20th Tokyo International Film Festival

Today this festival started with screenings of many movies with emphasis on eastern cinema. Here are the movies in the main competition.

Crossing Over, Jin Chen, Japan and China (World Premiere)
Bikur Hatizmoret (The Band’s Visit), Era Kolirin, Israel and France
Párpados Azules (Blue Eyelids), Ernesto Contreras, Mexico
Dangerous Parking, Peter Howitt, UK (World Premiere)
Erik Nietzsche de Unge År (The Early Years – Erik Nietzsche Part I), Jacob Thuessen, Denmark
Hafez, Abolfazl Jalili, Iran and Japan
Leroy, Armin, Voelckers, Germany
Reign Over Me, Mike Binder, USA
The Stone Angel, Kari Skogland, Canada
Sztuckzki (Tricks), Andrzej Jakimoski, Poland
J’Attends Quelqu’un (Waiting for Someone), Jérôme Bonnell, France
Valzer (The Waltz), Salvatore Maira, Italy (filmed in a single shot wow!)
Bloddy Snake under the Sun, Yu Nakai, Japan (World Premiere)
The Western Trunk Line, Li Jixian, China and Japan (very interesting!)
Gandhi My Father, Feroz Abbas Khan, India

All these films are competing for the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix.

There are many sections in this festival including Special Screenings, Winds of Asia-Middle East, Japanese Eyes, World Cinema, Tokyo in Focus, Extra Events, and the Collaboration Program that includes the Hong Kong Film Festival, the 20th Tokyo International Women’s Film Festival, Korean Cinema Week 2007, 2007 Tokyo China Film Festival and many other sections.

If you want to check all the movies or have more information go here.

The Sex Movie

What an awful name for such a fun, thought-provoking and brilliantly shot movie that I almost skip seeing as the title was totally unappealing to me. But, actually after seeing the movie I totally understand why they named this movie like this, because this movie is all about sex!

Can you imagine four friends getting together after not seeing each other for a long while and in the group you have a straight man, a bisexual woman, a gay man and a lesbian? And also imagine that they start to talk about stuff, but soon the conversation turns into sex and little mischievous verbal challenges? Well, you’re imagining this movie. But as in any conversation things can get intense when you touch personal matters and with challenges in the air, anything can happen and believe me it does happen.

This movie is mostly all talk and almost no action, but what a witty conversations they have especially when they start to go after each other’s insecurities with eventually airing deep secrets.

The movie does feel like a theater play as all happens in one night and in one set, but have to say that the four actors are quite good looking and give good performances. You have here Michelle Mosley that plays Kris the bisexual woman (she sort of looks like Tina Fey), then very cute Eleese Longino plays Heidi the lesbian, Mike Fallon plays Rafe the gay guy and Matthew Tyler plays J.D. the macho straight dude.

You have to enjoy almost all talk movies to be able to like this movie and be prepared to hear things that perhaps you usually do not talk with friends, unless they are very close friends.

I really liked this movie and I do recommend it strongly to everyone that wants to hear about many true things related to emotional hidden feelings, sexual preferences and even some sexual taboos. With the extremely nice ending I should have been satisfied, but no, I wanted more and I’m really sorry that I didn’t see it with friends as I would love to continue the conversation. But I can see it again with friends another day and I’m sure that the conversation will continue.

Have to thank a dearest reader of this blog for remind me to see this movie. Many, many thanks!

Enjoy!

My Mainstream Wish List

Have to do a list for mainstream movies and with all the great movies coming, today I'm starting this list that will update regularly.

Ai No Yokan (The Rebirth), Masahiro Kobayashi, Japan, 2007
L’Amour Cache (Hidden Love), Alessandro Capone, Luxembourg, Italy and Belgium, 2007 (great story and with Isabelle Huppert)
Avril (April in Love), Gerarld Hustache-Mathieu, France, 2006 (Nice story about a 21 years old novice).
Ce que mes Yeux ont vu (The Vanishing Point), Laurent de Bartillat, France, 2007 (story seems good)
Frozen, Shivajee Chandrabhusban, India, 2007
L’Uomo Che Ama, Maria Sole Tognazzi, Italy, 2008 (interesting especially when Monica Belluci, Marisa Paredes and Kseniya Rappoport are here… is gay interest)

2nd Cinema Rome Film Festival – New Cinema Network

The festival established a partnership with HAF in Honk Kong and the Cannes Cinéfondation-L’Atelier and created a section named New Cinema Network defined as “A co-production market to support arthouse cinema”. These are the projects in this section, all worth to be mention.

