Kathie Smith

Best of 2011...because this is what we do.

2011-12-30T19:12:00.000-06:00

Below is my top ten in accordance with official 2011 US releases submitted to In Review Online. (There is quite a caché of top tens over there, so check it out.) But because the year offered so much more, I've supplemented with other offerings that didn't make the cut. Happy viewing and Happy New Year!

1. UncleBoonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives / Apichatpong Weerasethakul

First viewed VIFF 2010, subsequent viewings Walker Art Center and Trylon microcinema. Now available on Blu-ray, DVD and Netflix Instant.

Over a year has passed since I first saw Uncle BoonmeeWho Can Recall His Past Lives and its ethereal glow still burns brightly. Thespiritual world and the natural world mingle effortlessly in ApichatpongWeerasethakul sixth feature and Palme d’Or winner. In one of the most beautifulopenings of the past ten years, a water buffalo breaks from its tether in thedim light of the jungle to conjoin with monkey ghosts. The sequence is timelessand ephemeral, and it captures the film’s mesmerizing preoccupation with themysteries of a tangible environment. The patience and simplicity of ‘UncleBoonmee’ slowly decodes the fate of one man through gentle curiosity. Death andthe magical possibilities of reincarnation materialize in a drift, a journey, aspell that taps the collective unconscious and eventually leads to a pop songinduced fracture in the space-time continuum.

2. House ofPleasures / Bertrand Bonello

First viewed VIFF 2011. Coming soon to the Trylon microcinema Feb 7 and 14.

House of Pleasures is a baroque free-fall ofsensuality and violence stoked by anachronistic tumbles and sways. DirectorBertrand Bonello depicts the corporeal reality of a late 19^th centuryParisian brothel without schismatic moralizing and stifled emotional goo, butwith a cinematic verve that incites the senses. The graceful narrative patterning,opening and closing with a round, and organic camerawork flow in tandem withthe natural performances of the ladies for hire within a closed rococo world. Tendernessand strength, sorrow and joy are amplified with a soundtrack that is seamlesslyembellished with English language pop and soul from the 60s. But just asquickly as Bonello embraces the fruition of an illusory dream, he pulls the rugout from underneath the romance for its disjunctive ending. House ofPleasures lends a feminine ring to the emblematic cries of Aeneid: “These arethe tears of things, and our mortality cuts to the heart.”

3. The Arbor/ Clio Barnard

First viewed at MSPIFF. Now available on DVD and Netflix Instant.

Clio Barnard’s decision to use actors to lip-sync recordedinterviews with playwrite Andrea Dunbar’s family is nothing less than a strokeof brilliance. Far from the fallacy that one might expect from this machination,the raw emotion is heightened, and the actors are a constant reminder of apotent reality. Dunbar wrote herself into infamy, but also drank herself todeath, leaving a long and winding road of influence and dysfunction on her twodaughters. Their shattering accounts come with a tempered blow, crafted withassertive matter-of-fact honesty, and juxtaposed with the unvarnished bluntnessof Dunbar’s plays. Barnard spins Dunbar’s tale with the specificity of artisticmathematics and the patterning of a kaleidoscope, allowing shards of fact andfiction to present a semblance of a whole. The experimental presentation ofthis overwhelming material is both formally and poignantly unique—not necessarilypushing the boundaries of preconceived form more than simply working outside ofthem.

4. Meek’sCutoff / Kelly Reichardt

First viewed at the Walker Art Center. Now available on Blu-ray, DVD and Netflix Instant.

Kelly Reichardt rattles the cages of the disaster microcosmwith a dusty neo-Western sharply drawn with its script and artisticallyspecific with its form. Shot in the square Academy ratio of 1.33, Meek’sCutoff boxes nine lost settlers within their own psychology of fear andparanoia and doubt. Extending beyond the frame is the indifference of nature onthe outsiders, represented in an unforgiving landscape and an enigmatic NativeAmerican. Through cycles of sun-bleached days and inky-black nights, thepersonal politics of a desperate situation create a divide between individuals,a chasm between genders and a permanent wall between races. Emily Tetherow,played with powerhouse subtlety by Michelle Williams, acknowledges theirprecarious situation in the hands of larky chauvinist Stephen Meek, a pitchperfect Bruce Greenwood, by following her conscience to rebellion. Haunting andaustere, Meek’s Cutoff is filled to the brim with aesthetic elegance andcivil allegory.

5. ASeparation / Asghar Farhadi

First viewed at VIFF 2011. Coming soon to the Edina Cinema Feb 3.

Few films are able to keep such a character-richbalance while building a tense, plot-driven drama better than A Separation.Although literally tackling the marital difficulties of Nader and Simin, a youngmiddle class couple living in Tehran, director Asghar Farhadi puts all mannerof social issues under an incredibly absorbing microscope, with gender andclass at the forefront. Sharp as a razor, the film gives equal space to allcharacters: the religious caretaker, her downtrodden husband, the conflicted Nader,the brazen Simin and even their mature eleven-year-old daughter who is learningabout the grey areas of human nature. Farhadi presents and considers thecomplex moral decisions of each individual within their respective social andreligious confines, but he does so without moralizing to the audience. Tightlywound around an impeccable script and camera choreography, A Separationperfectly parables a country hurtling toward and uncertain future.

6. CertifiedCopy / Abbas Kiarostami

First viewed at VIFF 2010. Now available on Netflix Instant and import (region free) Blu-ray.

Certified Copy is Abbas Kiarostami at his best,and perhaps better than we have ever seen him before. He directs dialogue inthree languages and selects an operatic baritone as the individual who can’tspeak Italian. He builds an aura of mystery as he simultaneously points out devise.He vacillates on classic Italian art while polishing the tarnished halo offilm-as-art. He takes an academic subject and fills it with the pulse of life.He breaks from a mold of working with non-professional actors and hires thebiggest star in Europe. And he casts us, the audience—his audience—as the mirror, the ultimate reflection of his film. Underthe auspice of exploring artifice, Certified Copy delves into the esotericnotions of love, life and art on the coattails of a wandering Tuscan tête-à-tête and turns it into somethingfar more fallible and beautiful than a mechanical reproduction.

7. My Joy/ Sergei Loznitsa

First viewed MSPIFF 2011. Coming to DVD March 20.

My Joy opens with a mysterious corpse being covered incement and ends with a shell-shocked murderer walking off into the darkness ofthe night—although the literal connection is abstruse, the cyclical motif iscrystal clear. Blissfully unpredictable stream-of-consciousness, My Joy ismade of two haves that meander through various stories and leave a lingeringvapor trail to a much larger allegory. Corruption unapologetically blankets MyJoy, trickling down from a history of authoritarianism and extreme conditions.Any kindness is met with an untrusting hostility that, at least within the gaugeof the film, is not unwarranted. Director Sergei Loznitsa and hiscinematographer Oleg Mutu tell much of their story through the complex andsardonic ‘joy’ on peoples’ faces. The film’s vignettes, in their structuralambiguity, are anything but detached. Heavy with heartbreak and despair, eachsequence is loaded with the components of profound social destruction andderanged malaise.

8. LeQuattro Volte / Michelangelo Frammartino

First viewed MSPIFF 2011. Now available on Blu-ray, DVD and Netflix Instant.

Michelangelo Frammartino evokes the spiritualphilosophies of Pythagoras and relies entirely on the ambient language of avillage in Southern Italy. But the observational tableau gains as muchsustenance from the notions of God’s creations (with a capital ‘G’) and theBuddhist cycle of suffering and rebirth as it does the transmigration of thesoul. Life, death and the earth-bound rhythms that connect them flow from a manto a goat to a tree to coal. Unconscious gestures of existence were never sopoetic and graceful as exhibited in snails teaming from a pot, goatsinexplicable exploring and investigating, and, in an unbelievably orchestrated9-minute shot, a persistent dog communicating to no avail. The magic, however,seems to lie in the final stage of Frammartino’s visual prose and thesmoldering, coal-producing mounds that open and close the film like anarchetypal symbol of the past, present and future.

9. LoveExposure / Sion Sono

First viewed on import DVD in 2009. Available on DVD.

Born from the bowels of chaos, the euphoric anarchyof Love Exposure trumps the slicked up brutality of Sion Sono’s other 2011 USrelease, Cold Fish. Sono’s ambition is fleet-footed if not a little blind,but his vision of Catholic repression with hentaiaesthetics through a 4-hour maze of cross-dressing, misogyny, obsession, barbarity,sanctimony, redemption and humor is a frenetic supernova. Like Sono’s Noriko’sDinner Table, Love Exposure uses the bloated runtime, not to slow thingsdown, but to indulge, specify and unreel the impossible with reckless but surprisinglysincere abandon. Sono has a unique film language that, when given free reign,explodes with the unusual dexterity of focusing the mayhem like a laser whichin this case is Yu’s serpentine path to personal absolution. Receiving abelated US release, Love Exposure is a film experience that defiesexplanation but not exultation.

10. Pina/Wim Wenders

First viewed at VIFF 2011. Coming soon to the Walker Art Center Feb 1.

Although Wem Wenders’ Pina seems like a straightforward documentary onthe surface, because of the inspired use of 3D and the equally innovativenature of the material, it was easily one of the most viscerally exhilaratingfilms of the year. The film is an unselfish and vital homage to the work ofmodern dance icon Pina Bausch, who passed away quite suddenly during the film’spre-production. Primarily a vehicle for her choreographed pieces—some performedon stage and some in the open-air ambiance of Wuppertal, Bausch’s creativehome—the 3D perfectly captures the tactile buoyancy and physicality of theseperformances. Bausch’s Rite of Spring,which opens Pina is as thrilling as any action sequence I’ve seen all year. Dispersedthroughout are quiet portraits of her dance troupe, as animated and impassionedreflections of the artist. Art and film collide in the most unaffected andvisually arresting manner—a palpable masterpiece of digital proportions.

The best of the rest.

11. Poetry / Lee Chang-dong
12. Putty Hill / Matt Porterfield

13. Cold Weather / Aaron Katz
14. Aurora / Cristi Puiu
15. 13 Assassins / Takashi Miike
16. Mysteries of Lisbon / Raúl Ruiz

17. Nostalgia for the Light / Patricio Guzmán
18. Shit Year / Cam Archer
19. Le Havre / Aki Kaurismäki

20. FilmSocialisme / Jean-Luc Godard
21. TheAutobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu /Andrei Ujica
22. Treeof Life / Terrence Malick
23. TuesdayAfter Christmas / Radu Muntean
24. Petition / Zhao Liang
25. ToDie Like a Man / João Pedro Rodrigues
26. LeapYear / Michael Rowe
27. Caveof Forgotten Dreams / Werner Herzog
28. Drive / Nicolas Winding Refn
29. TheTime That Remains / Elia Suleiman
30. TheMill and the Cross / Lech Majewski

VIFF 2011 Film Roundup

2011-11-02T09:31:00.000-05:00

66 films. 14 days. Here's what I saw, loosely ranked from most to least favorite, with a few notes and links to reviews I wrote. It's a great slate of films and you really have to get pretty far down the list to get to films I didn't care for. (Yep, I didn't like Alps.) Ratings out of 10.

1. House of Tolerance / House of Pleasures (France) Bertrand Bonello 9.5

Love defies logic. Find the right key and the doors to the dopamine and serotonin fly open. For those with an affinity for film, this effect has probably happened while sitting in a theater. After seeing 64 films at VIFF, most of them slow, cerebral affairs, I went into House of Tolerance with little pretense and came out head over heels. Hopefully, as an untrained cinéastic, the right side of my brain was informing my left side in my adoration, and there is some sort of critical foundation to my crush. A provocative heartbreak of a film, House of Tolerance (ridiculously renamed House of Pleasures by IFC for its US release) is set in a high class Parisian brothel at the turn of the century. And while its themes and plush visuals reminded me of Flowers of Shanghai, House of Tolerance breaks out of that mold with grandiose highs and lows and a brutal plot thread. All of the courtesan tropes are there, but Bonello orchestrates them beautifully and sometimes rather clinically. But most importantly House of Tolerance's soundtrack pulls out some of the best emotional trappings since Lee Myeong-se threw a Bee Gees song into an action sequence.

2.    This is Not a Film (Iran) Jafar Panahi 9.5
Tinged by bitter post-film developments (Jafar Panahi’s appeal denied; cameraman Mojtaba Mirtahmasb arrested), This is Not a Film is far less ostentatious than the title implies. Instead it’s an unprecedented construct that openly addresses the ubiquity of media, sometimes in its most raw form of self-discovery, and the weight of oppression on an altruistic artist. A day in the life under house arrest, Panahi composes an in-the-moment diary entry, not the least of which includes a reading from the screenplay that he was not allowed to film. This is Not a Film burns with subdued frustration and vulnerable humor building to a final shot of compulsive irreverence.
(Capsule submitted to In Review Online's NYFF coverage. No, I wasn't in NYC. If I had been, I would be yammering on about all the Nikkatsu films I saw. But many of the films playing at VIFF were also playing at the NYFF.)

3.    Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Turkey) Nuri BilgeCeylan 9.5
Nuri Bilge Ceylan allows his formal compulsions to recede into the background in favor of the sprawl of an impressionistic narrative in his latest, most realized film. While casually wandering the archeological rich countryside of the title, looking for a corpse, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia exhumes the dark fairy tales of public servants and the unfolding nightmares of two criminals. The characters vacillate between the perfunctory and the profound in a mysterious reality of effects without cause. But these somber and sometimes playful intrigues merely lead us down a road to a much less abstruse corporeal space where scalpel meets flesh and dirt clogs throat.
(Capsule submitted to In Review Online's NYFF coverage.)

4.    A Separation (Iran) Aghar Farhadi 9
Few films are able to keep such a character-rich balance while building a tense, plot-driven drama better than A Separation. Although literally tackling the marital difficulties of a young middle class couple, director Asghar Farhadi puts all manner of social issues under an incredibly absorbing microscope, with gender and class at the forefront. The film gives equal space to all characters: the religious caretaker, her downtrodden husband, the conflicted husband, the brazen wife and even the mature eleven-year-old daughter who is stuck in the middle. Tightly wound around an impeccable script and camera choreography, A Separation perfectly parables a country hurtling toward and uncertain future.
(Capsule submitted to In Review Online's NYFF coverage.)

5.    Year Without a Summer (Malaysia) Tan Chui Mui 9

Caged in nostalgia and folklore, a man returns home to visit his friends and family he left behind. Beautiful and mysterious and completely unexpected.

6.    Eternity (Thailand) Sivaroj Kongsakul 8.5
Although it might be safe to say that Thailand had the corner on the gentle otherworldly genre, this might be a broad stereotype brought about by the widely-seen films of Apichatpong Weerasethakul. But I would also include Mundane History (VIFF 2010) and this extremely beautiful love story by way of passing over into another world. I have little expectation that this film will gain any significant international distribution, so if it plays in a festival near you, please go see it!

7.    Pina 3D (Germany/France/UK) Wem Wenders 8.5
Naysayers beware! Wem Wenders Pina 3D was one of the most exhilarating films I saw at VIFF. The film is an unselfish homage to the work of modern dance icon Pina Bausch, who passed away quite suddenly early in the film’s production. Primarily a vehicle for her choreographed pieces—some performed on stage and some in the open-air ambiance of Wuppertal, Bausch’s creative home—the 3D perfectly captures the tactile buoyancy and physicality of these performances. Dispersed throughout are quiet portraits of her dance troupe, as animated and impassioned reflections of the artist. Art and film collide in the most unaffected manner.
(Capsule submitted for my VIFF coverage at In Review Online.)

8.    The Turin Horse (Hungary) Béla Tarr 8.5
More on this later. I promise.

9.    Apuda (China) He Yuan 8.5
Read my review on Twitch here.

10.Elena (Russia) Andrei Zvyagintsev 8.5
Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev crafts his best film yet with his third, a tightly wound drama of cinematic elegance. The matronly woman of the film’s title is a social survivor who understands the delicate balance between necessary acquiescence and taciturn defiance. But when her hand is forced, the film gives her a grand stage for a paradoxical tragedy of Shakespearian tone. Maternal instinct takes over and Elena rejects fate for conscious, if not reprehensible, volition. Zvyagintsev builds a palpable mood of suspense, staged with gorgeous long takes and scored with the effective anxious sounds of Phillip Glass.
(Capsule submitted for my VIFF coverage at In Review Online.)
Read my review on Twitch here.

11. LeHavre (Finland/France) Aki Kaurismaki 8

A man in a black trench coat walks into a bar with a pineapple… Moments like these in Le Havre, delivered with a dry wit and in a peculiar light, will be very familiar to fans of Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki. But surrounding the sardonic humor is unremitting optimism and effervescent magic. Joining unlikely forces is an impassive aging shoeshine whiling away his time and a young illegal immigrant on the lam from the law, backed by an entire community of underserved idealists. Kaurismäki takes his local verve and goes global in a forgotten French port city, rife with gleeful tenderness and plainspoken marvels.

(Capsule submitted to In Review Online's NYFF coverage.)

12. TwoYears at Sea (UK) Ben Rivers 8

13. Are We Really So Far From a Madhouse? (China) Li Hongqi 8
Read my review on Twitch here.

14. TheSword Identity (China) Xu Haofeng 8

15. TheDay He Arrives (S Korea) Hong Sang-soo 8
Hong Sang-soo continues to amaze within a narrow frame of focus by somehow pulling a fresh rabbit out of the same hat. Hong evokes his playful side in The Day He Arrives by ruminating on the mound of minor coincidences that mold the lives of his admittedly fallible characters. The set up is familiar—a film director, his friends, women from his past and soju—but the narrative pattern is slightly askew, cycling through different possibilities ala Groundhog Day. But more importantly, Hong takes the opportunity to explore his charming, booze filled variations on a theme all within one film. Check out this brilliant tease of a trailer.
(Capsule submitted for my VIFF coverage at In Review Online.)

16. Policeman(Isreal) Nadav Lapid 8

17. Headshot(Thailand) Pen-ek Ratanaruang 8
Thai director Pen-ek Ratanaruang returns to the noir and grit of his cult crowd-pleasing 1999 film 6ixtynin9, but with an added panache for murky spaces and nuanced storytelling. A man finds his altruistic ideals crushed on both sides of the law until he suffers a bullet to the head, turning his world upside-down (somewhat literally.) Concerned with enlightenment in a croaked world, Headshot skirts the edges of genre with a striking sense of ease and control. It runs through the well-trodden paces of political, police and criminal corruption with ample bloodletting but a unique set of credos.
(Capsule submitted for my VIFF coverage at In Review Online.)
Read my review on Twitch here.

18. MarthaMarcy May Marlene (USA) Sean Durkin 8

19. LifeWithout Principal (Hong Kong) Johnny To 7.5

20. I Wish (Japan) Hirokazu Kore-eda 7.5
No one films the subtle affairs of the heart quite like the Japanese auteur Hirokazu Koreeda. He has mastered the ability to capture delicate shifts, shuffles and pangs without caving to predictable schmaltz and eye-rolling banality. I Wish folds these skills in with a group of charismatic young kids looking to make their dreams come true. At the center are two brothers struggling with the adjustment of living apart due to the irreconcilable differences of their parents. The humble perfection of I Wish is found in the generosity not only given to the kids but also to the adults harboring their own hopes and disappointments. Cynics need not apply.
(Capsule submitted for my VIFF coverage at In Review Online.)
Read my review on Twitch here.

21. Mr.Tree (China) Han Jie 7

22. LowLife (France) Nicolas Klotz, Elisabeth Perceval 7.5
In the grand tradition of French film burning with the ethos of May 68, Low Life emerges like a hot-blooded second cousin to Jean-Luc Godard’s Film Socialisme. An unsettled Paris is portrayed through the lives of disaffected young adults and disenfranchised immigrants in a meditative pool of intellectual ideals and carnal passion. Directors Nicolas Klotz and Elizabeth Perceval steady their aim at ill-defined movements of marginal cause and effect, juxtaposed with the less theoretical reality of deportation. These two worlds meet when a graduate student and an illegal Afghani immigrant fall in love. Low Life is a film to discover, with a distinct blend of dialectical acrobats and brooding hipsters that oddly culminates with a little sci-fi and a little magic.
(Capsule submitted for my VIFF coverage at In Review Online.)

23. KidWith a Bike (Belgium/France/Italy) Dardennes 7

24. TheLoneliest Planet (Germany/USA) Julia Loktev 7
Western world privilege and confidence are at the center of the latent suspense that slowly spins in The Loneliest Planet. But so is the fragile trust between companions, both intimate and professional. Julia Loktev wields a careful hand on the perceptive story surrounding two beautiful, and engaged to be married, globetrotters (Hani Furstenberg and Gael Garcia Bernal) backpacking through the country of Georgia. Triangulated by a local guide, the group forms a jovial pack until an event, and a reaction, forms a mighty fissure. Unlike Loktev’s first feature Day Night Day Night, the insinuating introspection of The Loneliest Planet is both potent and convincing.
(Capsule submitted to In Review Online's NYFF coverage.)

