system called ENR at Roma Technicolor laboratory. With the ENR process I was able to desaturate the colors to the maximum and augment the contrast in a scene, even if this restricted me to print on color positive even the sequences shot in black and white." Guiseppe Lanci: The Shape of Light. To read the complete interview in Italian go here.

This Tarkovsky movie is not only filmed in Italy but is also in Italian which makes it another very interesting element as it is exceptional to see Tarkovsky and understand everything it says in its original language; you know what I mean as always you will lose many things in translation.

The movie tells a very cerebral story about longing and spiritual hunger and does it with the most exceptional neorealist style, similar to other great Italian directors; has an incredible slow pace that allows you to see everything so you will easily connect the dots of all the moving around with time and stories. Also incredibly good and useful is the use of black and white for some stories and time, as well as the use of color for other stories and current time.

Many long takes that will mesmerize you, especially the long take with the lead carrying the candle, this has been called one of the most captivating ever put on film and it truly is impressive how you’ll follow and follow him doing his amazing walk. The cinematography is beautiful with dripping water, unsettling mists and dew seeping through the eternally damp walls. Yes, water and fire –the reigning elements in Tarkovsky world- are continuously present here.

The film was in competition for the Golden Palm at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival where Tarkovsky won the Grand Prix du Cinéma de Creation, the FIPRESCI Prize and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. Absolutely not for all audiences you have to really enjoy serious cinema.

Today more than ever before I’m convinced that Tarkovsky is unique and my only regret is that he did so few movies, but this masterpiece –that he dedicated to his mother- tells a story that perhaps is related to his own life in exile as there are many situations that speak so clearly about what you feel when your not living in your homeland and those feelings can eventually kill you at an early stage of your life.

Cannot say that this is the Tarkovsky film I like the most, as all his films are excellent, but this one really touched me in many ways. Absolutely a must be seen Tarkovsky oeuvre.

BIG ENJOY!!!

61st Cannes Film Festival - Final

This is the official program for this year’s festival that will take place from May 14 to 25, 2008.

The Competition

Official Selection


Opening Film: Blindness, Fernando Meirelles, Brazil, Canada, Japan (check the trailer here and the movie site is here).

Adoration, Atom Egoyan, Canada (Cyberspace... hmm!)
Changeling, Clint Eastwood, USA (Starring Angelina Jolie, seems interesting)
Che (aka The Argentine and Guerilla), Steven Sodergergh, Spain, USA and France (a four-hour biopic starring Benicio del Toro)
Delta, Kornel Mundruczo, Germany and Hungary (a free adaptation from Shakespeare's Hamlet and Euripide's Electra... trailer is here).
Entre Les Murs (The Class), Laurent Cantet, France
Er Shi Si Cheng Ji (24 City), Jia Zhangke, China (Starring Joan Chen)
Il Divo, Paolo Sorrentino, Italy and France (a portrait of Giulio Andreotti played by Toni Servillo!...)
La Frontiére de L’Aube (The Frontier of Dawn), Philippe Garrel, France and Italy
Gomorra (Gomorrah), Matteo Garrone, Italy (violent five stories)
Leonera (Lion's Den), Pablo Trapero, Argentina and South Korea (seems very interesting check trailer here).
Linha de Passe (Line of Passage), Daniela Thomas and Walter Salles, Brazil
My Magic, Eric Khoo, Singapore (his first Tamil film, inspired by the life of fire-eater Francis Bosco)
La Mujer Sin Cabeza (The Headless Woman), Lucrecia Martel, Argentina, France, Italy and Spain (story sounds intriguing - she directed La Niña Santa - coproduced by Almodovar's El Deseo!)
The Palermo Shooting, Wim Wenders, Germany and Italy (stars Campino, in real life a singer in the successful German band "Die Toten Hosen, also Giovanna Mezzogiorno!! and Mila Jojovich)
Serbis, Brillante Mendoza, Philippines
Le Silence de Lorna (The Silence of Lorna), Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Belgium, Italy and France
Synecdoche, New York*, Charlie Kaufman, USA and France (Kaufman directorial debut - he wrote Being John Malkovich, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman)
Two Lovers, James Gray, USA (Starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Joaquin Phoenix, movie scenes here)
ÜÇ Maymun (Three Monkeys or Daydreams), Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey, France and Italy (stoory is interesting)
Un Conte de Noël (A Christmas Tale), Amaud Desplechin, France (Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni, Mathieu Almaric)
Waltz with Bashir, Ari Folman, Israel, France and Germany (first animated documentary...)