International Projects

Argentina
Charles MCDOUGALL, CROMAÑON
Gianfranco QUATTRINI, TOXIC JUNGLE
Pablo REYERO, SOBREVIVIENTES (SURVIVORS)
Belgium
Chantal AKERMAN, ÇA BRÛLE LES DOIGTS (WHAT HAPPENS NEXT) (Didn’t liked much Ca Brule, but will check this one)
Brazil
Victor LOPES, O DRIBLE (THE DRIBBLE)
Hong Kong
Yan Yan MAK, THE JOURNAL OF MOONLIGHT AND MORNING
Mexico
Gustavo MONTIEL, MAREA DE ARENA (TIDE OF SAND)
South Korea
E J-YONG, HOMECOMING
Sri-Lanka
Vimukthi JAYASUNDARA, AHASIN-WATAI (THE FALLEN)
Taiwan
Tsai Ming LIANG, LIAN (SALOME)
Vietnam
Nghien Minh NGUYEN-VO, POINT OF REFERENCE

Focus Europe

Belgium
Koen MORTIER - First Feature Ex-Drummer, New Project KILLROY
Micha WALD - First Feature Voleurs de chevaux (Horse Thieves), New Project SIMON KONIANSKI
Estonia
Ilmar RAAG - First Feature Klass (The Class), New Project VEEL ÜKS CROISSANT (ONE MORECROISSANT)
France
Dominique LIENHARD - First Feature Müetter, New Project LE LONG DE LA LONGUE ROUTE (ALONG THE MAIN ROAD)
Gerald Hustache MATHIEU, First Feature Avril (April in Love), New Project COMME MARYLIN (LIKE MARYLIN)
Gemany
Julia VON HEINZ - First Feature Was am Ende zählt (Nothing Else Matters), New Project DIE WAHRERIN (THE PRESERVER)
Ireland
Mark MAHON - First Feature Strenght and Honour, New Project FREEDOM WITHIN THE HEART
Italy
Domenico DISTILO, First Feature Inatteso, uomini e luoghi d’esilio (Unexpected, People and Place of Exile), New Project QUANDO GLI ELEFANTI COMBATTONO (WHEN ELEPHANTS FIGHT)
Agostino FERRENTEand Giovanni PIPERNO - First Feature L’Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio by Agostino FERRENTE, New Project LE COSE BELLE (WHAT’S BEAUTIFUL)
Mohsen MELLITI - First Feature Io, l’altro (Me, the Other), New Project RETURNING TO HAIFA
Poland
Slawomir FABICKI - First Feature, Zodzyscu (Retrieval), New Project BONOBO JINGO
Portugal
Joao Pedro RODRIGUES, MORRER COMO UM HOMEM (TO DIE LIKE A MAN)
Spain
Claudia LLOSA - First Feature, Madeinusa, New Project LA TETA ASUSTADA (THE SCARED BREAST)
Leo RICCIARDI - First Feature Pura Sangre (Pure Blood), New Project THE EXODUS
Switzerland
Laurent NÈGRE - First Feature Fragile, New Project BUTANO

2nd Cinema Rome Film Festival

Yesterday the second CINEMA. Festa Internazionale di Roma – RomeFilmFest started and will run until October 27, 2007. Last night the festival was open by beautiful Monica Bellucci and the premiere of Le Deuxieme Souffle (Second Wind) by Alain Corneau. Also Sophia Loren was given the Acting Award.

The festival will screen eighty movies and if you feel like checking the long list you will find here. There are many new movies in this festival, so I’ll try to list the films for each section. I say try as the festival site is not really user friendly and you have to browse many places to find the info organized as most fests do.

The festival has the following sections: Première, Cinema 2007, Extra and Alice in the City.

Première

Across the Universe by Julie Taymor, UK/US, 2007, 133’ Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs
The Dukes by Robert Davi, US, 2007, 94’ Cast: Robert Davi, Chazz Palminteri, Peter Bogdanovich, Miriam Margolyes
Elizabeth: The Golden Age by Shekhar Kapur, UK/France 2007, 106’ Cast: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen
Giorni e nuvole (Days and Clouds) by Silvio Soldini, Italy, 2007, 115’ Cast: Margherita Buy, Antonio Albanese, Alba Rohwacher, Giuseppe Battiston
Youth Without Youth by Francis Ford Coppola, Germany/Italy/France, 2007, 124’ - World Premiere. Cast: Tim Roth, Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara
Into the Wild by Sean Penn, US, 2007, 148’ Cast: Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn
Noise by Henry Bean, Martin Schmidt, US, 2007, 92’ Cast: Tim Robbins, Bridget Moynahan, William Baldwin, William Hurt
Rendition by Gavin Hood, US, 2007, 122’ Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Peter Sarsgaard, Omar Metwally
Silk by François Girard, Canada/Italy/Japan, 2007, 112’ Cast: Michael Pitt, Keira Knightley, Alfred Molina
Things We Lost in the Fire by Susanne Bier, US, 2007, 119’ Cast: Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro, David Duchovny, Alison Lohman