25. KillList (UK) Ben Wheatley 7
Divisive, maybe to a fault, Kill List nonetheless pummels its way from drama to thriller to horror with riotous and cavalier flair.

26. Patience(After Sebald) (UK) Grant Gee 7

27. Returnto Burma (Taiwan) Midi Z 7

28. ASimple Life (Hong Kong) Ann Hui 7
Between July Rhapsody, The Way We Are and this film, Hui has made some of the best and most understated films coming out of Hong Kong.

29. TheSkin I Live In (Spain) Pedro Almodóvar 7
With its veins pumped full of style, The Skin I Live In launches Pedro Almodóvar back into the spotlight with a riveting explosion of noir melodrama. Antonio Banderas plays a plastic surgeon too confident for his own good, and Elena Anaya plays the mysterious object of his demented affection. Harking back to Almodóvar’s early years, plotlines go haywire but with the measured control of his more recent films. But for all its storytelling confidence and cinematic elan, there is an absence emotional zeal. Obsession and death are brilliant but somewhat plastic tools of the film’s trade.
(Capsule submitted for my VIFF coverage at In Review Online.)

30. Michael(Austria) Markus Schleinzer 7

31. TheColor Wheel (USA) Alex Ross Perry 7

32. Flirtingwith Heights (France) Jean-Michel Bertrand 7

33. ATime to Love (S Korea) Boo Jiyoung, Yang Ikjune 7
Omnibus things rarely work, but this South Korean dyptich was impressive. Thinking about it now, it would probably rank higher amongst the films I rated a 7.

34. MitsukoDelivers (Japan) Yuya Ishii 7
Can we call this screwball comedy?

35. Womanin a Septic Tank (Philippines) Marlon N. Rivera 7

36. Bachelor Mountain (China) Yu Guangyi 7
Read my review on Twitch here.

37. TheArtist (France) Michel Hazanavicius 7
Michel Hazanavicius ditches his OSS 117 franchise for a very probable spin through the awards circle. Although The Artist will likely dazzle audiences with flashy design, good performances and cute dog, behind this silent film’s undeniable charm is an unsurprising and rote story. Jean Dujardin plays silent movie star George Valentin whose career is threatened by Hollywood’s new fangled talkies. The film follows George’s downfall and his love’s rise to the top. The fact that you can guess what will happen every step of the way doesn’t decrease the enjoyment, but it does increase its eventual depreciation.
(Capsule submitted for my VIFF coverage at In Review Online.)

38. Nana(France) Valérie Massadian 6.5

39. BabyFactory (Philippines) Eduardo Roy Jr 6.5

40. Saltof Life (Italy) Gianni Di Gregorio 6.5

41. Almayer’sFolly (Belgium/France) Chantal Akerman 6.5
In her adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s first novel, Chantal Akerman casts a wider swath over the notion of colonialism. Taking touchstones from the book, Almayer’s Folly puts a more random spin on time and place with an effective theatrical air. Akerman piles on the atmosphere suffocating Almayer in his own malaise of failure while his wife and daughter burn with madness and rage, respectively. The film is a stunning treatment of the material, but alone it becomes an abstruse illusion with a topical fever of power, obsession, jealousy, depression and death.
(Capsule submitted for my VIFF coverage at In Review Online.)

42. Invasionof Alien Bikini (S Korea) Oh Youngdoo 6.5

43. Dragonslayer(USA) Tristan Patterson 6.5
Read my review on Twitch here.

44. Bullhead(Belgium) Michael R. Roskam 6

45. Shattered(China) Xu Tong 6
A disappointment compared to last year's stunning Fortune Teller.

46. Bonsái (Chile/France/Argentina) CristiánJiménez 6

47. HoneyPupu (Taiwan) Chen Hung-I 6

48. Seediq Bale (Taiwan) Wei Te-Sheng 5
Read my review on Twitch here.

49. WeCan’t Go Home Again (USA) Nicholas Ray and friends 5

50. Dendera(Japan) Tengan Daisuke 5

51. MyLittle Princess (France) Eva Ionesco 5

52. TheSun Beaten Path (China/Tibet) Sonthar Gyal 5

53. OutsideSatan (France) Bruno Dumont 5

54. Recreation(Japan) Nagano Yoshihiro 5

55. MyBack Page (Japan) Yamashita Nobuhiro 5

56. Harakiri:Death of a Samurai (Japan) Takashi Miike 4
Read my review on Twitch here.

57. Alps(Greece) Yorgos Lanthimos 4

58. TheMirror Never Lies (Indonesia) Kamila Andini 4

59. OurFuture (Japan) Iizuka Kashou 3

60. Hi-So(Thailand) Aditya Assarat 3
Read my review on Twitch here.

61. BuddhaMountain (China) Li Yu 3

I'm glad that Li Yu (who brazen started her career with a indie love story, Fish and Elephant, about two women) continues to make films, but this is a mess. There's some good material for a music video here, but the story and script fail to launch with some cringe-worth melodrama. Starring Fan Bingbing, Sylvia Chang and Chen Bo-lin.

62. ThereOnce Was an Island (New Zealand/USA) Briar March 3
A well intentioned but barely realized documentary about a community on a disappearing island off Papua New Guinea.

63. SleepingBeauty (Australia) Julia Leigh 3
It’s going take more than waifish confidence and blissful servanthood for me to buy what this austere, affected film is trying to sell. Sleeping Beauty channels the emotional distance of young woman (Emily Browning) willing to endure a drug induced sleep for the pleasures of elderly clientele. First time director and accomplished novelist Julia Leigh turns in a stylish debut, inhabiting an ethereal atmosphere that is not so different from her novels. But the characters are cardboard cutouts of failed hearts and broken psyches with little gravity, especially when tears are shed. Give me Sucker Punch any day.
(Capsule submitted for my VIFF coverage at In Review Online.)

64. Fatigue(S Korea) Kim Dongmyung 2
Fatigue is an extremely heavy-handed film about a woman in an oppressive domestic situation. The film steers far from literal interpretation, and I (incorrectly) read it as a lo-fi analogy about a male-dominated South Korean society. As it turns out, Fatigue is about the environment and a social engineering project going on right now to boast tourism...huh? The director was on hand to explain the film, but it only resulted in digging a hole. The Q&A was not pretty.

65. White(S Korea) Kim Sun, Kim Gok 2
Read my review on Twitch here.

66. Sufferosa(Poland/UK) Dawid Marcinkowski 0
This is a web based idea, not a film. Check out the idea here at www.suferosa.com. A frustrating waste of an hour on a gimmick.

VIFF 2011 Non-film Roundup

2011-10-17T10:21:00.002-05:00

Here's some photos from my two weeks in Vancouver for the International Film Festival. Yes, I spent most of my time inside a movie theater or cranking away in a notebook or on a laptop, but here is a nominal record of some other things that made my trip and experience special.

VIFF was primarily housed in four venues, not including the Park which hosted the two 3D films in the line up. (No photo of the Park because I was too anxious about getting into both Pina and Harakiri, one of which was awesome and the other disappointing. Stay tuned if you don't already know the answer to that one.)

The massive 1200 seat Vogue Theater was the place for the premieres and hot tickets of the fest, and it routinely filled up. Built in 1941, the Vogue is a venue for mostly live performance. (Tom Morello, looking old, coming soon.) I sat in the balcony every time I was in the Vogue, and oh, what a balcony it was. For Twin Cities folks, imagine the upper half of the Riverview being a balcony - huge! I heard one projectionist complaining about sore quads from climbing up the steps to the booth.

The more modest Pacific Cinémathèque hidden behind the foliage is also a nice theater that has regular programming similar to the Trylon: great rep series and interesting first run screenings. It has a great feel to it and super duper comfortable seats. I would be at this theater a lot if I lived in Vancouver.

Vancity Theatre is the year around venue for VIFF and it is incredibly beautiful. The seats in the Vancity are like first class airplane seats (not that I've ever traveled first class...but I've seen those seats as I walk by!) At 170 seats, Vancity was probably the smallest venue but also the nicest.
And finally, the Granville 7, also known as VIFF Central Station. This seven screen multiplex was where 90% of the action was, and everyday I was shocked at the organization and planning that went into getting hundreds of people in and out and in and out of this bottleneck. The theater doesn't look like much from the outside, but it's towering lobby with all-glass windows is really nice, especially on those days where I needed to confirm that I wasn't a vampire.

Downtown Vancouver is flush with cheap eats, some better than others. Although I dipped by toe into the many inexpensive sushi places (finding a good one down near Vancity that suited me just right a couple times), my bread and butter was $5 or less. The true object of my Vancouver food obsession was Japadog, with carts around town and a storefront on Robson.

This cart was conveniently located right outside the hotel of the VIFF media office. My favorite was the oroshi: a brat with grated daikon and soy sauce. Yum!

Here's the outside of their storefront on Robson between Richards and Seymour, but if it was too packed it didn't matter. Right next door at Viet Subs you could get an amazing bahn mi (rivaling St Paul's Saigon Cafe sandwiches) that you could easily smuggle into any theater. And on the corner is Gyudon-ya, an inexpensive rice bowl restaurant that does a bustling business. Top any of those off with a cream puff from Beard Papa's (with rotating flavors like mango, caramel, and green tea) and you will be ready to take on a day of movies.

Vancouver has nature! Not that I saw much of it, but here we are at Lynn Canyon Park, the suspension bridge that the locals go to. (Props to the good folks at the media office for this free recommendation!)

I bet you didn't know that one of those exits from Union Street Station puts you in Vancouver. Or at least it did for one morning.

In between films I worked on my behind-the-back dribble here. Steve Nash was able to give me some good pointers.

A poster in the hostel I was staying that had an unwitting VIFF 2011 theme to it. (Cough, cough. Aki Kaurismaki's most recent.) The St. Clair Hostel has done me right for the second year in a row, providing the most amazing free Thanksgiving dinner. Even if I could afford the Sutton with the film fest rock stars, I prefer the humble and mellow ambiance of the St. Clair.

And last but not least, a big shout out to my buddy Erik McClanahan who contributes to the Playlist and works for the NW Film Center in Portland. For the second year in a row, Erik and I have been festival roommates and movie comrades. I love talking to this guy about movies, even if he is over-obsessed with Drive. Above is a drawing by a panhandler made while we stood in line for tickets. The guy earned his 2 bucks.

Up next: the final tally of films, their rankings, my ramblings and link to reviews.

30th Vancouver International Film Festival

2011-09-16T11:26:00.003-05:00

The full schedule for the 30th Vancouver International Film Festival went live over last weekend with 375+ films from 75 countries. The Fest will open with Pedro Almodóvar’s The Skin I Live In on September 29 and close two weeks later with the Dardenne Brother’s The Kid With a Bike. VIFF and its stellar array of films might be overshadowed by Toronto’s buzz, glitz and glam (not to mention the other film festival also known as VIFF), but Vancouver packs 16 days with an eclectic mix of films, including the largest East Asian selection outside of that region and the influential Dragons & Tigers Award.

In competition for the Dragons & Tigers Award are eight films: three from the Philippines, two from South Korea, two from Japan, and one judiciously stated from China, parenthetically, Tibet. This year’s jurors are producer Simon Field (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall his Past Lives, I Can’t Sleep Alone), director Ann Hui (July Rhapsody, The Way We Are and this year’s A Simple Life) and actor/director Yang Ik-joon (Breahtless). The award, announced October 8, has had a long history of recognizing some of the most important young talent coming out of the region, including the debut features of Jia Zhangke, Hong Sang-soo, Lee Chang-dong and Hirokazu Kore-eda.

There are 46 Asian features in the Dragons & Tigers Program, and rounding out the award nominees are new films from well-known directors (Johnnie To’s Life Without Principle, Hong Sang-soo’s The Day He Arrives, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s I Wish, Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s Headshot and Takashi Miike’s Harakiri: Death of a Samurai) as well as a number of highly anticipated titles (Wei Te-sheng’s four-hour epic Warrior’s of the Rainbow: Seeqid Bale, Xu Haofeng’s The Sword Identity and Jang Hun’s The Front Line.) But it is the remaining discoveries of under-the-radar Asian films, curated by Tony Rayns and Shelly Kraicer, which make the Dragons & Tigers Program a unique treasure trove.

On the international stage VIFF offers regional premieres of some of the most talked about films on the festival circuit. Fresh from Cannes and direct form Toronto, VIFF 2011 will include Aki Kaurismäki’s first feature in five years Le Harve, Gerardo Naranjo’s follow-up to I’m Gonna Explode, Miss Bala, Wim Wender’s 3D documentary Pina, Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, novelist Julia Leigh’s debut Sleeping Beauty, Frederick Wiseman’s newest Crazy Horse, Jafar Panahi’s This is Not a Film, filmed under house arrest, and Bela Tarr’s purportedly final film, The Turin Horse.

Equally exciting is the long list of buzz worthy titles making an appearance at VIFF. Markus Schleinzer’s debut film Michael seems worthy of controversy. Recently picked up by Strand, Michael taps into the taboo subject of pedophilia. Also sure to divide audiences is Yorgos Lanthimos’ follow-up to Dogtooth, ALPS. Lanthimos employs more of an ensemble for his newest that has been called an “absurdist ghost story.” Also of note: one of the latest in a exploding US independent scene, The Color Wheel from Alex Ross Perry; the SXSW and Hot Docs favorite from Tristan Patterson, Dragonslayer; the sophomore features from Julia Loktev (The Loneliest Planet), Ben Wheatley (Kill List) and Canada’s own Sarah Polley (Take This Waltz.)

The Vancouver International Film Festival, in its 30th year, runs from September 29 to October 14. I will be there from September 30 to October 14, covering the festival daily for Twitch and providing festival overviews for In Review Online and KFAI.

Clio Barnard's THE ARBOR

2011-07-19T00:22:00.003-05:00

My review of Clio Barnard's amazing documentary The Arbor is up on In Review Online. I've watched this film four times of the past 6 months and it continues to grow on me exponentially. As I mentioned in my halftime post, it is easily one of my favorite films of the year so far.

I gave The Arbor a four star review in the Star Tribune for an MSPIFF capsule, trying as hard as I could to maximize praise without fluff or hyperbole. Shortly after, I was randomly talking to a stranger at one of my various jobs about the films she had seen at MSPIFF, and she said, "Did you see that one...what was it called...it got a really good review...but really depressing!" I had to take responsibility and sort of explain myself beyond the 100 words I was allotted for the Strib. It seems fitting that I took the time to flesh out a longer review and am glad I did.

Although it has already passed the Twin Cities by, playing at MSPIFF a couple months ago, The Arbor comes out on DVD September 6. Be sure to check it out!

MSPIFF wrap on In Review Online

2011-07-14T10:05:00.003-05:00

Festival Coverage: Minneapolis St Paul 2011

If you thought you missed it, you probably didn't because it only recently went online a couple weeks ago...but, better late that never, my coverage for MSPIFF 2011 is up and available at In Review Online. Check out my thoughts on Mohammad Rasoulof's The White Meadows, Federico Veiroj's A Useful Life, Arvin Chen's Au Revoir Taipei, Mike Mills' Beginners, Jordan Scott's Cracks, Denis Cote's Curling, Jean-Luc Godard's Film Socialisme and most importantly Sergei Loznitsa's My Joy - a film that nearly broadsided me with narrative surprise and dark ingenuity. And because Dan Dobbs was recently asking me why I liked My Joy so much, I'm re-posting my review here. This is for you Dan:

My Joy / Sergei Loznitsa. A kindred, chaotic spirit of Huang Weikai’s Disorder, Sergei Loznitsa’s My Joy has a rigid Russian gloss that takes a traditional approach only if you watch a portion of the film’s random hopper of narratives. Although My Joy is made of two halves, those halves meander through various stories that each leave a lingering vapor trail to a much larger allegory. Corruption unapologetically blankets the film, trickling down from a history of authoritarianism and extreme conditions. Any kindness is met with an untrusting hostility that, at least within the gage of the film, is not unwarranted. But these vignettes, in their structural ambiguity, are anything but detached. Heavy with heartbreak and despair, each sequence is loaded with the components of profound social destruction and deranged malaise. My Joy opens with a mysterious corpse being covered in cement and ends with a shell-shocked murderer walking off into the darkness of night—although the literal connection is abstruse, the cyclical implication is crystal clear. The narrative is loosely structured around Georgy, a stolid truck driver, and the people he comes in contact with. Loznitsa and his cinematographer Oleg Mutu, who worked on The Death of Mr. Lazarescu and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, tell much of their story through the complex and sardonic ‘joy’ on peoples’ faces. As the camera takes an impromptu walk through a market crowd we see it all—anger, frustration, fear, judgment, distrust, hate—and, in this case, for no logical reason, only to trail off after a man in an unexplained panic. The disjunctive anatomy of My Joy may be an aggravation to some, but I found it entirely euphoric with extremely detailed elements of subtle surprise that I could have never predicted in my wildest dreams.

Check out the full coverage here.

And in case you are wondering here is a loose ranking of the films I saw at MSPIFF, from top to bottom:

My Joy
Curling
The Four Times
The Arbor
Nostalgia for the Light
Film Socialisme
The Interrupters
The Forth Portrait
13 Assassins
The Actresses
Cameraman: The Life and Times of Jack Cardiff
A Useful Life
Applause
Page One
Ticker & Dale Vs. Evil
The Green Wave
Home for Christmas
Happy Happy
Au Revoir Taipei
Position Among the Stars
Project Nim
Rio Sonata
White Meadows
Beginners
Kinshasha Symphony
If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle
Dooman River
The First Beautiful Thing
Tyrannosaur
Who Killed Chea Vichea?
A Cat in Paris
Small Town Murder Songs
Kawasaki’s Rose
Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film
Dossier K
Street Days
The Troll Hunter
Stake Land
Aftershock
Gigola
Merry-Go-Round
Midnight Son
Pure
The Ugly Duckling
Amigo
El Infierno

Best of 2011 - Halftime

2011-07-11T08:48:00.002-05:00

The mid-year point is usually a time to do two things: 1) lament the summer movie season for all its empty-headed blockbusters, and 2) yearn for the Fall releases, typically far superior to Spring offerings, that are coming soon but not soon enough. Rarely is anyone extolling the virtues of a great year in film only six months in. But 2011 is a year of a different breed. For reasons that I can only speculate on, the first half of 2011 has been better, in terms of US releases, than most years in their entirety. And even though I still have more than a few releases in my unwatched column (most notably Of Gods and Men, Jane Eyre, Bridesmaids, Hanna, My Perestroika, Win Win, The Trip, Bill Cunningham New York, and Submarine), my 20 Best Films of 2011 cookie jar is already almost filled to the brim.

Normally, the year is laid out with strategic marketing logarithms. But traditional thinking, as I understand it, is to load the 'good films' (i.e. potential award winners) at the end of the year so those casting ballots will be likely to remember the critical, popular or promotional swell of a film. 'Good films' released at the beginning of the year, regardless of reception, are often forgotten about. (The best example of this happening recently is Scorsese's Shutter Island from last year, which I would contend was a great film that had award potential. But it didn't even register at the Golden Globes or Academy Awards. Further proof that those voting need to take better notes.)

What's different this year? Well, first of all, I think we can all agree that distribution tactics have been thrown up into the air with no clear understanding of how things will land. Studios struggling to make heads or tails of the benefit of various modes of attack—theatrical, on-demand and physical home formats—have started to break free from what we expect. This is especially true with distributors who specialize in foreign films or smaller independent films like IFC or Magnolia. They are aggressively exploring what it means to release films by non-traditional means: sometimes on-demand, sometimes in theaters and sometimes both.

Maybe even more prophetic to the stellar first six months of 2011 is a handful of even smaller distributors such as Kino Lorber, Cinema Guild, Oscilloscope, and Strand seem to have a much more radical approach: acquire the best films you can and release them. Period. And that's not to say they don't have a plan, but rather they work far outside of the confines of the majors and have quite a bit to show for it, especially in the first half of 2011. A look at my loosely arranged favorite 18 films of year so far reveals that 13 come from these smaller distributors: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Strand), Meek's Cutoff (Oscilloscope), Le Quattro Volte (Kino Lorber), The Arbor (Strand), Aurora (Cinema Guild), Putty Hill (Cinema Guild), Love Exposure (Olive Films), Poetry (Kino Lorber), United Red Army (Kino Lorber), Nostalgia for the Light (Icarus), Film Socialisme (Kino Lorber), Leap Year (Stand) and Tuesday, After Christmas (Kino Lorbor). Of the remaining five, four still come from modestly sized companies: Cold Weather, Certified Copy , Cave of Forgotten Dreams (all IFC) and 13 Assassins (Magnolia/Magnet). And only one, Tree of Life, bares the emblem of a large distributor, Fox Searchlight.