Feature Film Jury
Sean PENN, President (American actor, director, screenwriter)
Sergio CASTELLITTO (Italian actor, director, screenwriter)
Natalie PORTMAN (Israeli-American actress)
Alfonso CUARON (Mexican director)
Apichatpong WEERASETHAKUL (Thai director)
Alexandra Maria LARA (German actress)
Rachid BOUCHAREB (French director)
Jeanne BALIBAR (French actress)
Marjane SATRAPI (Irania author-director)

Un Certain Regard

Opening Film: Hunger*, Steve McQueen, UK

Afterschool*, Antonio Campos, USA
Los Bastardos, Amat Escalante, Mexico, France and USA
De Ofrivilliga* (Involuntary), Ruben Östlund, Sweden
A Festa da Menina Morta* (The Dead Girl’s Feast), Matheus Nachtergaele, Brazil and Portugal
Je Veux Voir, Joana Hadjthomas and Khahil Joreige, France and Lebanon (with Catherine Deneuve)
Johnny Mad Dog, Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, France, Belgium and Liberia
Milh Hadha Al-Bahr* (Salt of This Sea), Annemarie Jacir, Palestine, France, Switzerland, Belgium and Spain
O’Horten, Bent Hamer, Norway, France and Germany
Soi Cowboy, Thomas Clay, Thailand and UK
Ting Che* (Parking) Chung Mong-Hong, Taiwan
Tokyo!, Bong Joo HO, Miche Gondry and Leos Carax, France, South Korea, Germany and Japan (a trilogy: Interior Design by Gondry, Merde by Carax and Sharing Tokyo by Bong)
Tokyo Sonata, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan
Tulpan*, Sergey Dvortsevoy, Germany, Kazakhstan, Switzerland, Russia and Poland
Tyson, James Toback, USA (documentary)
Versailles*, Pierre Schoeller, France
La Vie Moderne (The Modern Life), Raymmond Depardon, France (documentary)
Wendy and Lucy, Kelly Reichardt, USA (with Michelle William - story about a girl and her dog)
Wolke 9 (Cloud 9), Andreas Dresen, Germany
Yi Ban Haishui, Yi Ban Huoyan (Ocean Flame or Part Ocean Part Flame), Liu Fen Dou, China

Un Certain Regard Jury
Fatih AKIN, President (German director)

Caméra d'or Jury
Bruno DUMONT, President (French director)

Out of Competition

The Good, The Bad, The Weird, Kim Jee-woon, South Korea (the 30's in the Mandchurian desert, seems good)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of The Crystal Skull, Steven Spielberg, USA (Cate Blanchett is here)
Kun Fu Panda, Mark Osborne and John Stevenson, USA (Latest Dreamworks animmation with Angelina Jolie voice...)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Woody Allen, USA and Spain

Festival Closing Film: What Just Happened?, Barry Levinson, USA (with Robert De Niro)

Midnight Screenings
Maradona, Emir Kusturica, Spain and France (documentary)
Surveillance, Jennifer Lynch, USA and Germany (yes is the daughter of David Lynch - with Julia Ormond, trailer here)
The Chaser*, Na Hong-Jin, South Korea (trailer here)

Special Screenings
Ashes of Time Redux, Wong Kar-wai, China (a reworking of his martial arts film 12 years after its release-must be seen for me)
C’est Dur D’Etre Aime par des Cons (It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks)*, Daniel Leconte, France
Chelsea On The Rocks (or Chelsea Hotel), Abel Ferrara, USA (Documentary)
Of Time and City, Terence Davies, UK (documentary about Liverpool)
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, Marina Zenovich , USA (documentary - Polanski pov)
Sanguepazzo (Crazy Blood), Marco Tulio Giordana, Italy and France (set in 1945 dark story - with Monica Bellucci!)

The Jury President’s Screening
The Third Wave, Alison Thompson, USA (documentary)

*In competition for Caméra d’Or

There is one documentary participanting in the Cannes Classics that also will be in competition for the Caméra d’Or: No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos* by James Chressanthis, USA.

There are many good news here, as there are new movies by great directors like Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Eric Khoo, Atom Egoyan, Amat Escalante, and many others.