Première / Alice in The City Events and Films
August Rush by Kirsten Sheridan, US, 2007 - World Premiere Cast: Freddie Highmore, Robin Williams, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell
A 35-minute preview of: Winx – il film: il segreto del regno perduto by Iginio Straffi, Italy, 2007 - - World Premiere Characters: Bloom, Stella, Flora, Musa, Tecna, Aisha
Enchanted by Kevin Lima, US, 2007 Cast: Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Susan Sarandon

Première Special Event - Argento Night
Marathon of the Three Mothers Trilogy Screening of Suspiria (1977), Inferno (1980) and the European Premiere of La Terza Madre (Mother of Tears) by Dario Argento, Italy, 2007, 98’ Cast: Asia Argento, Moran Atias, Daria Nicolodi, Udo Kier
The all-powerful Mater Lacrimarum, mother of tears, is accidentally awoken from her eternal sleep by an American student and she calls witches from around the world to gather in Rome. This third chapter in the Mothers trilogy started with Suspiria (Mater Suspiriorum) in 1977 and followed in 1980 by Inferno (Mater Tenebrarum) is the film that countless Argento fans have been waiting to see for years. (Gee, have to see this!!)

Cinema 2007

Special event – homage to Gilles Jacob
Anna Magnani, lupa romana
Chacun son Cinéma
On the occasion of the RomeFilmFest, the President of the Cannes Film Festival, Gilles Jacob wanted to salute Italian cinema and the Fest with a cameo, in an emotional vein, dedicated to the Italian actress who, in his cinephile memory, recapitulates both the soul of a cinematography and the city of cinema. At the same time Gilles Jacob will present and personally comment on the new version of the collective film Chacun son cinéma,
a touching trip through memory and “passion for cinéma”.

Cinema 2007 Selection

In Competition

Barcelona, Un Mapa (Barcelona, a Map) by Ventura Pons, Spain 2007, 90’ - European Premiere Cast: Núria Espert, Josep Maria Pou, Rosa Maria Sardà, Jordi Bosch
Caotica Ana (Chaotic Ana) by Julio Medem, Spain 2007, 119’ – European Premiere Cast: Manuela Velles, Bebe, Charlotte Rampling, Matthias Habbich
Ce que mes yeux ont vu (The Vanishing Point) by Laurent De Bartillat, France 2007, 79’- World Premiere Cast: Sylvie Testud, James Thierre, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Agathe Dronne
El pasado (The Past) by Hector Babenco, Argentina – Brazil 2007, 114’ – European Premiere Cast: Gael Garçia Bernal, Analia Couceyro, Moro Anghileri, Ana Celentano.
Fugitive Pieces by Jeremy Podeswa, Canada 2007, 104’ – International Premiere Cast: Stephen Dillane, Rade Serbedzija, Rosamund Pike, Ayelet Zurer
Hafez by Abolfazl Jalili, Iran – Japan 2007, 98’ – World Premiere Cast: Mehdi Moradi, Kumiko Aso
Juno by Jason Reitman, US 2007, 92’ – European Premiere Cast: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Olivia Thirlby
La giusta distanza (The Right Distance) by Carlo Mazzacurati, Italy 2007, 110’ – World Premiere Cast: Giovanni Capovilla, Ahmed Haflene, Valentina Lodovini, Giuseppe Battiston, Fabrizio Bentivoglio
Le deuxième souffle (Second Wind) by Alain Corneau, France 2007, 155’ – European Premiere Cast: Daniel Auteuil, Monica Bellucci, Michel Blanc, Jacques Dutronc, Eric Cantona, Daniel Duval
Li Chun (And the Spring Comes) by Chang Wei Gu, China 2007, 105’ – World Premiere
Cast: Jiang Wenli, Li Guangjie, Dong Xuan, Jiaogang, Zhangyao
L’amour caché (Hidden Love) by Alessandro Capone, Luxembourg – Belgium – Italy, 2007, 92’ – European Premiere Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Greta Scacchi, Mélanie Laurent, Olivier Gourmet
L’uomo privato (The Private Man)by Emidio Greco, Italy 2007, 100’ – World Premiere Cast:Tommaso Ragno, Miriam Catania, Giulio Pampiglione, Ennio Coltorti, Catherine Spaak
Mongol by Sergei Bodrov, Russia – Mongolia – Kazakhistan - Germany 2007, 125’ – European Premiere Cast: Tadanobu Asano, Khulan Chuluun, Sun Hong Lei