Of course, this all kind of makes sense. Many of the films that will land in the Fall that see both popular and critical success will be from some of the larger distributors who hold the line on cashing in on the awards season. The small distributors own the first half of 2011, and they may likely be the unsung heroes at the end of the year, as I don't see the lock they have on my attention wavering too much in the next six months. If that is true and if the majority of my favorite films so far end up being on my top 20 of the year, it means that many will be available if not on DVD or Blu-ray then some sort of VOD which could make the eventual lists of 2011, even the esoteric ones, more accessible than ever before.

So I say, long live the adventurous small distributors—fearless and inspired in their aquisitions—making 2011 extremely exciting! As distribution systems shift, morph and break down and as the most savvy consumers are just as willing to rip a movie from the internet than support the companies that champion them, Stand, Kino Lober, Cinema Guild, Oscilloscope, Olive, Icarus, and even back-from-the-dead New Yorker doggedly keep fighting the good fight to bring films to theaters and, more important to those not living in a major market, to home distribution.

Below are eighteen favorites, loosely arranged by preference, that hit US screens in the first six months of 2011 with notations on DVD/Blu-ray release dates if available and links for titles that I've actually written a little somethin' somethin' about:

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand (DVD/Blu-ray July 12)
Certified Copy, Abbas Kiarostami, France (Available on demand through some cable providers)
Meek's Cutoff, Kelly Reichardt, USA (DVD/Blu-ray Sept 13)
Le Quattro Volte, Michelangelo Frammartino, Italy (DVD/Blu-ray Sept 13)
The Arbor, Clio Barnard, UK (DVD Sept 6)
Aurora, Cristi Puiu, Romania
Cold Weather, Aaron Katz, USA (DVD Aug 2)
The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick, USA
Putty Hill, Matthew Porterfield, USA
Love Exposure, Sion Sono, Japan
Poetry, Lee Chang-dong, South Korea (DVD/Blu-ray Aug 23)
United Red Army, Koji Wakamatsu, Japan
Nostalgia for the Light, Patricio Guzmán, Chile
Film Socialisme, Jean-Luc Godard, France
Leap Year, Michael Rowe, Mexico
Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Werner Herzog, France
Tuesday, After Christmas, Radu Munteau, Romania
13 Assassins, Takashi Miike, Japan (DVD/Blu-ray available now)

Trylon Premiere Tuesdays lineup

2011-07-02T08:10:00.006-05:00

People have asked me what the theme is of the Tuesday film series at the Trylon, and logistically, they are films that we can afford to bring in for four shows that deserve to play in the Twin Cities. Outside of films that get locked in at Landmark, creative and adventurous programming of new films only happens at St. Anthony Main and the Walker. But with the Walker cutting back on many of its film programs and St Anthony radically shifting from week-to-week, it leaves a lot of holes, especially for some of the smaller indie and international releases. Ours is a modest but what I feel is an important contribution to the Twin Cities film scene. As a film fan, many of these films are ones that I would want to see come to town. Twin Cities premieres are certainly what we are striving for, but occasionally that is a white lie. Case in point, I was feeling pretty cruddy about living in a place that only gave Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (a film that I dearly love) one screening. Fortunately I was able to do something about that.

Thematically though, the films are all over the map. Nothing exemplifies this more than the next four films—a solid mixture of international drama that may be the best lineup we’ve ever had. Yes, I’m a little bit proud of myself. If I had tail feathers, they would be splayed.

Here’s what I’m looking forward to in the next couple of months and I hope you are too:

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)
Thailand, dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Tuesday, July 5 7:00 & 9:15

There are two more screenings of Uncle Boonmee and if I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, in one way or another: don't miss this movie. The patience and simplicity of this mystical film make it unlike anything you've ever seen before. Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s new film is a gentle and dreamy meditation on death and the magical possibilities of reincarnation. Boonmee is a man at the end of his life who is visited by spirits and visions of his past from the dense jungles of Northern Thailand.

Hadewich (2009)
France, dir. Bruno Dumont
Tuesday, July 12 7:00 & 9:15
Tuesday, July 19 7:00 & 9:15

Bruno Dumont has earned a reputation as a provocateur for the sake of provoking. But he pulls back ever so slightly with Hadewijch with a story about the incongruity between the blind faith most religions promote and the expectations of the modern world. Hadewijch is a young nun in training who is kicked out of the order because her faith is, ironically, too fervent. She returns to her bourgeois life in Paris and finds solitude with a group of men who have a passion for Allah that is equal for her passion for God. Hadewijch is an incredibly honest film even if it is allegorical and its message slight.

Caterpillar (2010)
Japan, dir. Koji Wakamatsu
Tuesday, July 26 7:00 & 9:00
Tuesday, August 2 7:00 & 9:00

Koji Wakamatsu last two films have recently gotten US releases. The first, United Red Army (2007), is an epic three hour critique on 1970s left wing politics in Japan. Caterpillar is conversely a commentary on the Right and the Nationalism that spawned the the revolutionary movement he depicted in United Red Army. At a mere 84 minutes, Caterpillar is a little more accessible not only in length, but also tone and style. (The possibility still remains that I might find a spot for United Red Army.) Loosely based on a banned short story by Edogawa Rampo, this period film tells the story of a soldier retuning from war a hero, but without his arms and legs. Caterpillar's potent metaphor is part horror film, part wartime drama.

World on a Wire (1973)
Germany, dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Tuesday, August 9 7:00
Tuesday, August 16 7:00

Here's one I haven't seen yet, but am as excited as anyone to see it. Recently restored by Janus Films, we are thrilled to give this two screenings. From Janus' website: "A dystopic science-fiction epic, World on a Wire is German wunderkind Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s gloriously cracked, boundlessly inventive take on future paranoia. With dashes of Kubrick, Vonnegut, and Dick, but a flavor entirely his own, Fassbinder tells the noir-spiked tale of reluctant action hero Fred Stiller (Klaus Lowitsch), a cybernetics engineer who uncovers a massive corporate and governmental conspiracy. At risk? Our entire (virtual) reality as we know it. This long unseen three-and-a-half-hour labyrinth is a satiric and surreal look at the weird world of tomorrow from one of cinema’s kinkiest geniuses." Yeah! Although World on a Wire is not up on the Trylon website yet, it will be up on the site by Monday. Buy your tickets in advance!

Tuesday, After Christmas (2010)
Romania, dir. Radu Muntean
Tuesday, August 23 7:00 & 9:00
Tuesday, August 30 7:00 & 9:00

Another chapter in the book of the Romanian New Wave, Tuesday, After Christmas is a sparse, pared down tale about a man's temptation to turn his back on his family. The story is nothing new, but the long-take exposition focusing on the natural performances of the two leads makes this one of the best films of the year. In the days leading up to Christmas, a married man forces himself to choose between his wife and his mistress. A sharply observed, deeply felt drama from director Radu Muntean, showcasing the strengths of current Romanian cinema in its beautifully calibrated performances, expert craftsmanship, and dazzling technical mastery. (This also is not up on the site yet, but will be soon.)

Check out the full calendar of Take-Up.
And Trylon Premiere Tuesdays.

Home Movies - May 2011

2011-06-22T10:04:00.001-05:00

Another edition of Home Movies is up on In Review Online where regular co-conspirator Jordan Cronk, special guest Matthew Lucas and I take on the best of the best released in May.

Home Movies - May

As my my luck would have it, I review Masahiro Shinoda's Pale Flower, Henri-Georges Clouzot's Diabolique and Dario Argento's Cat 'o Nine Tails, all on beautiful Blu-ray. These three films couldn't be more different, but they are connected by three directors with an eye for formal perfection, each with their own flavor and each one brilliant in its own right. Pale Flower is a force to be reconciled, and gets my overwhelming approval for the pick of the month. Not only did I recently see (and project) the new 35mm print of Pale Flower at the Trylon as part of our Takemitsu series, but I also sat down with this Blu-ray and watch the film, almost compulsory, three times.

I also check out five DVDs released in May from French director Nicolas Philibert. Jordan Cronk reviews Criterion's Something Wild, Smiles of a Summer Night and Solaris. And Matthew Lucas looks at new releases for In the City of Sylvia and Kino's ambitious Sophia Loren Collection. Enjoy!

SUID: LITTLEROCK, ABRAXAS and LAST DAYS HERE

2011-06-13T09:34:00.001-05:00

In its second year, Sound Unseen International Duluth held cultural court this past weekend in the Northland and I took a road trip for one day of screenings.

Littlerock (2010)
dir. Mike Ott
USA

Slowly but surly, I'm dusting up all the films I didn't get to in Vancouver last year. Littlerock, not to be confused with Little Rock, is a small town in California just north of LA. Two young tourists, brother and sister Rintaro and Atsuko from Japan, find themselves stranded in Littlerock when their rental car breaks down on the way to San Francisco via Manzanar. Wandering the roads, vacant lots and less than inspiring business, Rintaro and Atsuko feign interest in this slice of American pie that they didn't expect. When Rintaro goes to break up a party that is keeping him awake, they make friends with a group of disaffected locals who might just take the edge off the boredom of Rintaro and Atsuko's two day layover. They are adopted by Cory, an effeminate eccentric (by the town's standards) who denies he is anything but straight. (And who wouldn't. Welcome to the land of homophobia that voted for Proposition 8.) Cory shows them around town, such as it is, and takes them to another party where Jordan takes an interest in Atsuko. When their car is ready, Rintaro is ready to leave, but Atsuko has found some charm or curiosity in these hang-abouts and decides to stay on for a few days, despite her lack of English.

Director Mike Ott has mentioned that he was interested in making a Lost in Translation from the opposite perspective. As a result, and no doubt by intention, the romance of place that oozes over the loneliness in Lost in Translation is superseded by the pall of economic depression and tension of small town violence in Littlerock. But Ott asks you to try and see Littlerock through Atsuko's eyes and find what she sees in this US version of "No Exit." It seems appropriate that I would see Littlerock at SUID, where, one year ago, I saw Putty Hill, October Country, and Cold Weather—poster children in the rise of new American filmmaking who are redefining the term 'independent.' Littlerock does very similar things: modest intentions, simple means and deft filmmaking. Litllerock failed me a bit when it decided to play out the Manzanar storyline and connect it to a more contemporary form of isolation and oppression. Some subtlety was lost in this otherwise beautiful and unassuming film.

Abraxas (2011)
dir. Naoki Kato
Japan

Fresh off the Sundance presses, Abraxas is a film about a man headed into a mid-life crisis. The man, however, is a Zen Buddhist monk and his age-defying craving is the punk rock of his youth. Abraxas is one of those films that goes for the cliché of wanting to make you laugh and cry, and does so in a jumble of tones that never really gel as a whole. Jonen is a good natured monk but is struggling with life's bigger questions much to the detriment of his profession and his family. His solution is to return to his musical passions and play a live show in his local community. His wife and the elder at the monastery don't think this is such a good idea, but Jonen nonetheless trots off like a giddy teenager hanging posters and inviting all the locals. Although not much of it is very funny. As Jonen makes a fool of himself in public, his wife is bullied at her job as a convenient store clerk. And there is nothing very cute or cheeky about a husband who neglects his wife and son both physically and emotionally with selfish distractions. As a matter of fact, he's such a hopeless cause that it is hard to imagine he was ever a good monk, husband or father.

When tragedy strikes, Jonen gets a reality check and is forced once again to reassess his values. Here is where the film gets stone-cold serious, and actually starts to work for me. The struggles and emotions are played out with a certain amount of sincerity that the first half just didn't have. Jonen's confusion seems to have a little more relevance and the notion of responsibility starts to enter the picture. I couldn't help think of Sogo Ishii's Electric Dragon 80000v when Jonen pulls out his guitar to duel the ocean. Jonen is played by indie rocker Suneohair (best known in these parts for his contributions to the animation series Honey & Clover) and his grand finale rock-out is just as cathartic as it should be. Eventually, Abraxas won me over, but that first half hour was tough going.

Last Days Here (2011)
dir. Don Argott and Damian Fenton
USA

Last Days Here is the unbelievable story of Bobby Liebling, the lead singer of the heavy metal band Pentagram. If a good documentary is about having the cameras rolling at the right time and in the right place, Last Days Here is a masterpiece. The band Pentagram has been around since the early 70s and is often sited as one of the first doom metal bands with a heavy, sludgy, dark sound. Through a series of near misses, the band never found the fame that (maybe) they deserved and (probably) could have had. If one member sealed the fate of Pentagram, it was Bobby Liebling, the creative genius who dug a hole so deep with drugs, he was barely alive and the band dissolved. The filmmakers catch up with Liebling, living in his parents basement smoking crack and waiting to die. The state of Liebling is utterly frightening—skin and bones, bandaged and puffy from the effects of drugs. If you saw this man on the street, you would avert your eyes. I literally though I was going to see him die while the cameras were running. Although I guess it is a bit of a spoiler to tell you he doesn't die, Last Days Here is a story of recovery against all odds. Fan Sean Pellet is committed to helping Liebling pull himself together and to make one more album with the original members of Pentagram. Spoiler or no spoiler, what directors Don Argott and Damian Fenton catch on camera has to be seen to be believed.

Home Moives: April 2011

2011-05-14T10:23:00.000-05:00

Masters of Cinema's Le Amiche (1955) Blu-ray/DVD included in this month's Home Movies at In Review Online.

After gorging myself on 39 films at MSPIFF (not to mention the ones I caught on screeners beforehand), it was kind of hard to immediately pull up my bootstraps and think about rallying for DVD and Blu-ray releases for April. But with the help of In Review Online colleague Jordan Cronk, we tackled nine spiffy new releases (all Blu-ray, because we are Hi-def snobs) that won't make anyone sad. The best release I reviewed was the amazing Taxi Driver package put together by Sony. I checked out the Blu-ray a mere week after seeing the new 35mm print at the Trylon, making for a good comparison. On Jordan's side, he champions the new Blu-ray of Blow Out from Criterion that ultimately got our nod for release of the month.

That being said, among the other seven releases reviewed, including films from Ken Loach, Jean-Pierre Melville, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Jane Campion and Michelangelo Antonioni, there is not a clunker in the bunch. Enjoy.

Home Movies: April - In Review Onine

MSPIFF log 5.03.11

2011-05-05T15:50:00.003-05:00

Beginners (2010)
dir. Mike Mills
USA

Day 20
38th Film
(6/10) Recommended
Trailer

Tyrannosaur (2010)
dir. Paddy Considine
UK

Day 20
39th Film
(6/10) Recommended

When this film started, I was completely unnerved that I was facing another film that expected me to sympathize with some pathetic bastard caged in the dramatic aura of: 'but deep down, he's a really great guy.' It pulled itself out of that hole eventually and redeemed itself a little. It's got a violent streak in it, but it also has some heart. Eddie Marsan is frightening.

MSPIFF log 5.01.11

2011-05-04T16:02:00.002-05:00

El Infierno (2010)
dir. Luis Estrada
Mexico

Day 18
37th Film
(1/10) Not Recommended
Trailer

What a slog. A two-and-a-half hour soap opera that couldn't make the turn on either serious drama or convincing comedy. Some of the most uneven storytelling I've seen in some time. If this is what blockbusters look like in Mexico, count me out.

MSPIFF log 4.30.11

2011-05-04T15:05:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow Will Be Better (2010)
dir. Dorota Kedzierzawska
Poland/Japan

Day 17
33rd Film
(7/10) Recommended

Tomorrow Will Be Better chronicles three Ukranian street kids in their attempt to sneak into Poland. The three leads are played by homeless kids the director met while scouting for locations. The kids are expected to carry the film and for the most part they do with their unexpected charisma, especially real-life brothers Evgeny and Oleg Ryba. (Can't find a poster or a trailer for this bugger, but it's a really solid film.)

My Joy (2010)
dir. Sergei Loznitsa
Russia/Germany/Ukraine/Netherlands

Day 17
34th Film
(9/10) Highly Recommended
Trailer

Wow, did I love this film. More on this later.

Project Nim (2011)
dir. James Marsh
UK

Day 17
35th Film
(7/10) Recommended
Trailer

Stake Land (2010)
dir. Jim Mickle
USA

Day 17
36th Film
(2/10) Not Recommended
Trailer

I saw Mullberry Street during HorrorFest a couple years ago, so my expectation were set pretty low. Ultimately, this is a rehash of a rehash or a rehash that takes itself way too seriously considering the appropriation and lack of originality. It wants to be "Walking Dead," but doesn't come even close.

MSPIFF log 4.29.11

2011-05-03T14:16:00.004-05:00

Experimental Film Program
A Film (2010) dir. Hisham Bizri, USA/Lebanon
Retrograde Premonition (2010) dir. Leighton Pierce, USA
If You Can't See My Mirrors, I Can't See You (2010) dir. Jenny Hogarth, Kim Coleman, UK
Vertical Kromvex Mirror (2009) dir. Christian Newby, USA/UK
This Quality (2010) dir. Rosalind Nashashibi, UK
Commercials (2007) dir. Erica Eyers, Canada/UK
Sister (2009) dir. Sue De Beer, USA
Two Banana Dance (2010) dir. Diane Torr, UK
The Hottest Day of the Year (2010) dir. Keren Cytter, Germany/Israel
The Coat (2010) dir. Keren Cytter, Germany/Israel
Somewhere Only We Know (2009) dir. Jesse McLean, USA

Day 16
31st Film

An uneven program of work that overall made me feel like I was back in art school.

Film Socialisme (2010)
dir. Jean-Luc Godard
Switzerland/France

Day 16
32nd Film
Trailer

I was totally unprepared for the density of this film, its ideas and format. It's an incredible piece of work that I am conflicted on in many ways. Attempt a review after only one viewing? Ha! I will try! More on this later.

MSPIFF log 4.28.11

2011-05-02T23:57:00.001-05:00

Home For Christmas (2010)
dir. Bent Hamer
Germany

Day 15
29th Film
(7/10) Recommended
Trailer

Enjoyable drama that is not nearly as predictable as one might think. Hated that pop song at the end (also in trailer.)

Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film (2010)
dir. Pip Chodorov
France

Day 15
30th Film
(5/10) Take It or Leave It
Trailer

Only a cursory survey of experimental film, but thoughtfully done with a personal touch. A great introduction to the mood and the work of the time.

MSPIFF log 4.27.11

2011-05-02T21:25:00.007-05:00

Rio Sonata (2010)
dir. George Gachot
Brazil

Day 14
27th Film
(7/10) Recommended
Trailer

All you really need is Nana Caymmi performing and you have a captivating film. An icon of Brazilian music, Caymmi still very much has it. Footage of recent and past performances are just amazing, especially one early in her career with Gilberto Gil where you could barely hear her due to the applause. A must see for fans.

Pure (2010)
dir. Lisa Langseth
Sweden

Day 14
27th Film
(4/10) Not Recommended
Trailer

(Does not star Keira Knightly.) For the majority of this film, I was able to go along with the scenario: A trouble teenager finds an emotional well when she stumbles upon Mozart's "Requiem" on YouTube, and finds inspiration to turn her life around. It is a leap, especially given the gritty, authentic pathos the film is going for. However. Deep within the third act, the film forced me into a corner of happily-ever-after disbelief. Am I giving something away? Probably. But not the specific (and important) plot device I had an issue with.

MSPIFF log 04.26.11

2011-05-02T21:05:00.004-05:00

Kawasaki's Rose (2009)
dir. Jan Hrebejk
Czech Republic

Day 12
25th Film
(5/10) Take It or Leave It
Trailer

This is definitely the point where I start to get a little jaded about the middle-of-the-road festival films. I don't have many complaints about this film, but I also don't have much praise.

The White Meadows (2010)
dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
Iran

Day 12
26th Film
(7/10) Recommended
Trailer

Visually stunning (see left) and metaphorically rich, The White Meadows is a film I will have more to say about when I do a festival wrap for In Review Online. Someday. Stay tuned.

MSPIFF log 04.24.11

2011-05-01T00:22:00.000-05:00

(I'm behind on my log. What are you gonna do.) Skipped another day at MSPIFF. In this case I missed 4/23 for a little softball training with my Ghost Monkeys (Minneapolis E League, look out!) and to give space for Meek's Cutoff which is likely going to be the best film I saw during the Fest that wasn't at the Fest. Here's what I saw on Sunday:

Position Among the Stars (2011)
dir. Leonard Retel Helmrich
Indonesia/Netherlands

Day 11
20th Film
(8/10) Recommended
Trailer

A snap decision to check out this documentary set in Indonesia was a good one. Situating himself right alongside the fly on the wall, director Leonard Retel Helmrich gets more than a snapshot of Jakarta life. A girl graduates from high school, a boy steals some cloths, a grandmother takes her Muslim grandson to a Catholic church, a wife fries her husband's prized fighting fish, and an old woman escapes the hustle and bustle of the city. There is definitely more to Position Among the Stars than meets the eye. Buried under the personal stories is a framework of specific structure and rigorous documentarian formalism. Position is the third in a trilogy. I must see the others! (Check out the trailer linked above! People with vertigo beware!)