According to today’s press release these are the figures of the 2008 edition.
54 films representing 31 countries with 22 films in competition
19 films in the Un Certain Regard section
53 world premiers
9 first films
8 directors participating for the first time in the official selection competition

Finally today the complete information about the movies is available in their site. In the first left column you will find the links for the fest and the main parallel sections.

N'Oublie Pas Que Tu Vas Mourir (Don’t Forget You’re Going To Die)

This Xavier Beauvois oeuvre (he acts, directs and co writes the script) is strange to say the least, but the story has a certain “je ne sais quoi” that keeps you watching until the very predictable end. The end is predictable because the minute he learns that he’s HIV positive you see his reaction and you know that he will go into a down spiral and that’s exactly what he does with a brief interlude in Rome.

The movie mixes techniques with the first part feeling and looking like a regular movie concerning framing, pace, etc. As soon as he gets into drugs the movie changes to a raw realism and the technique changes too (darker, great framing, slow pace, etc); then you have the Rome interlude where everything changes again with great outdoor and indoor cinematography, faster –yet still slow- pace and some excellent framing especially the scene with nude Chiara Mastroianni in bed that is just beautiful. The surreal end that in my opinion is played like a big joke on him and on us viewers, the technique changes again to fake war mood with real killing and goes into slow motion. I believe that all the flawless changes of this movie makes it a very interesting and an outstanding film.

Not for all audiences as is not only very French and art cinema, but also is very raw when the movie deals with drugs. The movie won the Jury Prize at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival and was in competition for the Golden Palm, has other awards in European fests.

Not an easy movie to watch but if you like French art cinema and haven’t seen this one yet, I suggest you give it a try.

Enjoy!

El Violín (The Violin)

Quite an extraordinary film once you overcome the dark and violent beginning of the film that now I find totally justified to set the true mood where everything else happens. This first film by Francisco Vargas is exceptional because of the story it tells, the way he decided to tell it and his outstanding vision to film in black and white.

The cinematography has very good photography but even if has a slow rhythm you will hardly notice the images as the story is so powerful -as well as the performances- that soon enough you will be immersed in a thrilling sensation that will almost take you to the edge of your seat. This is quite unusual as this movie is totally art cinema, but obviously the movie buzz was spread and general audiences have opened to see this film, which makes this movie even more amazing. Just browse the net and you will find comments from viewers allover the world.

I believe that the power of the story absolutely lays in the use of music as a mean to soften the harshness of this terrible story that has happened in every country where they have indigenous guerillas fighting to protect what has always been theirs and repressive forces trying to placate them in the name of what? Progress, civilization, greed, power?

According to Vargas -who also wrote the story- he set the movie in an unnamed country with no idea of time or space so this timeless situation could symbolize the Latin American fight as a whole. Here is what he said exactly for those that understand French.

"Quand j´ai écrit mon scénario, j´ai laissé la place à un double-jeu.. D´un côté, le film fait référence à ces situations de conflits et de guérillas qui, pour le spectateur, mènent vers les luttes populaires mexicaines dans la lignée de Zapata et sa revendication " Terre, Justice et Liberté ", comme vers celles du Salvador, du Guatemala, du Nicaragua, du Chili, ou encore de la Colombie. Et d´un autre côté, j´ai construit mon histoire de façon à ce qu´on ne puisse localiser l´histoire ni dans le temps ni dans l´espace. Bien que le film fasse référence l´un ou l´autre de ces événements sociopolitiques, l´effort fut de ne s´installer dans aucun d´eux pour pouvoir faire référence à tous, afin de symboliser la lutte du peuple latino-américain dans son ensemble."

The story tells about Don Plutarco, his son Genaro and his grandson Lucio, who are rural farmers and to get extra money go to the nearest town and become street musicians. But they live a double life as they also support the peasant guerilla movement’s efforts against the oppressive government. One afternoon they come home to discover that the army seized their village and in the most thrilling way Don Plutarco that is about 70 years old –if not older- carries out his own plan to help whatever is left from his family, his village people and the guerilla. You have NO idea what this little story will make feel, truly amazing. Big chapeau to Vargas as a writer and as a director!

All performances by non-actors are very good, but Don Angel Tavira that plays Don Plutarco is absolutely amazing and he’s able to transmit such dignity and many emotions that is just wonderful. He much deserved the honor of winning the Best Actor at the 2006 Un Certain Regard where the movie was screened in competition.