Out of Competition

L’abbuffata by Mimmo Calopresti, Italy 2006, 100’ – World Premiere Cast: Gérard Depardieu, Diego Abatantuono, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Donatella Finocchiaro, Nino Frassica
Lions for Lambs by Robert Redford, US 2007, 91’ – Co-world Premiere Cast: Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Michael Peña, Derek Luke, Peter Berg
Reservation Road by Terry George, US 2007, 102’ – European Premiere Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly, Mira Sorvino.

Out of Competition – Special event
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead by Sidney Lumet, USA 2007, 123’ Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei

Out of Competition – Special event tribute to Raúl Ruiz
La recta provincia by Raul Ruiz, Chile – France 2007, 120’ – World Premiere Cast: Belgica Castro, Ignacio Aguero, Hernan Vallejos

Out of Competition – Special event German Days
Liebesleben (Love Life) by Maria Schrader, Germany 2007, 104’ – World Premiere Cast: Netta Gartl, Rade Serbedzija, Tovah Feldshuh, Stephen Singer

Out of Competition – Special event Focus India
No Smoking…! by Anurag Kashyap, India 2007, 150’ – World Premiere Cast: John Abraham, Ayesha Takla, Paresh Rawal.

Out of Competition – Special event CINEMA 2007 / Alice in the City
On dirait que… (Let’s Say) by Françoise Maire. France 2007, 82’ – World Premiere Cast: a group of French children aged between 8 and 10

Extra
This section is designed to put a multi-faceted focus on the new frontiers opened up by those who are creating something fresh and different in the audiovisual field, from documentaries to trend setting feature films, from cutting-edge television programs to digital animation, from film restoration to new high-definition cinema. To check the list of films, documentaries and videos go here.

Alice nella Cittá (Alice in the City)

Films in Competition

Un Chateau en Espagne (My Very Best Friend) by Isabelle Doval, France 2007, 90’ – World Premiere Cast: Anne Brochet, Angela Molina, Lluis Omar, Jean Senejoux (Maxime), Martin Jobert (Esteban)
Have Dreams, Will Travel by Brad Isaacs, USA 2007, 85’ – World Premiere Cast: Anna-Sophia Robb, Cayden Boyd, Val Kilmer, Lara Flynn-Boyle, Dylan McDermott, Matthew Modine, Heather Graham
Buda Az Sharm Foru Rikht (Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame) By Hana Makhmalbaf, Iran 2007, 81’ Cast: Nikbakht Noruz, Abdoladi Hoseinali, Abbas Alijome
And When Did You Last See Your Father? by Anand Tucker, UK 2007, 88’ Cast: Jim Broadbent, Colin Firth, Juliet Stevenson, Gina McKee, Matthew Beard
Seachd – The Inaccessible Pinnacle by Simon Miller, Scotland 2007, 90’
Cast: Pàdruig Moireasdan, Aonghas Pàdraig Caimbeul, Colla Dòmhnallach, Winnie Brook Young
Choose Connor by Luke Eberl, USA 2007, 114’ Cast: Steven Weber, Alex Linz, Escher Holloway, Erick Avari, Christopher Marquette, Don McManus, Rosalee Mayeux, April Grace, John Rubinstein, Richard Rehile
Canvas by Joseph Greco, USA 2006, 101’ Cast: Joe Pantoliano, Marcia Gay Harden, Devon Gearhart
La tete de maman (In Mom’s Head) By Carine Tardieu, France 2006, 95’ Cast: Karin Viard, Kad Merad, Pascal Elbè, Chloé Colloud, Jane Birkin, Jérome Kircher, Sarah Cohen-Hadria, Arthur Ligerot, Suzy
La misma luna (Under the Same Moon) by Patricia Riggen, Mexico – USA 2007, 109’ Cast: Adrian Alonso, Kate del Castillo, Eugenio Derbez, Maya Zapata, America Ferrara
Partes Usadas (Spare Parts) by Aaron Fernandez, Mexico – France 20007, 95’ Cast: Eduardo Granados, Alan Chavez, Carlos Ceja
Survivre avec les loups (Survive With the Wolves) by Véra Belmont, France 2007, 90’ Cast: Mathilde Goffart, Guy Bedos, Michèle Bernier, Yael Abecassis, Benno Furmann, Anne-Marie Philipe, Franck de la Personne
September by Peter Carstairs, Australia 2007, 85’ Cast: Clarence John Ryan, Xavier Samuel, Kieran Darcy-Smith, Kelton Pell
Toku no sora ni keita (Into the Faraway Sky) by Isao Yukisada, Japan 2007, 144’ Cast: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Suzuka Ohgo, Yuma Sasano, Ayumi Ito, Fumiyo Kohinata
Noonbushin Narae (Meet Mr. Daddy) by Kwang Su Park, South Korea 2007, 110’ Cast: Park Shin Yang, Yea Ji Won, Seo Shin Ae