Street Days (2010)
dir. Levan Koguashvili
Georgia

Day 11
21st Film
(3/10) Not Recommended
Trailer

Ten years ago, when you bought a cake in China, you couldn't really be sure what you would get flavor-wise. The few times I did buy a cake, I made a point of asking if the cake was sweet or salty. Inevitably, the person behind the counter would excitedly say 'Both!' as if that would be the best answer. This is kind of the case with Street Days: does it have tragedy or drama or comedy? It has it all! Jarring suicides, apathetic adults, funny costumes, depressing situations and drug use! The mixing pot was a little too full on this one and I could not reconcile the lead character's inability to pull his shit together.

The Interrupters (2011)
dir. Steve James
USA

Day 11
22nd Film
(8/10) Recommended
Trailer

Steve James change the landscape of documentary film with Hoop Dreams 17 years ago. (Was it really that long ago?) It, along with Roger and Me, help shepherd a new era of US documentary films with a rich and vibrant representation of the potential power and populism of the medium. The Interrupters brings James back to Chicago to work with author Alex Kotlowitz in documenting the amazing work of "violence interrupters." A part of CeaseFire, these interrupters work to mediate violence on a street level. Needless to say, the stories and personalities are riveting. At 2 hours and 20 minutes (slimmed down from 2 hours and 40 minutes), the film is a completely engaging work. Picked up by Cinema Guild, this film will certainly make the rounds.

Who Killed Chea Vichea? (2010)
dir. Bradley Cox
Cambodia/Thailand/USA

Day 11
23rd Film
(7/10) Recommended
Trailer

Short but concise documentary about the murder of a union leader in Cambodia. Look for it on PBS.

Small Town Murder Songs (2010)
dir. Ed Gass-Donnelly
Canada

Day 11
24th Film
(6/10) Take It or Leave It
Trailer

An odd film set to chapters and murder songs that stars Peter Stormare and Martha Plimpton. Unassuming and strange.

MSPIFF log 4.22.11

2011-04-24T09:24:00.005-05:00

The First Beautiful Thing (2010)
dir. Paolo Virzi
Italy

Day 9
17th Film
(7/10) Recommended
Trailer

The First Beautiful Thing has an undeniable charm. A festival film that has no interest in challenging audiences, but why should it? Enjoyable.

Amigo (2010)
dir. John Sayles
USA

Day 9
18th Film
(1/10) Not Recommended
Trailer

Ugh. John Sayles, what are you thinking. Cheesy agitprop that was best summed up by my friend Nick who said it reminded him of "Dr. Quinn!" Ouch.

13 Assassins (2010)
dir. Takashi Miike
Japan

Day 9
19th Film
(9/10) Highly Recommended
Trailer

Who knew Miike had it in him? It's the same feeling I got after watching Graveyard of Honor. But after years of cranking out films with fearless bravado, Miike proves his deft skill once again in a samurai magnum opus. Don't miss it on the big screen.

Opens at the Lagoon June 3

MSPIFF log 4.21.11

2011-04-23T10:54:00.004-05:00

A Useful Life (2010)
dir. Federico Veiroj
Uruguay

Day 8
14th Film
(7/10) Recommended
Trailer

A delightfully confounding film about the love of cinema and the love of the cinema, A Useful Life feels like a historical archive. In beautifully framed black and white, Jorge's life embodies the unglamorous rigor and passion for film exhibition. Rife with clever anecdotes and stylistic puns, the film chronicles the end of Montevideo's Cinemateca Uruguaya and Jorge's unexpected transition.

Applause (2009)
dir. Martin Zandliet
Denmark

Day 8
15th Film
(7/10) Recommended
Trailer

A one-woman show, reminiscent of Cassavete's Opening Night in its compare and contrast of stage and life, Applause catapults beyond the stagnant storyline with Paprika Steen's amazing performance. She plays Thea, an actress of certain claim and glamour who teeters between poise and vulgarity. Living under the shadow of her alcoholism, her story of recovery feels genuine from start to finish.

Plays again: Sunday 4/24 9:00pm

Midnight Son (2010)
dir. Scott Leberecht
USA

Day 8
16th Film
(3/10) Not Recommended
Trailer

The vampire genre takes another blow below the belt with this low-budget, blood-slurping drama. Unfortunately, the characters don't have the weight to carry the serious, slow-paced nature of this film.

Plays again: Saturday 4/23 10:00pm

As always, for more information go to MSPIFF official website.

MSPIFF log 4.20.11

2011-04-22T13:34:00.006-05:00

Missed Tuesday at MSPIFF because I was working at the best theater in the Twin Cities, but I jumped right back in on Wednesday:

The Green Wave (2010)
dir. Ali Samadi Ahadi
Iran

Day 7
11th Film
(8/10) Highly Recommended
Trailer

A fantastic documentary about the 2009 Iranian elections. A view from the foot soldiers of the protests, director Ali Samadi Ahadi combines rotoscoped images with guerrilla video with talking head interviews. The testimonials are unbelievable and the documentary is a tough watch. Incredibly compelling even if you do know the outcome.

Dooman River (2009)
dir. Zhang Lu
China

Day 7
12th Film
(6/10) Take It or Leave It
Trailer

Beautifully shot and acted, Dooman River nonetheless suffers from the heavy handed cataclysms that befall the small village and the film's central family. Set on the Chinese side of the Dooman (Tuman) River where North Korean refugees have been fleeing for the past two decades. It's an interesting and subtle snapshot that derails from too much on dramatic intervention. Zhang Lu is still a director to watch.

Plays again: Thursday 4/28 9:30pm

Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil (2010)
dir. Eli Craig
Canada

Day 7
13th Film
(8/10) Highly Recommended
Trailer

Hilarious. Genre fans should not miss it.

MSPIFF log 04.18.11

2011-04-22T09:51:00.000-05:00

Dossier K (2009)
dir. Jan Verheyen
Belgium

Day 5
9th Film
(5/10) Take It or Leave It
Trailer

There is nothing too great nor too awful about Dossier K, a well-made crime drama from Belgium. You've got the key components of earnest cop, corrupt cop and honorable thug, nefarious thug and the various oxymorons that go along with those classifications. The blood is spilling among the Albanian underworld in Antwerp and it is up to the handsome Detective Vincke to get to the bottom of it. Entertaining but forgettable.

Plays again: Friday 4/29 9:30pm

International Narrative Shorts
Garagouz (2010) dir. Abdenour Zahzah, Algeria
It's Natural to Be Afriad (2010) dir. Justin Doherty, UK
Mokhtar (2010) dir. Halima Ouardiri, Morocco/Canada
Night Fishing (2010) dir. Park Chan-wook, Park Chan-kyong, South Korea

Day 5
10th Film
(8/10 overall) Recommended

You can go for the heartbreak (especially Mokhtar) but stay for the Night Fishing, the short by Park Chan-wook and his brother Park Chan-kyong shot on an iPhone - it's pretty amazing and slightly mind boggling. If you thought the themes of Thirst were all over the map, Night Fishing condenses that into a 33 minute package that is mesmerizing. Part music video, part horror film, part shamanistic ritual. I can't wait to see this again.

Plays again: Sunday 5/1 9:00pm

MSPIFF log 4.17.11

2011-04-20T11:10:00.001-05:00

No rush to post my viewing from this day, because both met my low expectations.

Gigola (2010)
dir. Laure Charpentier
France

Day 4
7th Film
(1/10) Not Recommended
Trailer

This film can't figure out what is important: the past, the present, the future or simply empty affectation. As a result, it is really hard to care about any of it. Set in 1960s Paris, the film revolves around the loves, losses and conquests of Georgia (Lou Doillon, Jane Birkin's other daughter) in Pigalle's lesbian subculture. The narrative is all over the map and in the end emotionally vacant. What is meant to be serious ends up being silly.

Plays again: Saturday 4/30 9:00pm

The Troll Hunter (2010)
dir. André Øvredal
Norway

Day 4
8th Film
(3/10) Not Recommended (but if you are destine to see this, you are destine to see this)
Trailer

Is it Trollhunter? Or Troll Hunter? Or The Troll Hunter? Whichever it is, I don't think I am giving anything away by saying it is about trolls. The set up is very Blair-Witch-Project-like: mysterious unauthenticated news footage of amateur reporters following a mysterious hunter leading to some mysterious secrets about real, live Norweigen trolls. But waiting for the trolls becomes tedious, and the material a replica of things we have seen before. Three-headed trolls, make for a diversion, but it's not enough. See The Troll Hunter with a crowd through, and you might just have a good time.

Opens in the Twin Cites on July 1.

MSPIFF log 4.16.11

2011-04-16T23:31:00.005-05:00

Nostalgia for the Light (2010)
Chile
dir. Patricio Guzmán

Day 3
4th Film
(9/10) Highly Recommended
Trailer

Plays again: Monday 4/18 8:45pm

Happy, Happy (2010)
Norway
dir. Anne Sewitsky

Day 3
5th Film
(6/10) Recommended
Trailer

Plays again: Sunday 4/17 5:00pm

A Cat in Paris (2010)
France
dir. Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol

Day 3
6th Film
(7/10) Recommended
Trailer

Plays again: Saturday 4/30 1:00pm

MSPIFF log 04.15.11

2011-04-16T10:36:00.006-05:00

Kinsasha Symphony (2010)
Democratic Republic of Congo
dir. Martin Baer

Day 2
2nd Film
(6/10) Recommended
Trailer

Plays again: Saturday 4/16 5:30pm

Curling (2010)
Canada
dir. Denis Côté

Day 2
3rd Film
(8.5/10) Highly Recommended
Trailer

Plays again: Saturday 4/16 8:00pm

(An economy of words with the economy of time. Interested in my brief thoughts? Follow me on Twitter. Some of these films will resurface on my MSPIFF roundup for In Review Online.)

MSPIFF 2011 - Opening Night

2011-04-15T12:13:00.003-05:00

Brisk. Cloudy. Windy. But the predictably unpredictable weather of April in Minnesota could not dampen the hum-hum of opening night at the Minneapolis St Paul International Film Festival. MSPIFF opened this year with its most ambitious program yet: three weeks with over 200 films. This expansion means an extra week and 40 more films than the Fest has ever had. (Only the unmentionable 2005 MSPIFF came close with 160-some films.) Having this land on my backdoor (literally 2 miles from my humble abode) is at once exciting and overwhelming. While have concluded that I can't see everything, I'm going to do my best to see as much as a working class human can.

As if trying to illuminate that there is something for everyone, MSPIFF chose to open with three diverging films: Page One: Inside the New York Times (for the documentary and newspaper lovers; sold out), Trollhunter (for cult film fans and troll lovers; nearly sold out) and Score: A Hockey Musical (what do you get when you combine "Glee" with hockey? a Minnesota crowd-pleaser! also sold out.) Page One was my choice, with Minneapolis native David Carr and director Andrew Rossi in attendance, but, low and behold, the damn thing was sold out. I had no sooner resigned myself to Trollhunter when friend and fellow blogger Daniel of Getafilm offered up an extra ticket. A stroke of luck, because, from the sound of it, I didn't miss much in Trollhunter (but I'll let you know in a couple days when I see it for myself.)

Opening night is not without a certain amount of pomp and circumstance. Speeches, introductions, accolades and awkward moments are standard. Al Milgrom, face, heart and soul of the Festival, gave surprisingly brief comments before hitting the ceremonious gong signaling the beginning of the Festival. Some people raised there fists in a silent cheer, others simply sighed and everyone clapped. On with the films!

Page One was riveting. The film gives a fascinating snapshot of the inner workings of the most recognizable and well-respected newspaper in the world, as the 'crisis of print media' lurks like an elephant in the background. At the center of Page One is the outspoken former editor of the Twin Cities Reader, David Carr and the Times media desk responsible for reporting the downfall of their own industry and upswing of the ubiquitous 'new media.' The topics of the film are ones close to my heart and mind and can be typified by this very blog you are reading. I am the novice. I am the threat. I do not get paid. Fortunately what you are reading right here is not real news. I'm a newspaper reader and more importantly a reader of the print edition of the NYT. And if it went away, I would have to seriously reassess the world I live in.

This is a documentary that openly celebrates a tradition that I am in line for, so the group cheer elicited for the rigors of print media was one I could accept. And so was the underlying if somewhat unintended sales pitch to renew or start a subscription to the New York Times. David Carr and Andrew Rossi took to the stage for a Q & A moderated by Star Tribune editor Tim Campbell. Carr is the unequivocal writing rock star with a personality to match. His rock bottom story is very well known in the Twin Cities and it was an added bonus to have him appear. He hilariously chided Rossi for choosing a former crack addict who sounds like Kermit the Frog to be the star of his documentary. Rossi mentioned that the doc was originally going to be more about Carr and less about the Times, but the film evolved to create a balance of industry examination and personality power. The end has been re-edited since Sundance and, had I known this before the screening, I would have asked about it.

After the Q & A, I headed out to the pavilion tent that MSPIFF has set up for the weekend to get my free lemonade and vodka (opening night with a ticket only!) The tent has been set up to help kick off the Fest with live music, a cash bar, foodstuffs and a place to chat with friends and filmmakers. The weather isn't really suited, but the tent was toasty and warm. So warm, it kind of made me sleepy. This was no hootenanny. But we're Minnesotans. We're international film fans.

One day down. Twenty to go.

Page One plays again on Wednesday, April 20 at 9:15pm.
All the info you need on MSPIFF website.

MSPIFF Cinema Shanty - Friday 9-10am on KFAI

2011-04-14T11:00:00.001-05:00

Myself, Peter Schilling and Jim Brunzell take to the KFAI airwaves tomorrow for a special one hour edition of Cinema Shanty in honor of the three-week, 200 plus film extravaganza also know as the Minneapolis St Paul International Film Festival. Peter and I will talk opening night shenanigans and we will have Craig McCall, director of Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff, on the air to talk about his film which makes its premiere at the Fest. We will also feature interviews with Al Milgrom, Susan Smoluchowski and Ryan Oestreich of The Film Society of Minneapolis/St Paul who put on the Fest.

Tune in here!

MSPIFF 2011!

2011-04-12T08:57:00.002-05:00

MSPIFF is almost here. Are you ready? While the MSPIFF website is on the fritz, here are a few things you can schedule or avoid, depending on what you think of my taste in film. My recommendations from the dozen or so I've seen:

Le Quattro Volte (Italy) Michelangelo Frammartino
The world is full of mysteries and so is this beautiful, dialog-less film.Saturday 4/23, 5:00pm

Monday 4/25, 5:00pm

The Arbor (UK) Clio Barnard
Experimentalism plus raw emotions.
Monday 4/25, 7:15pm
Friday 4/29, 5:00pm

The Fourth Portrait (Taiwan) Chung Mong-Hong
This young actor is amazing.
Wednesday 4/27, 7:00pm
Wednesday 5/4, 5:00pm

How many films will I see this year? No one knows. There are a ton of films I want to see, but these are the ones high on my list:

Nostalgia for the Light (Chile) Patricio Guzman
The great unknowns of outer space meet the great unknowns of a brutal history.
Saturday 4/16, 12:30pm
Monday 4/18, 8:45pm

13 Assassins (Japan) Takashi Miike
Missed my first a second big-screen opportunity to see this film. I will not miss my third and fourth.
Thursday 4/24, 6:45
Friday 4/25, 9:45

My Joy (Russia) Sergei Loznitsa
Kind of pleasant that I have avoided really knowing what this drama is about.
Saturday 4/30, 4:30pm
Monday 5/2, 7:00pm

Film Socialisme (Jean-Luc Godard) France
Not because I have to, but because I really want to.
Friday 4/29, 9:15

The 2010 Minneapolis/St Paul International Film Festival runs from April 14 to May 5 (three weeks!) with over 200 films.

Aaron Katz's COLD WEATHER

2011-03-30T10:09:00.000-05:00

The supposed post-awards pre-summer film doldrums definitely does not apply to the Twin Cities, and I'm not even talking about Sucker Punch. Stellar must-see films such as Poetry, Of Gods and Men, and Another Year, Certified Copy and Jane Eyre continue in theaters, but highest on that list should be Aaron Katz's Cold Weather which is playing at St Anthony Main Theaters.

My review of Cold Weather recently went up over at In Review Online.

Cold Weather is easily one of the best films of the year. But don't take my word for it. Check it out for yourself.

Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival: March 24 - April 10

2011-03-22T08:58:00.000-05:00

The film festival season is here in the Twin Cities, and the first one to pull us out of winter hibernation and whet our appetite is The Sabes Foundation's Annual Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival. In its 18th year, the MJFF has assembled 17 features and a collection of shorts, all local premieres, that run over a 17-day schedule.

Although there is a good mix of fact and fiction in the Festival this year, it is the documentaries that seem the most urgent, timely and not-to-be-missed, as demonstrated in the subjects covered: larger than life biopics of the historically marginalized (Ahead of Time, Where I Stand: The Hank Greenspun Story, No. 4 Street of Our Lady, Grace Paley: Collected Shorts), cultural investigations from the fringes (Children of the Bible, These Are My Names), very real stories of hope and reconciliation (Precious Life, My So-Called Enemy) and, with the snow melting my the minute, the sport everyone is thinking about (Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story.)

One such doc, Precious Life (Sunday, April 3, 7pm) is a heartbreaking, and often frustrating, illustration of the impossible situation between the Palestinians and the Israelis and the urgent need for hope, represented in a baby who needs a bone marrow transplant. Mohammad is a four-month-old Palestinian born without an immune system in need of an expensive procedure that can only be done in an Israeli hospital. With the aid of humanitarian doctor and an earnest journalist (Shlomi Eldar, who is also the filmmaker), Mohammad receives an anonymous donation of $50,000 for the bone marrow transplant. But this is only the beginning. Finding a suitable donor means taking blood samples from relatives, all of who live in Gaza and are unable to come to the hospital. While the conflict boils in the Gaza Strip, Eldar and the committed people around him must first find a way to get blood samples from the relatives, and then get permission for the matching donor to come to Israel. This poignant documentary pummels you with conflicting personal politics set against the backdrop of a devastating and very tangible war. Although Mohammad's life may be saved, thanks to the dedication of many people, he may nonetheless grow up to be a suicide bomber, or he could just as easily be killed in a mortar attack when he returns home to Gaza. Director Eldar bravely forces not only himself, but also the audience, to confront these emotional and personal issues. No easy answers or simple solutions are offered in Precious Life, but in the end it is the small steps of humanity that make a difference—for all of us.

A documentary of a completely different tenor tackles the larger-than-life story of Hank Greenspun in Where I Stand: The Hank Geenspun Story (Saturday, March 26, 5pm, Sunday, March 27, 7pm and Saturday, April 9, 5pm). That perfunctory title doesn't even come close to capturing what this film offers in a well-designed biography of an incredible man. Watching this film makes me wonder why Greenspun is not a household hero, but it also makes me wonder why he was never included in my education. But then again, although Greenspun seemed to be intertwined with the headline news of his day, his face seems to be just outside of the frame. Most certainly a self-made man, Greenspun was best known as a newspaper man, but he had his hands in everything from helping arm Haganah in their fight to establish the nation of Israel in 1947 to vehemently discrediting Joseph McCarthy's fear mongering in 1952. Greenspun made a name for himself by standing up for what was right, which he voiced in his own newspaper, the Las Vegas Sun, from a column appropriately captioned "Where I Stand." The documentary, directed by Scott Goldstein, does not take its valiant subject for granted and builds a stylish talking-head biopic with good use of photo montages, original interviews, stock footage and dramatized narration by Anthony Hopkins. Goldstein will be on hand for the screenings on March 26 and 27 to introduce the film as well as take questions.

The MJFF supplements its well-rounded documentary selections with a handful of narrative features from all over the world, two of which open and close the festival. Anita, from Argentina, opens the Fest on March 24, 7pm at the Showplace ICON Theater in St Louis Park. Telling the story of a Down syndrome woman who suddenly loses her mother (both figuratively and literally), Anita was an award winner at the LA International Latino Film Festival and is sure to tug at everyone's heartstrings. Perhaps the most noteworthy film in the Festival is The Matchmaker by Avi Nesher, fresh from the Toronto Film Festival, closing out the MJFF on April 9, 9pm at the Sabes JCC. Told in flashback, The Matchmaker is set in 1968 Haifa when 16 year-old Arik makes an unlikely friend in a slightly shady but gentle matchmaker named Yankele Bride. Yankele hires Arik to spy on his clients to find out if they are truthful in their desire to find love or simply "looking for hanky panky." While Arik is searching for the meaning of love himself, he is also coming to realize the gravity of his father and Yankele's experience in WWII. Coded by words like "there" and "back then," the Holocaust hangs heavy over Yankele and his red district friends opening Arik's eyes to the curtain of fear that they all live behind. The Matchmaker is a perfect balance of coming-of-age charm and dramatic gravity by veteran director Nesher.