According to what I read, this movie was first an award winning short that with many production-helping awards from festivals allover the world became a full-length feature that also won many honors and accolades in festivals allover the world.

Absolutely a must be seen for serious cinema lovers and for those who do not like to explore art cinema I strongly recommend this movie as an introduction to art cinema, as truly is very easy to watch.

Big Enjoy!!!

2008 Tribeca Film Festival Awards Winners

By sheer coincidence yesterday I was able to watch a summary of the May 1st awards announcements and the best part was that they showed clips from the winning movies, shorts and documentaries, plus more clips from other non-winning works. Anyway these are the awards winning films.

Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature: Låt den Rätte Komma In (Let the Right One In), Tomas Alfredson, Sweden. “For its mesmerizing exploration of loneliness and alienation through masterful reexamination of the vampire myth.”

Best New Narrative Filmmaker: Gitmek (My Marlon and Brando), Hüseyin Karabey, Turkey. “For its skillful blending of documentary style with a classic love story and ultimate creation of a truly modern and unlikely international heroine.”

Best Actor in a Narrative Feature Film: Thomas Turgoose and Piotr Jagiello for Somers Town, Shane Meadows, UK. “For an extraordinary and exhilarating rendering of a friendship found, the Narrative Feature Jury is awarding the Best Actor prize to this magical team.”

Best Actress in a Narrative Feature Film: Eileen Walsh for Eden, Declan Recks, Ireland. “For her exquisite rendering of a lonely wife aching to be seen and heard.”

New York LOVES Film Award: Zoned In, Daniela Zanzotto, USA and UK.
Special Mention: Hotel Gramercy Park, Douglas Keeve, USA.
“This was a challenging and spirited discussion with two clear favorites: both films are very different and the jury felt that both should get equal mention even though only one gets the prize. We thought Hotel Gramercy Park was a highly entertaining and moving story about a New York family and a New York institution coming to terms with a changing city, but in the end we felt Zoned In deserved the prize for having the bravery to tell a seemingly typical story that ends up revealing bold and difficult truths.”

Made in NY – Narrative Award: The Caller, Richard Ledes, USA. “The Caller superbly uses its New York locations – from the sleek mid-town high-rises to the desolate Brooklyn Bridge piers – to create a chilling and finally stirring suspense movie; an unusual thriller whose mysterious plot finally exposes the mysteries of the heart.”

To check all the awards for documentaries and shorts go here.

Savage Grace

I suppose that the real life story is terrible, but by seeing this movie I could not tell as this movie is more a portrait of decadence and dysfunction in the lives of those extremely wealthy that do nothing and end up with too much time in their hands.

I have seen quite a few French movies with similar themes and found then engaging and with great rhythm and actors performances; but, this one is far away from any of those French movies as it never really develops well any of the main characters and looks like an intrusion to some moments of their lives.

The movie is based in the real life of the Baekeland family that is wealthy because the grandfather invented bakelite -or plastic if you wish- and the grandson marrying beneath him to a woman, Barbara, that wanted to be accepted by society but apparently was not. The story in the movie is narrated by their son who was homosexual and truly attached to his mother, with the fall starting when the father leaves them for another woman.

The story is not bad and could have been made into a good film but I feel that the screenplay, bad direction and bad casting created an unappealing movie. Julianne Moore is here and she does her usual thing, but her character is so one dimension that fails to save the movie, then for an inexplicable reason she never ages even when the movie covers several decades.

I know that the movie was screened at the 2007 Directors’ Fortnight but after watching I can hardly understand the reason why they included it in the selection.

If you skip this one you’ll not be missing much.

Mogari No Mori (The Mourning Forest)

Incredibly beautiful and poignant film by Naomi Kawase that will make you feel absolutely everything very intensively, but even if is really stunning to watch, after I saw it I felt very sad not necessarily because of the story, I think that it was because the serene poetic mood that the marvelous end transmits.

The film has a simple but intense story about a young caregiver, Machiko, that while grieving the death of her son bonds with senile 70 years old Shigeki that is still grieving for his wife after 33 years and together find resolution to their own loss. There are some very Japanese symbols in this movie but I feel that the sparse dialogue allows everybody to understand the meaning of almost everything, so I suggest paying attention especially to the Buddhist priest that explains the meaning of being alive and other important things.