ALICE IN THE CITY: Special Events Out of Competition
Pride by Sunu Gonera, USA 2007, 104’ Cast: Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac, Tom Arnold, Kimberlie Elisa, Brandon Fobbs
Die drei rauber (The Three Robbers) by Hayo Freitag, animation, Germany 2007, 75’ - World Premiere

There are some Special Events like the following.

Focus India with special screenings of
Guru by Mani Ratman
Gandhi, My Father by Feroz Abbas Khan
Khoya Khoya Chand by Sudhir Mishra
Has many more previous to 2007 India movies in the India at Filmstudio section that you can check here.

German Days organized by German Films to run from October 21st to 24th will screen the following premieres:
The Red Elvis, Leopold Grün
The Calling Game, Felix Randau
Fata Morgana, Simon Gross
Free Rainer – Reclaim Your Brain, Hans Weingartner
Love Comes Lately, Jan Shüte
Nothing Else Matters, Julia von Heinz (Shown within the framework of the New Cinema Network. If you live in Rome do not miss this movie that you can find in My Wish List)

This is a long post and I tend to dislike long posts, so I will open new posts for other information that I find interesting. If you want to explore their site in English go here.

1408

Once in a while I dare to see movies labeled as horror, especially when they’re based on Stephen King stories. Yesterday I dared to see this movie and well, first this is no horror movie, this is a ghost story that has a good share of shocks and frights.

Tells the story of Mike Enslin a writer of supernatural phenomena doing research for his next book. One day he gets an intriguing postcard with the Dolphin Hotel pictures and a challenging message that reads something like this: do not go to room 1408. Of course he goes with the help of his editor, as the hotel reservations clerk tells him that the room is not available.

The movie relies on psychological tension rather than overt violence or gore and the best part according to me is when Mike Eslin (John Cusack) and Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson) have that nerve-racking conversation before Eslin gets the key to room 1408. This is one really chilly conversation that settles fine the tone of the movie, but at the same time it disappoints a little that while Eslin is inside the room the psychological tension is not exploited more.

However, John Cusack’s performance is quite good and will keep you in the edge of your seat guessing what else could come next. The good part is that the action starts slowly and when the Carpenter’s song “We’ve Only Just Begun” plays for the first time, you know things are just starting. Great!

In a way this movie is as good as The Shinning but my reaction to The Shinning, which I saw in NYC a long time ago, was stronger and still remember that when I left the movie theater I stopped at a bar to gulp some cognac to ease the shock! Yesterday there was no need for cognac and had no nightmares at all. This was because I noticed that the movie is more about your own hidden nightmares that just need some external stimuli and they’ll pop-out and become “real”.

If you have read Stephen King’s stories or have seen movies based on his stories, then you probably will guess before they happen some shocking key scenes, I did for one. But, still the movie is chilling and very entertaining.

I do recommend this movie as an adult ghost story and especially to Stephen King fans.

20 Centímetros (20 Centimeters)

Most of the movies about transsexuals tend to be heavy dramas, but here you find the story of Adolfo that calls himself Marieta and is saving money for the final surgery that will free Marieta from 20 centimeters of flesh that she does not want and is done with a different touch as this is a comedy, musical and well there is some light drama.

So how the director and writer Ramón Salazar managed to convey a story told so many times and do it quite different? Well, Marieta is a narcoleptic pre-op transsexual that every time she has a seizure dreams elaborated musical numbers in which she’s the star!

With a mostly female leading cast (only two lead roles for men) that according to a critic looks like characters who seem to have stepped out of photos by Diane Arbus and I do agree, you will find great performances especially by Mónica Cervera that plays Marieta, who by the way sings all the songs in different languages and you probably will recognize many and end up singing along like I did.