On a much lighter side, Romeo and Juliet in Yiddish (Saturday, April 2, 5:30pm) is a comedic treatment of Shakespeare's tragedy filtered through the lives of young ex-Orthodox slackers from Brooklyn. Ava solicits the help of three young Yiddish speakers to adapt Shakespeare's play (that they have, incidentally, never heard of) into a modern tale. The film mixes the drama—based on many of the actors' real lives—with the staging of Romeo and Juliet in hip modern Yiddish. A play within a play within a movie, it's a hilarious parody that makes plenty of jabs at American Jewish culture that no doubt has many more jokes for those savvy in Yiddish. The 'tragedy' puts a little bit of a damper on things and the acting wavers between over-the-top to apathetic, but overall it works for the staged setting. Another comedy on the schedule is Josh Appignanesi's The Infidel (Thursday, March 31, 5:30pm) from the UK. Mahmud, likened to Homer Simpson by the LA Times, is a Muslim who suddenly finds out he's Jewish.

The Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival opens Thursday. Information and schedule can be found on the MJFF website. Tickets can be purchased in advance online or there are a number of options for 5 or 10-film passes or a full festival pass getting you into everything. See you there.

Im Sang-soo's THE HOUSEMAID (2010)

2011-03-18T15:56:00.005-05:00

My review for Im Sang-soo's new film The Housemaid is up on In Review Online. It played in the Twin Cities a couple weeks back, but it will no doubt be available on DVD soon (and probably available on demand for all I know.)

The Housemaid is a film that pales in comparison to the stunning original from which it is based upon, but ignore the original and you have a dark and unrelenting thriller. Unfortunately, that was something I could not do. I was a big fan of Im's The President's Last Bang which is a wry comedy about the assassination of former South Korean President Park Chung-hee in 1979. The Housemaid has the same commitment to a tone of discord, but it is, in my opinion, a throw away compared to Kim Ki-young's 1960 masterpiece.

(Do yourself a favor: buy the Region Free DVD of the original Housemaid here.)

(Edit 3/19/11 - Just realized you can watch Kim Ki-young's The Housemaid free on Mubi.)

Home Movies - February 2011

2011-03-15T08:38:00.001-05:00

Home Movies for February is up at In Review Online.

Right when I was wrapping up February's DVD/Blu-ray feature for In Review Online, an article appeared in the New York Times regarding the slow but inevitable transition away from DVDs to electronic delivery by either streaming or on-demand. "It's the Delivery, Stupid: Goodbye, DVD. Hello Future." outlines trends and potentials that no doubt greatly effect Dave Kehr, the Times DVD columnist. But I'm not giving up on DVDs yet. They still represent my best opportunity to see films not released in Minneapolis or not released in the US. And while the theaters still playing rep titles are certainly fighting the good fight (and, yes, I work at one), their offerings barely scratch the surface of the amazing restorations going on for your personal DVD and Blu-ray perusal. Case in point with a cross-section of recent purchases: Confessions (Japan, 2010, Tetsuya Nakashima, available on Blu-ray from Hong Kong), At the End of Daybreak (Malaysia, 2009, Ho Yuhang, available on DVD in Hong Kong), Confessions of a Dog (Japan, 2006, Gen Takahashi, banned in Japan and now available on DVD in the UK), La Signora Senza Camelie (Italy, 1953, Michelangelo Antonioni, available on Blu-ray from the UK). Eventually some of these titles will be available in the US, but some won't. And in the case of US releases, there are of course mounds of things unavailable streaming or on-demand or download.

All things considered, what I spend on DVDs and Blu-rays is not that much more than what I would spend on an adequate internet connection (if I was willing to give Comcast my money) and cable in order to access the so-called future, but the future still doesn't include the titles listed above. Nor does the future include many of the films outlined by Jordan Cronk and I in Home Movies.

For my money, DVDs, Blu-rays and my local video store still reign supreme.

Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's AMER @ the Trylon microcinema

2011-03-07T10:25:00.001-06:00

Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's Amer plays Tuesday, March 8 at the Trylon microcinema

"The title is the French word for “bitter” but this provocative and sensational debut is anything but. An oneiric, eroticized homage to 1970s Italian giallo horror movies reimagined as an avant-garde trance film, Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani’s pastiche tour de force plays out a delirious, enigmatic, almost wordless death-dance of fear and desire. Its three movements, each in a different style, correspond to the childhood, adolescence, and adulthood of its female protagonist—and that’s all you need to know. Drawing its stylized, hyperbolic gestures from the playbooks of Bava, Leone, Argento, and De Palma and taking them into a realm of near-abstraction, Amer has genre in the blood. Its bold wide-screen compositions, super-focused sound, emphatic music (lifted from original giallo soundtracks), and razor-sharp cuts make for an outrageous and intoxicating cinematic head-trip."

- New Directors/New Films 2010

Brad Richason's review at the examiner.com
Ella Taylor's review in the Village Voice
Todd Brown's review at Twitch
Joshua Rothkopf review at Time Out New York

Home Movies lives at In Review Online!

2011-02-25T10:35:00.003-06:00

Home Movies, on hiatus for much of 2010, lives again with a new installment for January 2011 on In Review Online. With the help of In Review Online music editor Jordan Cronk, I have picked myself up off the floor to relaunch the monthly feature once again. For January, Jordan tackles the two Sam Fuller films, Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss, from Criterion and the new Blu-ray of Sergio Leone's classic Once Upon a Time in America. Meanwhile, I profile the release of Oscar loser/critical winner Social Network, but then dive head first into full tilt genre releases from the month: Buried, The Last Exorcism, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, Sante Sangre and a Blu-ray import of Deep Red from the UK. The Deep Red release from Arrow Video comes a few months ahead of the Blue Underground US release in April. Although it is kind of unclear what will be included on the Blue Underground Blu-ray, Arrow's 2-disc set would seem to be the definitive in options and supplements.

Home Movies is the first feature on a redesigned In Review Online. The new year has mostly been dedicated to fine tuning the site, but we will be back on our game soon with new music and movie reviews that you can agree and disagree with. Home Movies for February will be up sometime mid-March.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul's UNCLE BOONMEE and SYNDROMES AND A CENTURY at Walker Art Center

2011-02-17T08:24:00.000-06:00

It is not much of a stretch to call Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Syndromes and a Century (2006) and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010) companion pieces. But the same could be said for Syndromes and Tropical Malady (2004), Malady and Blissfully Yours (2002), or Yours and Mysterious Object at Noon (2000)—each one a stair step to unchallenged mythical eminence of Weerasethakul’s oeuvre; each one achieving new heights; each one challenging my own blissful hyperbolic state. (The Adventures of Iron Pussy (2003), which Weerasethakul’s co-directed, is also somewhere in the mix, but entertainingly less grounded to his other work.)

The Walker Art Center hosts the Twin Cities' premiere screenings of Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives this weekend and Syndromes and a Century next Thursday (which shamefully never got a theatrical screening here.) The Walker, way ahead of the curve on Weerasethakul’s work, screened his Mysterious Object at Noon in 2001 as a part of its Asian Currents program and later brought Weerasethakul to the Twin Cities for a Regis Dialog and retrospective in 2004. It is in keeping that the Walker would score an advanced screening of Weerasethakul’s Palme D’Or winner before it lands in New York City on March 2.

Uncle Boonmee earned top prize at Cannes less that a year ago and it wasn’t too long after that Stand picked up the U.S. rights to the film. Fans have certainly been waiting with baited breath, but even those unfamiliar with Weerasethakul's films would be hard pressed not to have noticed the rumblings of Uncle Boonmee’s mysterious ghosts. As one might guess by the title alone, Uncle Boonmee is not your average film—in the best possible way. Boonmee and his past lives are very much the subject of the film, but so are the grand enigmas of life, death and spirituality. With themes this big you might expect a certain amount of grandiose staging, but this is where Uncle Boonmee surpasses average and anything that you might expect.

Weerasethakul approaches the fate of Boonmee with gentle curiosity. Inspired by a book by the same name that Weerasethakul picked up from a monk, Uncle Boonmee is a relatively straightforward account of a man who is nearing death. It takes place, however, in a setting that evokes the supernatural. That setting not only incorporates the landscape and jungles of the Khon Kaen region of northern Thailand, but also Weerasethakul’s cinematic landscape where there is something very plainspoken about abstractions. Jen has traveled to the country to visit her brother-in-law, Boonmee, where he lives and tends to his tamarind grove and bee houses. She is accompanied by Tong, played by Weerasethakul favorite Sakda Kaewbuadee. Although Boonmee seems to be in good health, we learn of his kidney disease through an early scene depicting his dialysis.

Much of what happens in Uncle Boonmee is meant to float between the known and the unknown in the same way it floats between the past and the present, and a direct narrative and illusive diversions. There is an undeniable physicality to Boonmee’s peritoneal dialysis but it is gently rolled out right alongside mystical apparitions of reincarnation. Uncle Boonmee is a rare comment on death and spirituality that is completely original in film. With an ending that is best discovered, Uncle Boonmee lays a visual and symbolic path to the end—one of the most striking is the morning sun pouring into a cave revealing only part of Jen and Boonmee. Weersethakul’s poetic license is like an open door to interpretation that I have no intention on shutting. Peppered with magic and marvel, Uncle Boonmee goes out like a showboat ready to be painted with personal or political effects.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives plays twice: Friday at 7:30pm and Saturday again at 7:30pm. Although I have seen the film twice now (at the Vancouver International Film Festival) I wouldn't miss a chance to see it again on the big screen. At this time, it is unclear whether or not Uncle Boonmee will make another appearance in the Twin Cities. Despite the overwhelming critical praise it has received over the past ten months, it is far from a ‘marketable’ film that theaters are likely to jump on. I’m hoping to be proven wrong, but Weerasethakul’s previous film, Syndrome and a Century, is a case in point. Well received at festivals around the globe, Syndromes never received a theatrical screening in Minneapolis. Syndromes and a Century came out on DVD in the US a few years ago, but I have been living with the hope that someday it would get a belated theatrical screening. As soon as you see the beautiful digression that the film takes into a lush green field for the credits, you will see what I mean.

Humor, heart and beauty are at the center of every one of Weerasethakul’s films, but it reaches a swoony tipping point with Syndromes. The elliptical story revolves around two young doctors who exist in two realms of what seems to be a time-space continuum. The first half is set in a rural hospital where Dr. Toey is interviewing a new collegue, Dr. Nohng. The film breaks off to follow Dr. Toey as she visits patients, deals with a lovesick friend, and tells a story shown in flashback of her first love. The second half opens with the same interview between Dr. Toey and Dr. Nohng but it is set in the austere modern environs of a Bangkok hospital. After the interview the camera follows Dr. Nohng as he makes his rounds, visits with his girlfriend and shares some time with his co-workers taking nips out of a bottle of alcohol stashed in a prosthetic leg. Both stories are a sweet and unaffected exploration of the pains and journeys of love and companionship, both personal and professional.

Weerasethakul, the son of two doctors, has mentioned that the film was inspired by his own experiences, and is largely based on his parents’ lives before they married. Syndromes and a Century is a layered love story—perhaps with the true romance falling just slightly outside of the frame—but it effortlessly straddles motifs of ethics, science, Buddhism and compassion with an open heart and an open mind. In both Uncle Boonmee and Syndromes, Weerasethakul takes simple situations and cloaks them in a shroud of mystery. Is there something in the air? Maybe. At least that is the allusion that Syndromes makes near the end of the film as vapors are pulled into a ventilation system. Needless to say, we get pulled in with it.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Friday, February 18, 7:30
Saturday, February 19, 7:30

Syndromes and a Century
Thursday, February 24, 7:30 Free!

A poster too cool not to post.

2011-02-11T11:00:00.005-06:00

Jimmy Corrigan might be the smarted kid on earth, but Chris Ware's Uncle Boonmee is the coolest poster on the earth.

The Twin Cities will get a sneak preview of Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives next weekend at the Walker Art Center. Friday, February 18 at 7:30pm and Saturday, February 19 at 7:30pm.

Lee Chang-dong's SECRET SUNSHINE

2011-02-05T14:33:00.000-06:00

Lee Chang-dong's Secret Sunshine opened Friday at St Anthony Main and is absolutely one of those films that should not be missed. Secret Sunshine lit up Cannes nearly four years ago earning Jeon Do-yeon Best Actress and earning the film mounds of critical praise. Six months later, as the film languished without US distribution, I opted to import the South Korean DVD as my only option to see the film and was stunned by the film's audacious delicacy. Although late in the game, IFC picked up the film (along with Lee's equally impressive new film Poetry) for 2010 release. At 142 minutes, Secret Sunshine is a seriously in depth inquiry on human emotions. Below is a review I wrote for In Review Online to be posted there soon.

Prior to the release of Secret Sunshine in South Korea, director Lee Chang-dong insisted that his highly anticipated new film was just “normal.” In an interview with Kim Young-jin, Lee said, “Things couldn’t have been more normal.” Anyone who knows Lee’s work had good reason to be suspicious of this statement. ‘Normal’ is not a word you would use to describe this meticulous director and it is certainly not a word you would use to describe the circumstances surrounding the arrival of Secret Sunshine. Shortly after he completed his third feature, Oasis, to great critical acclaim, Lee was appointed the Minister of Culture by newly elected president Roh Moo-hyun. His filmmaking career went on hold indefinitely when it seemed to be at a peak. After spending one year embroiled in politics, including the bitter fight to maintain film quotas in South Korea, Lee stepped down and disappeared. A few years later this revered novelist and filmmaker emerged with a new script and a new film to make. And everyone knew that it would be anything but normal.

But there is a bit of truth to Lee’s proclamation. Secret Sunshine lacks a certain amount of overt style in favor of unpredictable emotions and a chaos driven narrative. But this is not the chaos of, say, extracting a memory from a dream within a dream within a dream, but a smaller, more personal and inconsequential chaos. Lee’s schisms in time and flights of fantasy found in Peppermint Candy and Oasis are not on the agenda for Secret Sunshine. Lee instead uses his ‘normal’ approach to observe a painful pattern of tragedies and failed self-discoveries in the life of Shin-ae (Jeon Do-yeon), a woman struggling for stability in a very unstable set of circumstances.

Shin-ae is an irreverent single mother with the aura of a woman taking control of her life. Recently widowed, she is moving to her late husband’s hometown of Milyang, which, using Chinese characters, translates to ‘secret sunshine.’ Starting over, however, is far more involved than reconciling the death of her husband. As facts percolate to the surface, we realize that she is not only escaping the accidental death of a philandering and most likely abusive husband, but also a family that blames her for her own misfortune. Finding solace in a strange place is part of the plan, but so is reinventing herself into something other than a victim, not only for herself but also for her solemn young son. Her face of confidence and urban sophistication is a thinly veiled farce, but one that Lee allows us to slowly discover.

Her first encounter is with Jong Chan (Song Kang-ho), an earnest local mechanic who helps Shin-ae when her car breaks down. Just as Shin-ae is looking to start anew, Jong Chan also sees an opportunity for himself by forging a friendship with this newcomer. When Shin-ae boasts that she might be looking for land to invest in, Jong Chan finds a real estate agent to help out. When Shin-ae tells Jong Chan that she will be teaching piano in town, he aggressively solicits students. Their push-pull relationship defines their surface characteristics as well as their more concealed idiosyncrasies. At one point, Jong Chan marches into Shin-ae’s teaching room to hang a bogus award on the wall. It is an odd moment: for Jong Chan, it is an innocent gesture that he thinks will help Shin-ae’s business, but written on Shin-ae’s face and in her reaction is a pathetic admission that ‘awards’ have never been a part of her history. The subtle yet so specific interaction is there for the taking, but it is far from pushed in your face. Its delicacy exists because of a careful lack of emphasis that permeates even the most dramatic moments.

When tragedy strikes nearly a third of the way into the film, the event, although gratuitous, neither looks nor feels that way. Instead, Lee’s “tragedy” is used as device no different from Hitchcock’s MacGuffin—to propel Secret Sunshine down its eventual wandering road. But more importantly, it allows Lee to fully explore the tumultuous emotions of the enigmatic Shin-ae and her intrepid tag along, Jong Chan. In many ways, the major earthquake in Shin-ae’s life causes Lee to steady his camera even more and keep a lock on his unobtrusive observational tone. As his lead character rides an emotional rollercoaster—distilling grief with shock, revelation, grace, depression, anger and eventual resignation—the film never pushes the story or the audience with manipulation. In one of the most harrowing scenes, Shin-ae, overcome with sorrow, aimlessly walks into a religious revival and proceeds to emote with unabashed tears and wailing. Jong Chan, who has followed her in, is our companion in trying to process what is going on. Ultimately, it seems that Shin-ae is most comfortable among complete strangers, but the questions of a character’s actions (both Shin-ae’s and Jong Chan’s) are the elegant mysteries of Secret Sunshine.

One of the most refreshing things about Secret Sunshine is how hands-off Lee Chang-dong is with Jeon Do-yeon as Shin-ae. Tags of artifice, be it music or close-ups, are cast aside to allow Jeon to give a performance that won Best Actress at Cannes in 2007. Shin-ae’s breakdown does not solicit false sympathies and it certainly isn’t a setup for a narrative trap (or the nominal cue that breakdown will eventually equal recovery.) Jeon embodies the innocence and grace of someone born again, but also the erratic emotions that go along with trauma and grief. The same could be said about Song Kang-ho as Jong Chan, but his character keeps the (mostly) even-keel of a misguided playboy. Nonetheless, Song performance is a tempered counterpoint to Jeon.

Secret Sunshine is receiving a belated U.S. release—nearly four years after it drew attention at Cannes—just ahead of Lee’s new film Poetry, another film that Lee would no doubt call normal. Extraordinary is what I would call both of these films: testaments to exquisite filmmaking and audacious acting. Secret Sunshine takes the makings of a melodrama and pulls the spotlight off the drama and onto the characters with such elegant ease, you hardly notice. Jeon Do-yeon and Song Kang-ho turn the film into a rich discovery in which no one succumbs to the heavy-handed design. The result exposes our human frailties and innate paradoxes. The final shot of the film has the last word. With a note of irrelevance, the camera slowly moves away from Shin-ae and Jong Chan to follow a lock of her cut hair. It lands on the peripheral, a spot of otherwise unnoticed secret sunshine, ending with a beautifully understated and unresolved dot-dot-dot.

Darren Aronofsky's BLACK SWAN

2011-01-03T09:02:00.001-06:00

My review of the very well received Black Swan is up over at In Review Online. Black Swan continues to do really well at the box office and is collecting top ten accolades around the globe. This trend will no doubt continue when the Oscar nominations are announced where we are sure to see Natalie Portman and Darren Aronofsky's names in the lineup. I think part of the brilliance of Black Swan is it's sincerity to simply exist as a thriller. Every great scene, every great performance, every great edit, and every great narrative twist all has the same common goal: to provide an entertaining ride. The accolades and the awards are just the outcome of that commitment.

Best of 2010: Movies

2010-12-31T15:28:00.004-06:00

The general consensus 'out there' is that 2010 was a bad year for movies. And that 'out there' generally comes from people who have seen a lot of movies. And among those who have seen a lot of movies, most have been to a number of festivals. And indeed, many of this year's festival titles are pretty stunning compared to this year's offerings, and, because they are on the US slow train of distribution, they will technically be 2011 films. But festival and arthouse titles aside, when I look at the landscape of film in 2010, there was certainly no slack. When I think of the thrill-filled last 40 minutes of Inception, or the honesty and bravery of The Kids Are All Right or mysterious-laden antiquity of Shutter Island or the hyperkenetic vernacular of The Social Network, they all give me goosebumps, despite the fact that most of those didn't even make my list. Even my cynicism about the end-of-the-year powerhouses was quashed under the ultra-engaging likes of I Love You Phillip Morris, Black Swan, True Grit and The Fighter.

And so I give you my list of 30. My list of 30 films I saw this year that I loved. My list of 30 that has admitted gaps. (I never saw Scott Pilgrim, Toy Story 3, Inside Job and gobs more that maybe I'll get to in this lifetime or another.) My list of 30 that hopefully everyone will find a film they recognize and one they don't recognize.

Year end lists are a treasure trove of discovery for me so hopefully there is some of that for others as well. I am all-inclusive in this list with one stellar film from 2009 that screened late in Minneapolis (Police Adjective), a handful of films from 2010, a handful of films that will come around in 2011, and unfortunately a few films that may not come around at all. I've tried to make notes on US release dates and/or the speculative possibility distribution. Enjoy.

1. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Thailand
Trailer

(Read my review of Uncle Boonmee in my VIFF dispatch over at In Review Online.) Frequent readers will be aware that I am a big fan of Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and when his new film won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival I was overjoyed, sight unseen. Although I was already toying with the idea of going to Vancouver, the announcement of Uncle Boonmee pretty much sealed the deal. Although Uncle Boonmee takes a more direct path in its narrative explorations compared to Weerasethakul's previous few films, it is equally as rich, mysterious and wonderful. A film about a man reconciling his own mortality, it becomes an incredible discovery of a textured existence and the beautiful mysteries of life. Uncle Boonmee requires a certain leap of faith from the viewer, but the rewards that are paid out are far beyond anything you are ever going to get out of any other movie. For real.
Uncle Boonmee was picked up by Strand and will be in limited release early this Spring. For those in the Twin Cities, the good people at the Walker have secured two screenings on February 18 and 19. (They will also be hosting a free screening of Weerasethakul's equally seductive Syndromes and a Century on February 24.)