One thing I will include that I believe will facilitate the watching of this film in the most glorious way and is something that is said at the end of the movie that goes more or less like this: the term ‘mogari’, or period of mourning comes from an older expression ‘mo agari’ meaning the end of mourning. Consequently the amazing forest takes on a symbolic meaning as the site for ‘the resolution of the mourning process’.

The absence of words, the slow pace plus the outstanding cinematography makes a film more than stunning, breathless and the mountainous region west of Nara is unbelievably amazing to look at with the forest full of looming trees and floor thick with sasa (dwarf bamboo) and the wind-swept fields where visual poetry blends with marvelous sound. Absolutely beautiful!

As you probably guessed by now this is not a film suitable for all audiences as you really have to like art cinema and more, you have to like Japanese classic films from the masters like Ozu, Mizogushi, Naruse or Kurosawa. This is important as the outstanding performances by actors and non-actors totally recall the acting in films from those filmmakers.

Machiko Ono plays Machiko and her performance is truly awesome according to non-western standards and she was honored with the Best Actress Award at the 2007 Cannes, where the movie won the Grand Prix. Since Cannes the movie was screened at many other festivals and has won many accolades.

It is truly an impressive Japanese masterpiece that I waited almost a year to be able to see and even if I felt very sad at the end, I strongly recommend the movie as a must be seen for those that love serious cinema.

Big Enjoy!!!

I Really Hate My Job

Knowing that it was a British comedy and with that suggestive title, I had to see the movie and so I did. Well I had a few strong laughs thanks to what happens in the kitchen and the crazy Chilean dishwasher, but this is no comedy this is a talky theatrical drama that honestly it make feel that I shouldn’t be going to unknown restaurants, as you never know what happens in the kitchen, in the bar, around the tables and with the personal lives of all the people working there.

Tells about one night, one second rate London restaurant, one Maitre D’, two waitresses, one kitchen help that has to cook that night and one dishwasher; but they are really a lover, an actor, an artist, an author, and a revolutionary respectively. The movie totally feels like a stage play and you could find one or two characters with whom you could identify. But has one special thing, you would not be able to like any of the five female characters, as all are way too much to take them seriously, so you end up detaching from the story and the film.

Can’t say that I liked, but I didn’t dislike it, it is average and not really entertaining. But it is “watchable” if you feel like seeing five women talking and talking. Well, yes Neve Campell that plays Abbie, the bartender/waitress and aspiring actress, does a nude scene that I found unpleasant because of what she says during that moment. Even if I’m not sure as I really disliked that character, I think the Maitre D’ was lesbian.

Anyway if you feel like seeing women in a non-stop-talking movie, then perhaps you should give it a try.

BenX

This is a very intense first film by Nic Balthazar who also wrote first the play and then the novel called Nothing is All He Said and now directs this unbelievable good movie. A great achievement as you can hardly believe that he has never before made a film as this movie not only tells an extraordinary story, but also has extremely good technical specs.

The story is based in true events and basically tells about Ben, a withdrawn autistic boy that dreams of taking revenge on the school bullies in the same effortless way he dispatches his enemies in a computer video game. But in my opinion is one of the most extraordinary ways to tell a story about school bullying in general and even if Ben is autistic, this movie makes for an unnerving if solid cinematic case against bullying in school.

Most viewers and critics comment that the dialogue is extraordinary (with wordplays and puns) and I truly regret that I do not understand the movie language, as you will lose that part of the movie in translation. Just to give you an example if you say very fast the movie title the sound becomes the Dutch word benniks that means: I am nothing, which has a big relationship to the story. By the way BenX is also the avatar’s name in the video game Ben plays.

But actually you will not notice it that much as the cinematography is so good with many handheld camera takes and many interweaved video game screens that since the very beginning until the very end your eyes will be glued to the screen and you will be able to totally follow the story. This is one of the most extraordinary and believable ways I have ever seen of blending the real with a virtual world and produce an outstanding character development that will not only show you clearly what’s on Ben’s mind but also will make you fell him in his silence. Great!

Do not think that this is a movie for video gamers as it is not. The video game with the virtual world is absolutely used with the sole purpose of allowing you inside the lead character, which is outstandingly played by Greg Timmermans.

The movie has many honors and accolades including winning the Grand Prix des Amériques at the 2007 Montreal World Film Festival and being the official entry of Belgium for the 2008 Academy Awards. Not for all audiences as is that kind of movie that some will love it –like me- while others will not; besides I cannot call it art cinema, but it is a very well done arty movie.

Enjoy!!!