This is a quirky and kitsch movie that some English speaking critics try to relate to early Almodovar, but I’m afraid that has nothing to do with Almodovar and some of us know that in Spain there are movies done in many crazy ways and none is trying to imitate, copy or be inspired by Almodovar. This is a different beast and is a good beast, especially because is only Salazar’s second movie after doing Piedras (Stones).

Not long ago I watched Ja Zuster, Nee Zuster (Yes Nurse, No Nurse) and have to say that both have a similar format as musicals, but the comedy here is different as is more natural not exaggerated and the cinematography here is quite exceptional and interesting.

The movie has 5 wins and 2 nominations in different European film festivals, including a nomination for the Golden Leopard at the 2005 Locarno International Film Festival.

Absolutely not for all audiences, but is a musical so if you like non-traditional musicals with non-traditional and well-done stories, plus great performances then you should give it a try.

La Pirate (The Pirate)

This 1984 movie is a very complex emotional drama by Jacques Doillon and as someone says: “Doillon is no stranger to controversy and with La Pirate, arguably his most provocative work; he assaults our sensibilities with this puzzling and harrowing portrayal of searing naked emotion. It is a daring work, which boldly tests the limits of what is acceptable in film drama. How much does an author have to reveal about his characters for us to believe in their situation, to feel involved in the story we see unfolding before our eyes? Doillon certainly doesn’t go out of his way to make it easy for his audience. The film starts with a jolt and then accelerates relentlessly towards its bleak dramatic ending with little if anything in the way of exposition.

The impression is that you have joined the film somewhere near the end of the story, that the greater part of the action has already taken place. What we are seeing is the denouement of an epic human saga, the endgame to a torrid tale that we scarcely dare to speculate on. For that reason, the film depends greatly on its spectator’s willingness to participate, to fill in the gaps and imagine the past experiences of the five characters in the film. Without this involvement, the film really cannot function – everything feels random, irrational, unrealistic, an odd self-indulgent game in histrionic excess. That Doillon is perhaps placing too great a demand on his audience could explain the hostile reaction the film aroused when it was first released, particularly at its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in 1984. Unless the spectator is prepared to work to make sense of the film, it is a wasted effort, and the extraordinarily tortured performances (notably from Jane Birkin and Maruschka Detmers) are cruelly negated.”

I’m sharing with you these comments as I find that accurately describe my reaction to the movie. To me it was hard to participate and fill all the gaps, perhaps because the characters were too dramatic or irrelevant. It was not until the end that I was able to figure out everything and by then it was too late as I missed to fill the gaps during the whole movie. So, I have to see it again and be willing to fill the gaps to grasp the complete story.

The outline of the story goes something like this. One night Alma sees again Carole, with whom she had a one-night stand and decides to leave her husband and go away with her. Eventually the husband, the girl (you never know her name), a detective and the two women end up together in a hotel where intense emotions explode.

Not an easy movie to see, but I’ll definitively see it again in a few days to grab the story and enjoy once more the very dramatic style of the performances by Maruschka Detmers (Carole), Jane Birkin (Alma) and her real life brother Andrew Birkin that plays Alma’s husband.

The movie was nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival and in the 1985 Cesar Awards Jane Birkin was nominated for Best Actress, Marushcka Detmeres for Best Supporting Actress and Laure Marsac (the girl) won the Most Promising Actress Award.

Absolutely not for all audiences you have to like complex emotional dramas and French cinema.

Have to thank a dearest reader of this blog for allowing me to see this rare movie. Many, many thanks.

43rd Chicago International Film Festival

Today this festival ends with special screenings of award winners and audience favorites. So, the 2007 awards are already announced and here they are.

International Film Competition

The Gold Hugo for Best Film: Silent Light, Carlos Reygadas, Mexico (for its mesmerizing power to make us hear silence in a world of sound)

The Silver Hugo – Special Jury Prize: Tuya’s Marriage, Wang Quanan, China (for its strong portrait of a woman struggling to survive a remote landscape)

The Silver Hugo for Direction: Roy Andersson for You, The Living, Sweden (for his extraordinary, quirky vision and humor)

Silver Hugo Award for Best Actress: Yu Nan for Tuya’s Marriage, Wang Quanan, China
Silver Hugo Award for Best Actor: Sam Riley for Control, Anton Corbijn,UK
Silver Hugo Award for Best Screenplay: Matt Greenhalgh for Control, Anton Corbijn UK

Plaques: Chico Teixeira for Alice’s House, Brazil (for recognizing a dynamic new talent in Latin filmmaking)

New Directors Competition

Gold Hugo: Saverio Costanzo, In Memory of Myself, Italy
Silver Hugo: Philippe Barcinski, Not By Chance, Brazil

If you want to learn about this festival or read about the movies that were screened go here.