2. Winter Vacation (2010)
Li Hongxi
China

(Read my short take on Winter Vacation in my VIFF dispatch at In Review Online.) Humor doesn't get much more wry than that in Li Hongxi's Winter Vacation. Aptly compared to Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise, Li takes the absurdity of life and gently turns it up to eleven. Although the sardonic humor feels completely new in a Mainland Chinese film, Li is following in the footsteps of the social comedies of Huang Jianxin and Feng Xiaogang only a little drier, a little more self-reflexive and a lot more hilarious. Simple settings and simple actions have the most satisfying results: a woman who buys a head of nappa cabbage, a battle of wills between a man and his grandson, the incredible inactivity of a group of teenagers. Li also has a keen sense for music with a brilliant but sparse score that includes Top Floor Circus and the experimental musician Zuoxiao Zuzhou. My only hope for Winter Vacation distribution is Europe. No one has picked this up for distribution anywhere, but it won top prize at Locarno Film Festival and there seems to be at least some minor buzz about this film there. I don't see this ever being distributed in its home country and unfortunately I don't see it happening here in the US either. Somebody prove me wrong.

3. White Material (2010)
Claire Denis
France
Trailer

I am firmly convinced that Claire Denis is one of the most talented and important directors in the world. A bold proclamation, but after last year's incredibly beautiful 35 Shots of Rum combined with this year's powerfully realized White Material (not to mention her amazing back catalog), it is hard to argue otherwise. It was someone else that connected White Material with the Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, but I can't stop thinking about it. It has taken fifty years for Achebe's story to find a companion piece from a colonial counterpart, and indeed, history and what colonialism has done to the African continent, with its false boundaries and corruption for commerce (see also Darwin's Nightmare), is at or beyond a tipping point. Denis version is the Western consciousness (not guilt) finally catching up with our collective actions. In an unnamed African country, things are indeed falling apart in the form of civil war. Maria is a French woman who runs a second generation coffee plantation started by her father-in-law. Instead of facing the chaos around her, Maria buries her head in her work until the chaos comes to her in the form of violent revelation. There are no heroes and no villains in White Material, just a catastrophic mess where no one and everyone is to blame. Isabele Huppert plays Maria with fragile ferocity, and with one final action comes a symbolic action of the impossibility of righting wrongs.
White Material got a theatrical release in the US here at the tail of 2010 and should be out on DVD early or mid-2011. Maybe it is even available on-demand if you are able to do such things.

4. Le Quattro Volte (2010)
Michelangelo Frammartino
Italy
Trailer (with Italian narration)

Images, in my book, are far more powerful than words, and it is one reason why I love movies. And, wow, if Le Quattro Volte didn't just knock me off my feet with its simple yet profound pictorial storytelling. Words are spoken in Le Quattro Volte (which literally translates the the clumsy title of The Four Times) but they are passive objects. The active objects in this story are an old man, a young goat, and a tall tree. Through earthbound spiritual transference, Frammartino shows us a cycle of life that is poetic, violent, industrious, and completely natural. It's hard not to think of Uncle Boonmee in connection with Le Quattro Volte mostly because they mine the more ethereal unknowns of the world. But I can't help of thinking of the smoking UFO in A Letter to Uncle Boonmee and the smoking mound that opens and closes Le Quattro Volte. The mound is something of a mystery—not a mystery as to what it is, but a mystery of human ingenuity and a mystery of the natural elements that we live with in the world. Le Quattro Volte is a completely unique film, and needless to say, I was completely taken with it.
Le Quattro Volte opens in NYC at the end of March and hits the Lagoon locally on May 13. I also wouldn't be surprised to see this as a selection at MSPIFF in April. I'll see it when ever and where ever I can!

5. Mundane History (2010)
Anocha Suwichakornpong
Thailand
Trailer (Wow. I love this movie.)

I'm only at number five, and I'm on my third spiritual film. Maybe this says more about me than trends in film, but I'm inclined to think it is a little of both. Mundane History is grounded in a story about a teenage boy who was recently paralyzed in a car accident who is assigned a new caretaker. The two young men are both struggling with there own unspoken demons, but find a way to live and heal through their forced companionship. The film slowly becomes deeply invested in spiritualism and very specifically the cycle of suffering and rebirth. The two young men, through a push and pull of cooperation, discover a modest path of awareness together. The grand aspirations of this film, whether they have to do with the Nobel Eightfold Path or the Golden Rule, are handled with care and tenderness and not the heavy hand one might expect. Anocha Suwichakornpong's first feature film is something pretty special. The finale is unbelievably riveting, frightening and beautiful.
Mundane History played at MoMA In December, and will probably be doing the festival/independent theater circuit. It won a Tiger Award in Rotterdam and will likely find a DVD release somewhere. I'm dying to see it again.

6. I Wish I Knew (2010)
Jia Zhangke
China
Trailer

(Read my review of I Wish I Knew in my VIFF dispatch over at In Review Online.) Commissioned by the Shanghai Expo, I Wish I Knew compiles interviews from Shanghai's past and present as an emotional exploration of the city's history. As beautiful and elegant as one familiar with Jia Zhangke's work might expect, his newest travels a straight and narrow path of documentary structure with clarity and beauty. Interviewing exiles and loyalists, Communists and Nationalist, famous and ordinary, Jia builds an archive through storytelling of Shanghai's modern past. Although I Wish I Knew focuses on the most tumultuous era for Shanghai's in 30s and 40s, the film builds to a crescendo of modernization and nostalgia.
I Wish I Knew has not been picked up for US distribution yet, but it probably will be. The important thing to realize is that there are two edits of this documentary: Jia's original running 138 minutes and an edited version that got played at the Expo running 125 minutes. Some of the interviews that portrayed the Communists in a poor light were cut. For some reason, the cut version is making its way into US festivals. If at all possible, see the 138 minute version.

7. Alamar (2010)
Pedro González-Rubio
Mexico

(Read my brief thoughts on Alamar in my MSPIFF coverage at In Review Online.) A beautiful film signed, sealed, and delivered by the Minneapolis St Paul International Film Festival. I was so glad to have seen this first on the big screen with absolutely no pretense. The simple story of Alamar is adorned with the grace and perfection of a folklore or a myth. A young boy born to an Italian mother and Mexican father goes on a final farewell visit with his father and grandfather to the island of Quintana Roo, 30 miles off the coast, in the Caribbean Sea: a pictorial paradise where the way of life has not changed for hundreds of years. The father gives his son a memento of ancestry and history before sending him off to Italy with his mother. A mixture of documentary and fiction, Alamar is as close as most of us will ever get to the rough realism of the simple life.
Alamar played at MSPIFF locally and opened in limited release around the US. If you are a subscriber to Film Movement, you would have received this DVD 6 months ago; the DVD hits the streets January 11, 2011.

8. Police Adjective (2009)
Corneliu Porumboiu
Romania
Trailer

Police Adjective was definitely one of those films people were crowing about for 2009, but didn't his theaters in the Twin Cities until well into 2010. Those who saw Corneliu Porumboiu's new feature is not unlike his last, 12:08 East of Bucharest, full of incredibly dry wit and clever sense of detail. And yes, a slow and convoluted story, but not without effect! A young police officer painstakenly monitors the coming-and-goings of a group of kids in order to make a petty drug bust. Many films have attempted to underline the mundanity of police work, but Police Adjective earns some bragging rights in this corner. This detective is careful and slow and, as we eventually realize, doubtful that his investigation is heading down the right path. Nothing, however, prepared me for the quick-minded finale pulled from the pages of a dictionary. Absurd, hilarious and cunningly brilliant.
Police Adjective got a theatrical release late 2009 and early 2010. I just realized, however, that it has not been released on DVD or Blu-ray yet in the US. Criterion?

9. Aurora (2010)
Cristi Puiu
Romania
Trailer

It seems only fitting that I would follow up Police Adjective with Cristi Puiu's newest film, an equally challenging and rewarding film from Romania. First, I have to admit that I am in terrible need of a second viewing of Aurora: although I was completely captivated by it, I was fighting some serious fatigue in the final days of VIFF when I saw it. Puiu's follow up to The Death of Mr Lazarescu is drawn with the same kind of composure and slow dark observation. The thing that really sets Aurora apart is the fact that Puiu himself plays the lead and is in nearly every shot in this 3 hour movie. Aurora is one of those films that is a discovery from beginning to end. Completely unpredictable, this film strings you along with clues and nuances about this mysterious and serious man who is obviously on some sort of mission. Slow, methodical and strangely orchestrated, Aurora is completely unique.
Aurora made the festival rounds this year and has been picked up by Cinema Guild for theatrical release in the US in 2011.

10. Cold Weather (2010)
Aaron Katz
USA
Trailer

The Sound Unseen International Duluth Film Festival was a blessing in 2010. I wormed my way onto the jury, saw some of the best films of the year and met some of the most brilliant young filmmakers in the US. Included in the batch of films they showed was Cold Weather and included in the directors in attending was Aaron Katz. I may have been lukewarm to the mumblecore movement, but Aaron's films Dance Party USA and Quiet City were certainly standouts. His new film, Cold Weather, breaks him free of being pigeon-holed into anything but one of the best independent filmmakers is the US. It is a well-designed mystery build around the familiar relationship of a brother and a sister. These characters are familiar even if their actions are surprising or unusual or perfectly ordinary. Cold Weather is a genre film that seems to work by completely different rules. Top notch performances by Trieste Kelly Dunn and Cris Lankenau and a killer soundtrack by Keegan DeWitt.
Cold Weather ran the festival circuit in 2010 and is set for a theatrical release in early 2011. Here's hoping that 2011 is Cold Weather's year!

11. Putty Hill (2010) Matthew Porterfield / USA
Trailer and website
Yet another gift of Sound Unseen International Duluth, Putty Hill was picked up by Cinema Guild and will be released in 2011.

12. Certified Copy (2010) Abbas Kiarostami / France
Trailer
I can't believe that such a great film is all the way down here at number twelve. Read my assessment of Certified Copy in my VIFF dispatch at In Review Online. Certified Copy is set for US theatrical release in early 2011.

13. Another Year (2010) Mike Leigh / UK
Trailer
Mike Leigh's best film since Secrets and Lies with four incredible performances: Ruth Sheen, Leslie Manville, Jim Broadbent and Imelda Staunton. Another Year is opening in limited release right now and hits Minneapolis on January 21 at the Uptown.

14. I Am Love (2009) Luca Guadagnino / Italy
Trailer
Melodrama, beauty and awakened passion. Utterly gorgeous film that seduces on every level. I Am Love is out on DVD and Blu-ray.

15. Fortune Teller (2010) Xu Tong / China
This independent documentary delivers some of the most candid interviews I have ever seen. Fortune Teller is a snapshot of life on the fringes in Mainland China. Unbelievable and riveting. I wish I could tell you that this would be available sometime soon.

16. October Country (2010) Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher / USA
Trailer and website
Sound Unseen International Duluth delivered again with this personal and universal documentary about life on the fringes. October Country is available on DVD.

17. The Arbor (2010) Clio Barnard / UK
Trailer
An account of the life, trials and travails of late British playwright Andrea Dunbar told through the voices of her family and the voices of her plays. The Arbor is a pretty unique documentary in form and structure, but its formalism in no way dampens its emotional impact. Quite the contrary, the stories here are powerful and moving. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. Strand has picked up the rights to The Arbor, and will be released in 2011.

18. End of Animal (2010) Jo Sung-Hee / South Korea
Two of the most original sci-fi films I have ever seen have both emerged from South Korea. The first was Butterfly (2001) and the second is this low-key surreal nightmare. I don't know if End of Animal will ever surface on DVD, but I will be there when it does.

19. Shutter Island (2010) Martin Scorsese / US
Trailer
Scorsese back in fine form. The best film he's made is some time. Available on DVD and Blu-ray (which looks crazy good.)

20. Poetry (2010) Lee Chang-dong / South Korea
Trailer (sorry no subtitles)
Poetry is still doing theatrical engagements. It played as MFA's Asian Film Festival and is scheduled for the Lagoon on March 18.

21. Wild Grass (2010) Alain Resnais / France
Trailer
A total wing nut of a movie from the 78-year-old auteur about aging, vanity and pride. Available on DVD.

22. Eccentricities of a Blond Haired Girl (2009) Manoel de Oliveira / Portugal
Trailer
A gorgeous film that works wonders in 78 minutes. Available on DVD.

23. Hahaha (2010) Hong Sang-soo / South Korea
Trailer (sorry no subtitles)
(Read my thoughts on this film over at In Review Online.) No one has picked this up for US distribution, but DVD and Blu-ray is available from South Korea.

24. Trash Humpers (2010) Harmony Korine / USA
Trailer and website
A dystopian dream where creatures display their very human impulses to create a sort of mundane mayhem. Available on DVD, VHS and 35mm!

25. The Social Network (2010) David Fincher / US
Trailer and website
You don't need me to tell you about this film. Everything they say about this film is true, but I just rank it a little lower.

26. Dogtooth (2009) Giorgos Lanthimos / Greece
Trailer
Ever think you would like to raise your kids in a vacuum? This film will change your mind. Disturbing and thought provoking. Dogtooth comes out on DVD January 25.

27. Mother (2009) Bong Joon-ho / South Korea
Trailer
Bong Joon-ho's new film has one of the best performances of the year from veteran South Korean actress Kim Hye-ja. Available on DVD and Blu-ray.

28. Karamay (2010) Xu Xin / China
In 1994 a tragic fire killed 323 people, most of them kids. Thirteen years later this incredible six hour documentary give the parents a voice they have never had. With many of the facts covered up by politicians, Xu Xin risks everything in telling their story. Riveting and devastating. I hold out hope that someone like Mubi or dGenerate Films will make this available online.

29. Ne Change Rein (2009) Pedro Costa / France
Trailer
Pedro Costa's new film is a meandering documentary that focuses on singer Jeanne Balibar. Shrouded in black and white chiaroscuro, Ne Change Rein is completely mesmerizing. Ne Change Rein will very likely make an appearance in the Twin Cities in 2011.

30. Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno (2009) Serge Bromberg, Ruxandra Medrea / France
(Read my review here at In Review Online.) This played at MSPIFF and eventually will make its way to DVD in 2011.

In Review Online: Year in Review 2010

2010-12-31T15:20:00.002-06:00

The full roundup of films and music is up over at In Review Online. It's an impressive mix with some thought provoking write-ups. I contributed to the 2010 highlights in Home Movies and also put in my two cent vote for the staff lists of film and music.

Only films that got a 2010 theatrical (not festival) release in the US were eligible (which is why it will differ from my forthcoming list that randomly includes everything I saw in 2010, festival or otherwise.) For the record, here's how my vote went:

Movies
1. White Material / Claire Denis
2. Secret Sunshine / Lee Chang-dong
3. Mundane History / Anocha Suwichakornpong
4. Alamar / Pedro González-Rubio
5. Another Year / Mike Leigh
6. I Am Love / Luca Guadagnino
7. October Country / Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher
8. Shutter Island / Martin Scorsese
9. Poetry / Lee Chang-dong
10. Wild Grass / Alain Resnais
11. Eccentricities of a Blond Haired Girl / Manoel de Oliveira
12. Trash Humpers / Harmony Korine
13. The Social Network / David Fincher
14. Dogtooth / Giorgos Lanthimos
15. Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench / Damien Chazelle
16. Mother / Bong Joon-ho
17. Winter’s Bone / Debra Granik
18. Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno / Serge Bromberg, Ruxandra Medrea
19. Ne Change Rein / Pedro Costa
20. Everyone Else / Maren Ade

Performances:
1. Ruth Sheen/ Another Year
2. Kim Hye-ja/ Mother
3. Isabelle Huppert/ White Material
4. Jennifer Lawrence/ Winter’s Bone
5. Jeon Do-yeon/ Secret Sunshine

Music
1. Watain “Lawless Darkness”
2. Agalloch “Marrow of the Spirit”
3. Sailors With Wax Wings “Sailors With Wax Wings”
4. The Body “All the Waters of Earth Turn to Blood”
5. Janelle Monae “The ArchAndroid”
6. White Moth “White Moth”
7. Four Tet “There is Love in You”
8. Harmonious Thelonious “Talking”
9. Xasthur “Portal of Sarrow”
10. Witehred “Dualities”
11. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti “Before Today”
12. Jenks Miller and Nicholas Szczepanik “American Gothic”
13. Caribou “Swim”
14. Marnie Stern “Marnie Stern”
15. Horseback “The Invisible Mountain”

Special Edition Cinema Shanty: Best of 2010

2010-12-31T06:08:00.000-06:00

Once again, Erik, Jim, Peter and I have convinced KFAI to give over one hour of airtime to talk movies. This morning from 9-10am we will be talking the best and not so best of 2010. I have personally created a top ten list of films directed by the hardest to pronounce names in filmmaking. Tune in to hear me screw it up!

KFAI
90.3 and 106.5 FM in the Twin Cities

Happy Holidays from Copper!

2010-12-25T10:30:00.001-06:00

And from me too.

Year in Review 2010 - Home Movies

2010-12-24T08:50:00.000-06:00

I have fallen down on the job of offering home movie recommendations. But that doesn't mean I have stopped buying or watching. At the prodding of fellow In Review Online music critic (and DVD hoarder) Jordan Cronk, I put my home movies sash back on and, like kids in our own candy store, he and I have come up with 15 of the best DVD and Blu-ray releases of 2010 the world over. Last minute Christmas shopping ideas for the cinephile on your list found here!

Year in Review 2010 - Home Movies

Here were some others on our list that didn't make the cut, but are certainly worth checking out:

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence [Blu-Ray] (Criterion; Region A)
The World [Blu-Ray] (Eureka – Masters of Cinema; Region Free)
The Vengeance Trilogy [Blu-Ray] (Tartan; Region A)
Memories of Murder [Blu-Ray] (CJ Entertainment; Region A & B)
Zed and Two Noughts [Blu-Ray] (BFI; Region Free)
The General [Blu-Ray] (Kino; Region Free)
The Thin Red Line [Blu-Ray] (Criterion; Region A)
The Magician [Blu-Ray] (Criterion; Region A)
The Burmese Harp (Eureka – Masters of Cinema; Region B)
Late Spring / The Only Son [Blu-Ray] (BFI; Region B)
Early Summer / What Did the Lady Forget? [Blu-Ray / DVD] (BFI; Region B)
Tokyo Story / Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family [Blu-Ray / DVD] (BFI;
Region B)
Night of the Hunter [Blu-Ray] (Criterion; Region A)
Apocalypse Now: Full Disclosure Edition [Blu-Ray] (Lionsgate; Region Free)
Paths of Glory [Blu-Ray] (Criterion; Region A)
Crumb [Blu-Ray] (Criterion; Region A)
M [Blu-Ray] (Criterion; Region A)
Vivre sa vie [Blu-Ray] (Criterion; Region A)
Contempt [Blu-Ray] (Lionsgate – Studio Canal Collection; Region A+B)
Fallen Angels [Blu-Ray] (Kino; Region Free)
Happy Together [Blu-Ray] (Kino; Region Free)
The Housemaid (1960) [DVD] (Korean Federation of Film Archives; Region Free)

Johnnie To's VENGEANCE

2010-12-23T08:09:00.000-06:00

I wrote a review for Johnnie To's most recent film Vengeance for In Review Online that went up over the weekend. At first glancee, Vengeance seems like a departure for To. A French/Hong Kong co-production, Vengeance includes a couple key French actors to shake things up. Sylvie Testud has a small role in which she delivers a couple good lines in Cantonese, and French pop star Johnny Halladay is the film's irrefutable star and anchor (although no Cantonese spoken here.) Once the film smoothly slides into its modus operandi with Anthony Wong, Lam Suet Lam Ka-tung and Simon Yam in tow, it becomes a leisurely stroll of patented five-star Johnnie To action. Nothing too new here, but a lot to enjoy.

Vengeance has been available for some time on DVD from Hong Kong and on demand from IFC, but recently made a theatrical appearance in NY and LA.

In Review Online: VIFF 2010 Coverage, Part 2

2010-12-06T10:10:00.002-06:00

Part two of my coverage of the Vancouver International Film Festival is now up on In Review Online which focuses exclusively on five of the Asian films at the Festival: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, I Wish I Knew, Hahaha, Cold Fish and Winter Vacation.

In all the years that I have wanted to go to VIFF, it was because of their Dragons and Tigers series that year after year screened some of the most interesting titles from across the Pacific. Although some of these films get picked up for US release (Uncle Boonmee and Cold Fish are slated for 2011) others remain shrouded in the fog of distribution (including I Wish I Knew, Hahaha, and certainly the obscure and laconic Winter Vacation.) Five other films that I would highly recommend if they ever show their faces are Mundane History (Thailand), End of Animal (South Korea), Karamay (China), Fortune Teller (China) and Don't Be Afraid Bi! (Vietnam). Catch them if you can!