Yeah I know that Carlos Reygadas movie is winning awards and great accolades all over the world, hope I’m able to see this movie when it comes to DVD.

Death Proof

As most of you readers know by now I do not like to read about movies before I see them, so I avoided reading articles about this movie, but I read the headings of many articles and most were not positive. So, today when I started reading about this movie is no surprise what I found with half liking the movie and half disliking it. I’m glad that I read after I saw it, as I would have not seen it if I read before and I’m so glad because, me for one I liked a lot more that what I could ever imagined this movie.

Quentin Tarantino is a director that “plays” absolutely with everything and in cinematic terms he is almost a perfectionist with impeccable technique according to me. I liked Pulp Fiction and a lot more Kill Bill 1 & 2. With this movie I laugh out loud as even if there is no comedy here, he makes fun of the ‘70s movie style, the kitsch sexploitation of that era and everything that is related to pop culture and he does it so well that is very funny in a satirical way. You don’t have to take this movie seriously in the narrative and what you see as the story; but take it very seriously as cinematic technique.

Following his Kill Bill duo of “girlie action flick” we also find some of this here and gee it is so reinvigorating to see women in action -in what I can call “crazy action”- when they do the car chase in the second story that will blow your mind, believe me. The first is a horror story and expect lots of blood and craziness; the second is not horror is more like a “Starsky & Hutch” type. The link between both stories is psycho Stuntman Mike played by Kurt Russell, with a very good performance and it was a surprise to find that it was not Tarantino’s first choice for the role.

In the first story you will find four female characters played by Sydney Poitier (Jungle Julia), Rose McGowan (Pam), Venessa Ferlito (Arlene) and Jordan Ladd (Sharma). The second story you will find another four female characters played by Rosario Dawson (Abernathy), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Lee), Tracie Thorns (Kim) and Zoe Bell (Zoe). In both stories you have almost all the time a lot of conversations about the most irrelevant things women talk including sex; the horror scenes and the car chase action are really small but quite violent.

I could write a lot more about this great movie, but I will just close reminding you that this movie is Tarantino’s homage to 70’s American B cinema that some consider to be the worst of American cinema and is filmed on-purpose like a B-movie.

The movie was nominated for the Golden Palm at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

Not for all audiences, my best reference is that if you liked Kill Bill 1&2 you probably enjoy Tarantino’s style and perhaps will like this movie even if here you have a lot less action and a lot more female conversations.

I do recommend this movie to some of my loyal readers, as I believe you can enjoy it as much as I did.

Enjoy!

The Jane Austen Book Club

The best way to describe this movie is by saying that is an easygoing charming film about the lives of five women that while they read Jane Austen books their lives resemble the stories in the books. Of course the last one they read is Persuasion so you can guess the end of this drama/romance.

A good ensemble cast with the best role going to Emily Blunt with a character that allows her to perform extremely well. So you have here Prudie (Emily Blunt) a young wife with a husband that pays her not much attention, Jocelyn (Maria Bello) that wants to be alone, Bernadette (Kathy Baker) the oldest that has been married six times and is looking for the seventh, Sylvia (Amy Brenneman) that her husband leaves her for another woman, and Allegra (Maggie Grace) that is Sylvia’s daughter, lesbian and loves extreme sports.

I suppose this is a girly movie, but most critics are inviting men to go and see it and some male viewers that saw it are commenting they like it. Well, I can imagine men seeing this movie if they like nice and smart dramas with many references to Jane Austen books, but without being a literature class as you would not learn anything about Jane Austen books, except the names.

The movie ends with a gala library dinner and all the women have a partner, except one. Can you guess? Yes, the only one that doesn’t have a partner is Allegra. Hmm… do not know how many people will notice this, but I certainly did. There are some mild or totally PG lesbian interest scenes, but with the end I will definitively not give it the label.

Definitively is not a masterpiece and you have some critics comparing it to a made for TV movie, which yes it seems like a movie from Hallmark or Lifetime channel. But is entertaining if you want to see an all female ensemble cast and especially Emily Blunt performance.

Think that the book by Karen Joy Fowler is more interesting than the movie.

The Bourne Ultimatum

Finally I was able to see this last installment of the Bourne story and well, it was entertaining even do I consider that some scenes were too long, we already knew the end and didn’t give any additional interesting or exciting elements to the story.