Festival Coverage - Vancouver 2010 - Dispatch 2

In Review Online: VIFF 2010 Coverage, Part 1

2010-11-29T10:49:00.000-06:00

Finally, some of the fruits of some of my labors are up on In Review Online in the first of two dispatches from the 2010 Vancouver International Film Festival. Included are five capsule reviews of Abbas Kiarostami's amazing return to narrative film with Certified Copy, Raúl Ruiz's luscious 4 1/2 hour epic Mysteries of Lisbon, Michael Rowe's daring first film Leap Year, Catharine Breillat's slightly disappointing The Sleeping Beauty and Xavier Dolan's meditation on superficiality in his sophomore film Heartbeats.

Four of these represent some of the high profile releases at VIFF, with Leap Year being a big surprise despite the fact that it won the Camera d'Or this past Spring at the Cannes Film Festival.

Festival Coverage - Vancouver 2010 - Dispatch 1

Coming soon: Dispatch 2 - Five amazing films from the Dragons and Tigers Program.

MSP Asian Film Festival: PRIVATE EYE

2010-11-17T09:06:00.000-06:00

Private Eye (2009)
Park Dae-min
South Korea

Park Dae-min's debut film, Private Eye, carries on the recent tradition in South Korean film of liberally appropriating genre tactics and shaping them into unique versions of hackneyed themes. If that sounds like a backhanded compliment, it is not meant to be. In a world were the economy of film is dominated by Hollywood, all but suffocating any notion of national cinema, I am thrilled that South Korea continues to take Hollywood to the mat year after year. However, most of the time this isn't happening with the titles and directors that may be most familiar to international audiences, but instead with films like the disaster movie Haeundae, the family comedy Scandal Makers, the God-awful monster movie D-War, and the entertaining Public Enemy franchise. Although Private Eye did not see the same success as some of these movies, it is a film cut from the same cloth with very populist intentions and domestic audiences in mind.

Hong Jin-ho (Hwang Jeong-min) is and ex-military officer who now makes money exposing cheating wives and photographing the scandals along the way. Eventually his profession will be known as a private eye, but in the early 20th century, no such thing exists in Korea. Jin-ho is just a guy trying to earn enough money, by hook or by crook, to catch a boat to the US (where he hears there are more cheating wives.) Although he makes a rule not to investigate anything dangerous, Jin-ho agrees to look into a murder when a young medical student offers him a large reward. Jin-ho quickly gets pulled into the mystery that involves opium dens, underage girls, knife throwers and corrupt officials. One of those corrupt officials is Jin-ho's former colleague and less clever nemesis, Yeong-dal (played by Oh Dal-su, the pastry chef responsible for giving the 'Kind Hearted Guem-ja' a job in Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, among other very memorable roles.) As the bodies start to pile up, the race is on for Yeong-dal to pacify politicians in the high profile murders and for Jin-ho to find the truth.

The action moves at a steady clip, but it unfortunately never gives the characters much consideration beyond generic labels: clever and stupid, naive and worldly, evil and pure. And the crackpot team of brilliant sleuth and earnest doctor is as well-worn as the crime novels in a used bookstore. But where Private Eye really shines is in its beautifully constructed early 20th century Korean era. It's an idealized hybrid of contemporary cool and awkward modernization in a Japanese occupied Korean peninsula. Traditional dress mixes with modern, as does the rapidly changing cultural conventions. Uhm Ji-won plays a woman who is an inventor secretly working beyond society's view creating things that help Jin-ho in his profession. She is like a very interesting version of Bond's Q. At one point in the film she is asked to do some eavesdropping with a group of society ladies. Their outing? A sophisticated round at the archery range with the women all wearing their gorgeous hanboks and carrying their bows like a fashion accessory. It's moments like these that are surprising in their picture perfect specificity. The ending is a wee bit overwrought, as if there was some sort of need to make the mystery more mysterious and titillating, but thankfully it is peppered with some genuine suspense so it doesn't fall flat before tying up all the loose ends. With an epilogue almost literally leads into a sequel, we surely have not seen the end of Jin-ho and his his sidekick. With a little bit of care (and luck), Private Eye could turn into a very interesting franchise of historical thrillers.

MSP Asian Film Festival: THAT GIRL IN THE YELOW BOOTS and OPEN SEASON

2010-11-08T09:15:00.001-06:00

That Girl in the Yellow Boots (2010)
Anurag Kashyap
India
Amid the modest fanfare and opening night regalia, That Girl in the Yellow Boots opened the AFF with its just below the radar buzz and resilient independent spirit. Ruth (played by Kalki Koechlin, who also co-wrote the script) is a British citizen who has come to India to find her Indian-born father who left when she was five. Already months into her mission to find a man she has no picture of and little memory, Ruth has submerged herself in the culture by learning Hindi and taking a job as a masseuse where, for extra money, she give handshakes or happy endings or whatever other euphemisms there are for a hand job. She takes her profession in stride with a savviness that is unexpected, but, in contrast, is far too gullible to the ways of her drug hound boyfriend. And perhaps this is the biggest flaw with That Girl in the Yellow Boots, Ruth is too much of an idealized emotive chameleon. Perfectly naive and perfectly confident, she is somewhat impenetrable as a character. On the other hand, as much as the film acquiesces to embracing independent film conventions with a very personalized story sans glamour, it also thankfully kicks expectations for warm fuzzy conclusions out the door. The finale for Yellow Boots is extremely bold if not a little over-the-top. Gritty and uncompromising, That Girl in the Yellow Boots gets slightly muddled in its subplots, but eventually settles into an engaging ride.

Open Season (2010)
Mark Tang and Lu Lippold
USA
In November 2004 a horrifying story emerge from the woods of northern Wisconsin: a hunter had shot eight people killing six of them. But the real horror had yet to sink in. This was no accident and it was no random act of violence. The shooter was Chai Vang, a Hmong man from St Paul, Minnesota who had been hunting in Wisconsin. When another hunter discovered him on his property in a tree stand, Vang was asked to leave. Meanwhile the hunter went back to his hunting camp, told his friends about the incident and eight of them on three ATVs headed back to the sight to confront Vang. These facts, once they settle in, produce a terrifying situation of conjecture both for Vang and events that led to six deaths. Mark Tang and Lu Lippold's incredibly brave documentary of this incident resurrected all the dread and sadness of the story that was so sharp six years ago: dread of society's ability for blind hatred and sadness for the seemingly irreconcilable divide of race. At the time, I was living in the Frogtown neighborhood of St Paul, with a large Hmong population, and the incident weighed heavy on everyone. You could feel it in the atmosphere. Open Season maintains an even hand with a very volatile subject, interviewing family and residents on both sides of the story. From the haunting testimony of Vang in what happened that day to the heartbreaking confessions from family members of the people who were killed, not to mention the disturbing images from when the hunters were first found, the footage powerfully resonates long after the lights go up. Chai Vang represents a tipping point for a much larger problem of institutional racism and extremely dangerous circumstances involving conflict within the hunting culture (read: people who carry guns.) Directors Tang and Lippold hope to get the funding necessary to submit the documentary on PBS. Open Season will screen again on Sunday, November 14. Keep your eye on the AFF site for times.

MFA's 2010 Asian Film Festival

2010-11-05T08:58:00.000-05:00

Minnesota Film Arts (or maybe The Film Society of Minneapolis St Paul) christens its first annual Asian Film Festival with many films to covet, explore and discover. Offering a diverse mix of East and Southeast Asian films, the inaugural year is a sign of good things to come. The Fest started Wednesday, but there are plenty of films left to see.

Here my thought on the ones I've seen, listed in order of preference:

I Wish I Knew (2010)
Jia Zhangke
China
Sunday, November 7, 1:00pm
Saturday, November 13, 2:00pm
The Mainland auteur's newest film gracefully mines the recent history of Shanghai by interviewing residents and former residents of the Paris of the East. A sponge for the country's ills and advances, Shanghai was built by its trade prowess, but defined by wars that raged in the 30s and 40s. Although Shanghai was under constant threat from the Japanese for nearly 15 years, it was the brutal battles between the Communists and the Nationalist that held the population in a powder keg that eventually sent residents scattershot physically and emotionally. Jia's tribute to Shanghai is as beautiful as it is thoughtful. (For a longer review that I did from VIFF look here.)

Poetry (2010)
Lee Chang-dong
South Korea
Saturday, November 6, 4:10pm
Friday, November 12, 7:00pm
Although Lee Chang-dong has five films to his name (four of which, including this one, I would consider near masterpieces) he remains relatively unknown in the US. Hopefully Poetry will change that. Poetry is the story of Mija, who looks to the art of writing poems as a road self-discover and transcendence. Although Mija is struggling with very worldly issues beyond her control, such as Alzheimer's and an insolent grandson she is trying to raise, her transformation is found through the realm of high art. Poetry won Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival and should see a larger release next year.

Gallants (2010)
Clement Cheng and Derek Kwok
Hong Kong
Saturday, November 13, 7:15pm
A movie best seen with a crowd, Gallants is a loving homage to kung fu films from the 60s and 70s. Leung is an office wimp who dreams of being so much more. One day when he is save by selfless hero who turns out to be the legendary Tiger. Tiger and his fellow martial arts brother Dragon have been quietly holding vigil over their master, Law, who has been in a coma for 30 years. Old rivalries ignite as well as the fighting passion within Leung as master Law miraculously awakes to his biggest challenge yet! The brilliance of Gallants is not only in the overt style that Kwok and Cheng chooses to parody with great wit, but also in its cast. The trio of old-timers—Bruce Leung, Chen Kuan-tai and Teddy Robin Kwan—deliver more charisma than seems fair for one movie.

City of Life and Death (2009)
Lu Chuan
China
Saturday, November 6, 1:30pm
Tuesday, November 9, 6:45pm
A gritty and brutal portrayal of the Japanese invasion of Nanjing, City of Life and Death has been embroiled in controversy that has stalled its release by almost a year. City of Life and Death was caught in a diplomatic push-pull almost a year ago with the Mainland pulling it from the Palm Springs Film Festival because they insisted on playing a Tibetan documentary The Sun Behind the Clouds (which screened at MSPIFF.) I'm glad to see it resurface because I was feeling bitter about not being able to see this very cinematic film on the big screen. Part war action film part historical melodrama, City of Life and Death is a harrowing account of war in 1937 Nanjing. (These events came to international light with Iris Chang's book "The Rape of Nanjing.") After the release of the film across the Pacific, the Japanese claimed that they were represented too harshly and the Chinese contended that the Japanese were depicted too fairly. For his money and yours, Lu Chuan maintains a pretty even hand in portraying each side as fallible rough cut pawns in a dismal war.

Crazy Racer (2010)
Ning Hao
China
Friday, November 5, 9:30pm
Thurday, November 11, 9:40
Crazy indeed. Ning Hao's followup to his other crazy film Crazy Stone (2006) is a hilarious keystone cop comedy. Huang Bo plays a disgraced cyclist who finally sees an opportunity for revenge and maybe even redemption. Crazy Racer comes from one of the freshest comedic voices in Mainland China and stars one of the most charismatic actors in the business. (Huang Bo also starred in Cow, which played at MSPIFF this past Spring.) Serious freaking fun.

Summer Wars (2009)
Mamoru Hosoda
Japan
Saturday, November 13, 4:30pm
Any animation fan would be crazy crazy crazy to miss Summer Wars on the big screen. Although I can't attest to what kind of format the film will be on, this is one spectacular looking animation on Blu-ray. The influence of Miyazaki in Hosoda's films is obvious, but Summer Wars propels Hosoda into a realm all by himself. This sci-fi family drama is incredibly refreshing, entertaining and beautiful. Do. Not. Miss.

The Red Chapel (2010)
Mads Brügger
Denmark/North Korea
Friday, November 5, 5:00pm
Wednesday, November 10, 5:15pm
Any glimpse into the mysterious North Korea is completely fascinating, and The Red Chapel certainly fits that bill. The Red Chapel is a documentary about a Danish comedy duo who is allowed to perform in North Korea due to their Korean heritage. It goes with out saying that their Western styled humor is 99.9% lost on the isolated North Koreans. But they soldier on with their mission knowing that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and an experience that they can share with the world. Both funny and moving, The Red Chapel trumps any and all stunt documentaries in existence.

Ip Man 2 (2010)
Wilson Yip
Hong Kong
Friday, November 12, 9:45pm
The recent resurgence in filmic interest in the story of Ip Man, Bruce Lee's mentor, has grown to a three part series (part one and two directed by Wilson Yip, and a prequel directed titled The Legend is Born by Herman Yau) and is also the subject of Wong Kar Wai's newest film The Grand Master, due out...sometime. And I have to admit that three I have seen have resonated historically (even if it is revisionist) and entertained kinetically (even if it is more movie magic than 'master' magic.) The hand to hand fighting handled in these films, including Ip Man 2, is entrancing. Watching Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung, both masters in their own right, do their thing is more than enough for me. The movie falls off near the end with its showdown of showdowns, but I have forgiven that minor flaw.

Sawako Decides (2010)
Ishii Yuya
Japan
Saturday, November 6, 4:00pm
A charming, if somewhat slight, blend of comic melodrama works most of the time in Sawako Decides. There's a social commentary in this film somewhere, but it is mostly a character piece prompt up by the irreverent and lovable Sawako, played to punchy perfection by Mitsushima Hikari.

Pinoy Sunday (2010)
Wi Ding Ho
Taiwan
Friday, November 5, 5:15
Saturday, November 6, 9:45
Monday, November 8, 5:00pm
Pinoy Sunday is a Filipino buddy movie set in Taiwan. Dado and Manuel are contract workers for a bike factory. One is earning money for his family back home and the other is earning money to squander, mostly on women who are uninterested in him. One day when they are both down on their luck, they find a sofa that represents a sort of new found happiness. But first they have to figure out a way to get it across town and back to their dorm by curfew. By the end of this movie I was annoyed at the character almost as much as they were with each other. It's an interesting ride with limited payout.

There are a dozen other films that I hope to catch at the Fest as I'm racing between Sembene at the Walker and Chaplin at the Trylon. No complaints here.

Zhang Yimou's A WOMAN A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP

2010-10-27T10:32:00.001-05:00

My review for A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop is now up on In Review Online.

Although I really hate to say it, this film is a mess. I saw A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop before I headed off to Vancouver, and the more I think about it (and compare it to some of the amazing films I've seen in the past couple of weeks) the more I'm convinced that this crazy idea to remake Blood Simple into a Chinese period piece is just that: crazy. The unfortunate component to slamming this film is that Zhang is no slouch and has brought a well crafted film to the table.

(This poster speaks louder than words. Even when I look at it, I wonder "What is going on!?" If it seems like it has a Stephen Chow/Chinese Odyssey element to it, that is not far off the mark.) Read here.

Yael Hersonski's A FILM UNFINISHED (2010)

2010-10-25T10:43:00.001-05:00

My review of A Film Unfinished is up at In Review Online.

It's strange how a reiteration of things you already know can be so powerful. A Film Unfinished is just such a documentary. It doesn't reveal anything new or anything we didn't already know about the Nazis. However, this close inspection of a propaganda film shot in the Warsaw Ghetto in those tenuous months in mid-1942, sits in the chest like a rock. As quoted on the film's website by director Yael Hersonski: "A Film Unfinished first emerged out of my theoretical preoccupation with the notion of the 'archive', and the unique nature of the witnessing it bears." This documentary starts with theory and curiosity but is finished with a great deal of compassion. A fascinating and heartbreaking film.

I think this may have played in the Twin Cities while I was out of town. It will likely come out on DVD early next year.

Casey Affleck's I'M STILL HERE (2010)

2010-10-22T10:26:00.000-05:00

My review for Casey Affleck's I'm Still Here is up on In Review Online. If you could award prizes for an enduring performance, Joaquin Phoenix would surely win. However, my disappointment in Affleck's admission of the hoax continues to grow. I saw the film before he let the cat out the bag, and most of my enjoyment and observations are reliant on the absurd is-it-real-or-not debate. Reports continue to flood in: Letterman knew about it, Paltrow knew about it and on and on, like they all want a pat on the back. I'm Still Here is an incredibly funny film, and I could care less if Phoenix's sincerity is any more or less than his sincerity for Leonard Kraditor or Johnny Cash.

(I'm also having the worst brain fart on the title, writing I'm Not Here almost every time without fail - also an apropos title!)

Special Film Festival Edition of Cinema Shanty Tomorrow on KFAI

2010-10-21T18:25:00.003-05:00

KFAI Weekly News turns the airwaves over to the Cinema Shanty crew for a special film festival edition tomorrow 10/22 from 9-10am! Hosts Peter Schilling, Jim Brunzell, Erik McClanahan and I will dish about recent film festival viewings and more!

Erik and I were recently at the Vancouver International Film Festival, and Jim just returned from the Chicago International Film Festival. We are also pleased to have Twin Cities film icon and recent news-maker Al Milgrom on to talk about the Toronto International Film Festival.

Tune in live or online to hear about our raves and faves, and what might and might not make it to Twin Cities theaters!

Olivier Assayas at the Walker Art Center

2010-10-19T11:12:00.001-05:00

Wednesday night the Walker Art Center hosts Olivier Assayas, one of the most interesting auteurs in contemporary film. But not the kind of stodgy auteur used to prop up theories and didactic criticism—Assayas is a new breed of auteur dedicated to global citizenship and shapeshifting genres. The dialogue, Wednesday night at 8pm with Kent Jones, comes right in the middle of an eleven film retrospective that wraps up with Assayas' new five-hour film Carlos at the end of the month. Assayas is a film critic in his own right and should offer a lively discussion. I'll be front and center.

Regis Dialogue with Olivier Assayas and Kent Jones
Wednesday, October 20, 8pm

Olivier Assayas: Between Love and Terror

VIFF 2010: From top to bottom.

2010-10-18T14:57:00.004-05:00

This has been a long time coming, but here is a list of all the films I saw in Vancouver very loosely ranked from best to worst. Of course on any given day, the films could shift around a little, but not by much. (This is especially true for the top 14 films that I admire and adore equally.) On the other hand, it is only the last two films on the list that I found completely awful with the rest having at least one or two redeeming factors.

Winter Vacation d. Li Hongqi (China)
Mundane History d. Anocha Suwichakornpong (Thai)
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives d. Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Thai)
Certified Copy d. Abbas Kiarostami (France)
Another Year d. Mike Leigh (UK)
Karamay d. Xu Xin (China)
I Wish I Knew d. Jia Zhangke (China)
Aurora d. Cristi Puiu (Romania)
Hahaha d. Hong Sangsoo (S Korea)
End of Animal d. Jo Sung-hee (S Korea)
Fortune Teller d. Xu Tong (China)
Cold Fish d. Shion Sono (Jpn)
Poetry d. Lee Changdong (S Korea)
Don't Be Afraid Bi! d. Phan Dang Di (Vietnam)
Mysteries of Lisbon d. Raúl Ruiz (Spain)
Leap Year d. Michael Rowe (Mexico)
Red Dragonflies d. Liao Jiekai (Singapore)
Rumination d. Xu Ruotao (China)
Chassis d. Adolfo Alix Jr. (Philippines)
The Fourth Portrait d. Chung Mong-hong (Taiwan)
Good Morning to the World d. Saturo Hirohara (Jpn)
The High Life d. Zhao Dayong (China)
Gallants d. Derek Kwok, Clement Cheng (HK)
The Tiger Factory d. Woo Ming Jin (Malaysia)
Thomas Mao d. Zhu Wen (China)
R d. Michael Noer, Tobias Lindholm (Denmark)
The Robber d. Benjamin Heisenberg (Austria)
Sampaguita, National Flower d. Francis X Pasion (Philippines)
Armadillo d. Janus Metz (Denmark)
Oki's Movie d. Hong Sangsoo (S Korea)
The Sleeping Beauty d. Catherine Breillat (France)
The Drunkard d. Freddie Wong (HK)
The Man from Nowhere d. Lee Jeong-beom (S Korea)
108 d. Renate Costa (Spain)
Rubber d. Quentin Dupieux (France/USA)
Peace d. Soda Kazuhiro (Jpn)
Get Out of the Car d. Thom Andersen (US)
Sawako Decides d. Ishii Yuya (Jpn)
Echoes of the Rainbow d. Alex Law (HK)
Insects in the Backyard d. Tanwarin Sukkhapisit (Thai)
Heartbeats d. Xavier Dolan (Canada)
Incendies d. Denis Villeneuve (Canada)
Aftershock d. Feng Xiaogang(China)
Seven Days in Heaven d. Wang Yu-lin, Essay Liu (Taiwan)
The Strange Case of Angelica d. Manoel de Oliveira (Portugal)
The Red Chapel d. Mads Brugger (Denmark)
Pinoy Sunday d. Ho Wi Ding (Taiwan)
Surviving Life d. Jan Svankmajer (Czech)
Merry-Go-Round d. Yan Yan Mak, Clement Cheng (HK)
Of Love and Other Demons d. Hilda Hildalgo (Costa Rica/Columbia)
Ugly Duckling d. Garri Bardin (France/Russia)
Repeaters d. Carl Bessai (Canada)
Metamorphosis d. Lee Samchil (S Korea)
LA Zombie d. Bruce LaBruce (US)

That's a lot of frackin' movies. Can't wait to do it again!