But in general, the way the camera moves, the editing and the music makes this movie a real powerhouse of rush and adrenaline as is really crazy-fast-paced (probably thousands of frames in many scenes). Tells the continuing story of Jason Bourne trying to find his true identity. Here he gets a name and even if some are saying that this is the conclusion, I think that there is more to tell and with the box office success (over US$224 million in 10 weeks) probably they’ll feel compelled to do an additional Bourne.

Some critics believe that this movie set new standards for future action movies, perhaps it did, but only time will say it. But one thing I feel is not; this movie is not like the first The Matrix that’s really a hiatus in action films and now there is a before and after The Matrix.

Yes I already saw my one action movie a year, but I’ve seen all Bourne previous movies, so I had to see this one and have to say that I enjoy it a lot more than the previous ones, even if here I missed Franka Potente character in the screen.

If you have seen the previous Bourne installments, this one is one not to miss.

Enjoy!

Respiro

Set in the unbelievable beautiful island of Lampedusa in the south of Sicily this Emanuele Crialese movie tells the story of Grazia a free-spirited woman in a very traditional village that wants to do things differently to other women. The story is told through the eyes of her oldest son, Pasquale which adds to the story a fresh touch of innocence. This is family story that goes from nicely portraits of everyday life in the island to magic realism at the end. By the way, the story written by Crialese is based in a Lampedusa local legend and is the same story but with a different ending.

Very nice looking cast lead by sensual Valeria Golino (Grazia) that performs so well that steals the movie, is her movie and for this role won awards and many nominations. All the characters are so well-performed that is amazing that most of the cast are non-professionals.

Has an outstanding cinematography so good that bursts with pulsating vitality and sensual appreciation of nature and you almost feel the sun and salty air. This is a very serene and peaceful movie, but has its moments of little violence among the kid’s gangs and if you like dogs, I strongly suggest you avoid this movie.

The movie won 9 awards including the Critics Week Grand Prize and the Young Critics Award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival and had many nominations in European Awards and festivals.

I recommend this movie to those that like European movies with simple stories, great performances and a very good director.

Rezervni Deli (Spare Parts)

I do believe that good stories with good actors and good directors make outstanding movies. Spare Parts has several good stories, good actors and a director that not only managed to convey various stories into one screenplay but he did it quite fluidly and entertaining.

Slovenian writer-director Damjan Kozole film is powerful and provocative as it tells about the horrific trade in illegal immigrants into Europe by means of telling about the human side of two smugglers that you will end up sympathizing with them. As the story develops many other short stories are told, not only about those that search a better life in Europe, but also about Slovenian issues like the nuclear plant in Krsko and human issues like illness, guilt, loneliness and absence of love.

But the most interesting part of the movie is the unlikely friendship between two losers Ludvik (brilliantly played by Peter Musevski) and Rudi (Aljoša Kovačič) that with their multiple conversations touching many topics will make you think about matters that perhaps you take for granted.

The movie has a tight structure and is technically well-developed, there is nothing outstanding and everything is correct. What makes this movie to be outstanding is the story (or stories) it tells and the most complex and brilliant characters development.

The movie was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 2003 Berlinale, won several awards in Sarajevo and Slovene film festivals, was submitted by Slovenia to the Academy Awards and was the Official Selection in many international film festivals around the world.

This movie could be for all audiences that enjoy well-done dramas with extremely good characters development and stories full of human drama.

Comédie de l'Innocence (Comedy of Innocence)

I believe that this movie could have been interesting if the director, Raoul Ruiz have kept a tight control in the story. The movie is based on a novel by Massimo Bontempelli called Il Figlio di Due Madri (The Son of Two Mothers) and tells exactly that, the story of a boy with two mothers due to the most unexpected circunstances.

Since the beginning you start to think that this is a supernatural story, but then you realize is not; at this moment you lose the interest in the story as stops making sense after all you have seen. As far as I understand the story in the book is a good drama/thriller with nothing supernatural in it. I believe that the director impregnated an unnecessary intention to almost half the movie and if he had told the story as a drama since the very beginning the story and consequently the movie would have been more interesting and less disappointing.

But there is something here that keeps your attention and allows you to see the movie until the end. Outstanding Isabelle Huppert. She’s here as good as always and if you are a fan, the movie is a must be seen as her performance is superb.

Is hard for me to believe that this movie was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 2005 Venice Film Festival, as besides Huppert performance, there is not much else in this movie.

No I do not recommend this movie, unless you’re an Isabelle Huppert fan, like me.