VIFF: Day 12

2010-10-17T15:39:00.000-05:00

Catching up is so hard to do...

The Robber (2010)
Benjamin Heisenberg
Austria

Marathon runners take note: if you want to give your heart rate monitor a run for its money and put a little spark in your training regiment, try robbing banks. Benjamin Heisenberg new film is a tense thriller that rides a wave perpetuated by a true story. Based on an Austrian man who had a taste for robbing banks and a talent for running marathons, The Robber capitalizes on this unique character study with a little dramatic magic. We first meet Johann as he is finishing up his prison sentence. Running circles around a small prison yard, he is ordered inside along with the rest of the inmates only to continue running on a treadmill he has in his cell. From this scene and the rows of running shoes he has, we realize that he is serious about running. He is released from prison, continues to train and wins the Vienna Marathon. It seems he has turned his back on his criminal ways. But what we eventually find out is that Johann is something of an adrenaline junkie, and an extremely fit one at that. Working a bank robbery (or two) into his schedule gives him a physical and emotional test that satiates his compulsion. As one might expect, The Robber has a couple fantastic chase scenes: one a heart-pounding escape in the heart of Vienna and another a more measure hunt in the woods. Johann is played with palpable tautness by Andreas Lust (who played the policeman in Revanche.) But Johann's pathological path is treated as a sort of fate that he can't break free from which I had a hard time chewing on. Needless to say, it is a fate he can't run from or run with for long. The Robber is extremely poised and efficient in making an argument on Johann's behalf, but it's only half effective if your not buying the sympathy that he's trying to sell.

sampaguita, National Flower (2010)
Francis X Pasion
Philippines

Another film that blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction, sampaguita, National Flower does so with a documentarians lens. Sampaguita turns a tender eye on the stories of Manila street children who scrape by selling garlands of the sweetly scented sampaguitas. Francis X Pasion (can that be his real name?) started by interviewing a half dozen kids and then used the kids to act out their own situations and scenarios. The result is an amalgamation: the bold interviews are woven between the heartbreaking street-wandering milieu. The film doesn't offer answers or resolutions, but instead presents an honest and fortuitous portrayal of the resilience of these young kids.

Aurora (2010)
Cristi Puiu
Romania

You know those tile games where one space is open and you have to slide the tiles around in the frame to get all the tiles in place to make a picture? This is how Cristi Puiu's plot is constructed in Aurora: each sequence is slightly out of place, but not so much that you can't see the entire picture. The catch is that Puiu's tile game is 3 hours long and the images he uses to build a story are incredibly ambiguous. It's only in the last 20 minutes that you start understanding how you should shuffle the pieces, and when the film ends you are still shuffling. Aurora is a knock out followup to The Death of Mr. Lazarescu that contains the same uncanny sense of detail but is infused with a huge dose of abstraction. The film follows the very peculiar coming-and-goings of Viorel (astonishingly played by Puiu himself) as he obviously prepares for something. But the timeline is askew and the character and his intentions are a mystery. Eventually these things come together, but despite the explanatory finale (a procedural that would have made Mr. Lazarescu either tired or agitated), much is left in a fog of obscurity. Gritty and complex, Aurora is a film that I can't wait to revisit.

VIFF: Day 11

2010-10-15T16:19:00.000-05:00

Winter Vacation (2010)
Li Hongqi
China

Li Hongqi, be still my heart! Winter Vacation is something of a perfect mixture of Chinese specificity and avant-garde bravado. An incredibly austere set piece, Winter Vacation doesn't concern itself too much about drama or reality but instead builds a laconic daydream filled with irony and surrealism. Both adolescents and adults seem to be stuck in aimless stagnancy in a small town in northern China over winter break. Normally this vacation, which coincides with the Spring Festival (aka Chinese New Year), is depicted as an extremely lively time with family, food and firecrackers. Li Hongqi has painted the antithesis of this conception with the youth standing around looking at each other (and occasionally throwing slurs at one another) and their guardians doing much of the same. Winter Vacation is anchored by two sets of characters: five teenage boys who continually ask each other what they are going to do and an antagonistic grandfather and grandson sitting at opposite ends of a couch trading jabs. The film cycles through the non-events of the town—a thug extorting money from a kid, a woman buying nappa cabbage, a couple getting a divorce—but always returns to our two groups of heroes. At first these individuals seem oblivious to the absurdity of their stage set life until it is slowly revealed that they are more than aware of their sardonic situation. Kids and adults alike are calm but pensive. Li punctuates the beautifully barren images with a subtle soundtrack by experimental composer Zuoxiao Zuzhou (who has also contributed to soundtracks for Jia Zhangke, Zhu Wen, Yang Fudong and Ai Weiwei.) I, being a person who generally likes watching paint dry, adored Winter Vacation and it may just be my biggest discovery and favorite film of VIFF.

Chassis (2010)
Adolfo Alix, Jr.
Philippines

The VIFF program bills Chassis as "sub-proletarian Filipina Jeanne Dielmann," a trick that seemed to have me in mind. There is an air of truth in this statement (especially in their respective final sequences) but the two are literally and metaphysically worlds apart. Nora's husband drives a truck and they live with their young daughter in makeshift homes underneath idle trucks in the truck yard alongside many other families. Her husband is often absent, even when he is not driving, and seems completely uninvolved with helping raise their daughter. Under the most extreme circumstances, Nora does her best to provide for her daughter and occasionally turns to prostitution to make ends meet. At one point in the film a man on the bus is asking for donations for people with disabilities. Although it is unimaginable, Nora sees that her situation could be worse and gives the man some money. Far be it from me to tell you that her situation does get worse, but Nora's perfunctory attitude is eventually pushed to the limit. Shot in black and white, Chassis makes the most of emotion in this even keel portrayal of life on the fringes.

Mundane History (2010)
Anocha Suwichakompong
Thailand

It's hard to see a mystical film from Thailand and not think of Apichatpong Weerasethakul. But this would be ignoring that Thailand is a country deeply rooted in Buddhism, a religion that is far more open to broader definitions of life and the universe and Mundane History is magically able to work this into a simple but corporeal story. Ake is a young man who has been recently confined to a wheelchair from an accident that is never fully defined. Understandably bitter, Ake is hard on his new and easygoing nurse Pun, a man who is not much older than Ake. Early in the film, Pun laments to someone on the phone that he's not sure if he likes his job: "Everyone here is soulless." Mundane History patiently spends time proving this statement wrong. Ake slowly opens up to Pun and director Anocha Suwichakompong slowly introduces us to much larger themes that connect us all. The timeline is patterned, working back and forth within the period of time that Ake and Pun get to know each other peppered with burst of abstractions. The film derides conventional notions of time (presenting the title credit 20 minutes into the film) and the narrative is unconcerned with conclusion. As a matter of fact, the film ends with a bold statement on beginnings with an unblinking and visceral birth. The uncanny combination of macro and micro themes in Mundane History works seamlessly under Suwichakompong's gentle direction. If Pun releases animals in order to build his karma, Suwichakompong has made a film in order to build ours. It is also worth noting that Mundane History makes good use of pop songs in its soundtrack from the bands Furniture and The Photo Sticker Machine.

Oki's Movie (2010)
Hong Sang-soo
South Korea

Hong Sang-soo films should be more spread apart, because having just seen the vibrant Hahaha, Oki's Movie seems like a pale exercise. Split into four short films, Oki's Movie puts two men from different generations and their respective affair with Oki under the Hong microscope. The respective films show four different perspectives from four different times. Jingu is a film student whose affair with Oki raises the jealous ire of his professor, Song who also has a history with the young woman. Jingu is the hapless hero who we embarrassingly see flinging his ego in places it doesn't belong. In one of my favorite scene's from the film, Hong sets up a hilarious post-screening discussion where Jingu is answering questions about his film. Jingu is drunk and is being overly essoteric about his film when a young woman stands up and asks him why he dumped her friend he was seeing a couple years ago. The uncomfortable but compulsory Q & A that we all know so well is kicked up a notch as the young woman presses Jingu and no one, including Jingu, can put a stop to it. Oki's Movie certainly has its moments, but the four chapter portraiture—notated by separate credits and Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance"—seems like an unnecessary distraction.

VIFF: Day 10

2010-10-13T19:17:00.000-05:00

Another Year (2010)
Mike Leigh
UK

For those who found Happy-Go-Lucky too annoying or Vera Drake too depressing, Another Year finds Leigh back in the territory of Secret and Lies, Life is Sweet and High Hopes. Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri (Sheen) play a happily married couple and hosts to a handful of lonely outsiders, who find warmth from the friendliness of the couple. Tom's a geologist and Gerri's a therapist and they effortlessly wile away their time in each other's company preparing food or tending their garden. At the forefront of the colorful cast of characters is Mary (Lesley Manville), a perky but lonely co-work who is always trying too hard to see the bright side of things that are clearly not bright. Covering a full year earmarked by the seasons, Another Year burns with a warmth that equally bitter and sweet. Some things change but most things don't. The cast is simply remarkable as Leigh is able to pull out some of the most amazing performances through his unconventional methods. This is especially the case with Ruth Sheen who steels the show as she did with a very similar character in High Hopes. Another Year is a gentle masterpiece from a gentle master. Another Year is scheduled for a US release later this year, and will be a shoe-in for one of the best of the year.

Aftershock (2010)
Feng Xiaogang
China

Garnering the favor of 1.3 billion people is nothing to scoff at. Feng Xiaogang's new blockbuster fantastique, Aftershock, has become the highest grossing domestic film in China. But, as we all know, impressive box office numbers don't always mean an impressive film. Feng has created the kind of weepy big budget melodrama that Hollywood incessantly cranks out every year, and it is predictably admirable and disappointing. Based on a novel of the same name, Aftershock dramatizes one family's epic experience of the 1976 Tangshan earthquake (the deadliest in history) and it's 30 year after effect. Husband and wife, Da and Qiang, and their twin son and daughter are representative of an average family that was torn apart by the earthquake. In this story, the four member family suffers one death and enough physical and emotional damage for the remaining three to last a lifetime (or the remainder of Aftershock's 135 minute runtime.) Feng pulls out the disaster CGI early in the film, but then allows full-tilt melodrama to drive the film home. Moving through the decades, the character's age and the country changes, landing the film in the middle of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake for a sense of resolve. Perhaps I give Aftershock a pass for its many shortcomings, most that come in the form of a forced narrative and an extremely heavy-handed drama. But the era that the film encapsulates is something of a harbinger for China. Although China's two biggest earthquakes fall in the years of 1976 and 2008, the significance of those years is not lost on most. With the death of Zhou Enlai and Mao Zidong, 1976 was an end of a very difficult epoch, preparing the country for the biggest changes yet that is most dramatically symbolized by the Summer Olympics held in Beijing in 2008. This subtle yet very nationalistic subtext lies just beneath the surface of Aftershock's blockbuster facade. China's Oscar contender, Aftershock shoots for broad mass appeal and sells out on just about everything else.

R (2010)
Michael Noer and Tobias Lindholm
Denmark

In the realm of the prison/gang hierarchy film, I'm afraid we are on the brink of a revisionist upheaval which I could tire of very quickly. R starts to follow A Prophet so closely that I quickly got bored with this film's intentions. Rune is a tough and wily convict transferred to prison block where even the guards nonchalantly predict Rune's doom. Using wit and obedience, Rune finds a way to make peace and work his way into the lucrative drug trade being run by the prison kingpins. R is eventually able to set itself apart with an unexpected twist, but it certainly takes its time doing so. Although engaging and well acted, I sat through R feeling like I had seen this film too many times before.

VIFF: Day 9

2010-10-11T17:31:00.007-05:00

Good Morning to the World (2010)
Hirohara Saturo
Japan

The young age of this first time director (23-years-old) is just one thing that makes Good Morning to the World impressive. Although Hirohara Saturo is obviously using a level of production available to him, he is nonetheless able to tap out a unique form to a familiar story. Takahashi is a teenager who is at the age where he would be rebelling against his parents. That is, if his parents were around. Takahashi lives with his mother, but her presence is minimal. He seem not only apathetic about the situation, but also quite comfortable. His curiosity about the world, however, is a task that he takes on himself with a naive voyeurism. When he finds some clues about a dead homeless man, he decides to blindly investigate. What he discovers on his journey is his own limitations and failings, both mentally and emotionally. Takahashi is played by actor Koizumi Yoichiro and portrayed by director Hirohara with nary a sign of self-consciousness or ironic cynicism. The honesty and confidence of this first feature caught the eye of the Dragons & Tigers jury and was given the Award for Young Cinema for this year's festival. Good Morning to the World has technical limitations but is an incredible creative achievement for the young crew.

Surviving Life (2010)
Jan Svankmajer
Czech Republic

I've been a Svankmajer fan since I saw Alice in 1989 at the Tivoli Theater in Kansas City. My dedication was sealed with Little Otik, but recent years with Svankmajer have been rough going. His 2005 Lunacy was a painful study in cynicism and misanthropy that couldn't even be saved by his imaginative animation. Surviving Life doesn't fair too much better. Full of academic nods and winks, the film follows Eugene down an Oedopal spiral of addictive dreams and suppressed memories. It is tedious, to say the least. Unfortunately, it is made worse by Svankmajer's own preamble in the film: an apology (also full of nods and winks) that the lack of a budget requires animating photographs rather than hiring actors. I love the look of the film, full of Svankmajer's trademark weirdness and animation, and regret that the filmmaker finds it necessary to make excuses for it.

The Strange Case of Angelica (2010)
Manoel de Oliveira
Portugal/Spain/France/Brazil

It feels unfair to write about a filmmaker with such a wide oeuvre without having much grounding in it, but that's the way it goes.The first thing to reconcile with the fastidiously shot The Strange Case of Angelica is that director, Manoel de Oliveira, will soon turn 102. The second is the film's unnerving and timeless beauty that feels almost fragile. Isaac (played by de Oliveira's grandson Ricardo Trepa) is a young photographer who is urgently called to a wealthy estate to take one last photograph of the recently passed young Angelica. Angelica and the image she renders in the camera haunt Isaac into insomnia and obsession. The Strange Case of Angelica is an homage to the art of the photograph. Entirely made up of still camera work, it explores classic composition with unsettling elegance. A touch of the supernatural comes off a little sophomoric, but it is minor compared to the exquisite bulk of this film.

L.A. Zombie (2010)
Bruce LaBruce
Germany/USA

Let me just say it: L.A. Zombie, infamously banned and ostracized, is getting way too much attention. Without a doubt, it has been the worst 63 minutes of the Festival and I really can't imagine why this is getting programmed around the globe. It's only as subversive or interesting as seeing a porn at a major film festival. We watch a hulked up zombie man walk around L.A. sticking his Zombie stuff into dead people's newly formed holes. This magical experience resurrects the corpse every time and then zombie man moves on and does it again. Overly conscious of its poor craft, L.A. Zombie is a ridiculous exercise of genre bending and an even more ridiculous exercise for the audience. Midnight movie experience over.

VIFF: Day 8

2010-10-09T18:27:00.009-05:00

Merry-Go-Round (2010)
Yan Yan Mak and Clement Cheng
Hong Kong

Gallants might be the Clement Cheng film that everyone is talking about, but the Vancouver native also has a second 2010 film, Merry-Go-Round. Co-directed with up-and-coming female director Yan Yan Mak, Merry-Go-Round passes on parody and laughs in favor of humanism and drama. The film cleverly combines four individuals, two generations and two continents into a story about immigration and emigration. The film opens in San Francisco where Eva (played by 70s kung fu star Nora Miao) is a traditional Chinese doctor and Nam is a young lost soul looking for herself. The two of them both make the trip to Hong Kong to deal with unfinished business. Nam lands a job in a a coffin depository that is overseen by Hill (played by the Gallant crowd-please Teddy Robin Kwan). Eva returns to her father's herbal medicine shop to persuade her nephew, Fung, not to sell the family property. Eventually the storyline draws the four of them together in somewhat unexpected ways but with somewhat expected results. Mak and Cheng earn huge marks for the casting of Kwan and Miao, the latter an icon that has seen little screen time in the last 30 years. Cheng, tipping his hand as the kung fu fan that Gallants proves him to be, has one very satisfying scene where Eva gives her nephew the kind of smackdown that she was doing in films like Fist of Fury. Merry-Go-Round champions an independent feel that is rare in Hong Kong film, but unfortunately much of the drama suffers from the incessant pop-infused soundtrack. Rising stars in the field, Clement Cheng and Yan Yan Mak are two to watch.

The Fourth Portrait (2010)
Chung Mong-hong
Taiwan

Chung Mong-hong is yet another discovery, at least for me, from Taiwan. Although The Fourth Portrait is only his second feature, it's enough of a standout to chase down his first feature, Parking. The Fourth Portrait is inventively paced and beautifully shot. Xiang is ten years old and his father has just died. It rests upon his shoulders to go home and find his father's nicest suit and his best photograph. Unable to find a photo, Xiang produces the first portrait that sets up the film's modest narrative drive. Although it is clear that we will see three more portraits drawn by Xiang, they turn out to be unusual signposts in his journey. While the narrative moves forward, Chung switches the gears ever-so-slightly so that The Fourth Portrait feels fresh. Xiang is left to fend for himself until he is caught stealing food by a stern but caring janitor who takes Xiang under his wing. Suddenly the path for where the film is going is clear. Not quite. The film shifts: Xiang's mother is found and is taking him to her home where she has a new husband and newly born child. Once again, the film seems to settle into a groove, but wrong again. Xiang is the befriended by an older hang-about who only seems to be good at petty crime. Chung does this a few more times slowly working its way through Xiang's four portraits. Make no doubt about it, The Fourth Portrait is a coming of age story, but one told with inventive spirit and sophistication.

The Ugly Duckling (2010)
Garri Bardin
Russia/France

Garri Bardin's stop-motion animation of the much loved parable is at the very least a joy to watch. The creative character designs and slightly socialist connotation brings something totally new to the tale. The diabolical ducklings and the alien-headed goslings never failed to get a chuckle out of me. The operatic over-the-top score, however, is as pummeling as the relentless oppression of our poor ugly little duckling. There's an overwhelming cynicism to this adaptation that felt unnecessary.

Gallants (2010)
Derek Kwok and Clement Cheng
Hong Kong

So glad I got to see extremely fun film on the big screen in a packed house. Gallants is a loving homage to the kung fu films from the 60s and 70s ala Shaw Brothers and Bruce Lee. Clement Cheng this time aligns himself with Derek Kwok, someone he has worked with before as a screenwriter and who is breaking out onto the Hong Kong scene. In a sleepy part of Hong Kong, a helpless young man by the name of Leung has been sent to settle a property dispute. On his route he is bullied by a little kid, who Leung in turn bullies only to get bullied by the kid's father. A passerby takes pity on Leung and stops the very uneven fight. The selfless hero turns out to be the be the aging but legendary Tiger. Tiger and his fellow martial arts brother Dragon have been quietly holding vigil over their master, Law, who has been in a coma for 30 years. Old rivalries ignite as well as the fighting passion within Leung as master Law miraculously awakes to his biggest challenge yet! The brilliance of Gallants is not only in the overt style that Kwok and Cheng chooses to parody with great wit, but also in its cast. The trio of old-timers—Bruce Leung, Chen Kuan-tai and Teddy Robin Kwan—deliver more charisma than seems fair for one movie. Clement Cheng himself must be a creative force to be reckoned with, working on projects as diverse as Gallants and Merry-Go-Round. Gallants is not going to move mountains, but it sure is a raucous romp and a must see for any fan of the genre.

Rubber (2010)
Quentin Dupieux
France/USA

Rubber is occasionally very clever, occasionally very funny, occasionally overly self-conscious and occasionally too redundant. A movie within a movie (but more importantly, an audience watching an audience), Rubber tells the tale of a rogue tire—abandoned in the desert and gaining a taste for blood (or more accurately gaining a taste for blowing things up with its tire-mind.) The introduction to the film comes from a police officer who pops out of the trunk of a car to explain that things in movies happen for no reason. Why is E.T. brown? No reason. Why do the two people in Love Story fall madly in love? No reason. Why does a complete stranger assassinate the president in JFK. No reason. And so it goes. Most things happen in Rubber for—you guessed it—no reason, and for almost half the film it is interesting. Rubber is very strange and it doesn't really work overall, but compared to the other midnight film (L.A. Zombie which I will get to in my next update), Rubber looks like a masterpiece.