Happy 19th Birthday, Abhi

August 31 is the last day of winter. It's symbolic, of course, but as the season has noticeably shifted during the past week, our spirits are lifted. Today, 31 August 2008 is also the day my dear son Abhi would have turned 19 had he not left us prematurely some 20 months ago. I look back on this day one year ago and find that I am not so traumatised, and that the future, like the change of seasons, seems bright. The sadness will always be there, but I take solace that Abhi is still with me. Everything is as it should be. It always has been and it always will.

This is the Abhi I remember. He was always happy in our company. He enjoyed our company and we enjoyed his. He was full of life and we hope he is happy now.

More Blood, Sex & Violence

Melbourne, it seems, can't get enough of it. ACMI continues the Ozploitation theme we all loved (well I did) at ACMI, starting with Not Quite Hollywood (which, incidentally, opens in cinemas on Thursday) and continued with titles like Dead End Drive-In, Long Weekend, Road Games. Ohmigod, I can't believe how much fun I had with these films. For those that couldn't get enough, the joy continues with three more films: Kung Fu Killers, Howling III: The Marsupials and The Naked Bunyip. After what I've seen from Not Quite Hollywood, I'm really looking forward to Kung Fu Killers and The Naked Bunyip (I was too young to see it when it came out), but am not sure about Howling III. The one title I'd really like to see is Patrick, which those who have seen NQH would know is the film that Tarantino lifted a scene from for Kill Bill vol. 1 (when The Bride awakes from her coma).

I should point out that the screening of The Naked Bunyip is co-presented by the Australian Film Critics Association (AFCA) who are hosting a post-screening panel discussion. In the past these panels have included the directors, writers, producers, etc and I've found them a great enhancement to the cinema experience. I highly recommend them.

Here are the films' screening info, courtesy of ACMI:

Sat 6 Sep 4pm

Kung Fu Killers G

Brian Trenchard-Smith, 72 mins, Australia, 1974, Digi Beta. print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

The documentary takes leading Australian stuntman Grant Page to Hong Kong to find Bruce Lee’s successor. Made just after the death of Lee and featuring an exciting hilltop kung-fu fight, the film examines with humour the cultural phenomenon that Asian martial arts had become in the West.

Self-financed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, this feature was completed for a total of $13,000 in 1973. Trenchard-Smith (Turkey Shoot, Dead End Drive-In) is lauded by Quentin Tarantino as one of his favourite genre directors of all time, a testimonial which is captured on film in Not Quite Hollywood.

Sat 13 Sep 4pm

Howling III: The Marsupials M

Philippe Mora, 94 mins, Australia, 1987, 35mm. print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

”If you see only one werewolf movie this year, you might as well make it Howling III” - The New York Times

Philippe Mora’s horror-comedy is a true genre-bending marvel of 1980s Australian cinema and the final installment of the Howling trilogy.

Set in outback Australia, a community of people with transformative powers is discovered by a group of scientists. Up until now, the colony have applied a policy of live and let live towards a rare variety of werewolves – marsupial werewolves. Barry Otto stars as a scientist and professor who embarks on a search for the rare breed of marsupial werewolves.

Mora sends-up the horror genre with his comic bent on this story. The film features werewolves disguised in nuns habits on a rescue mission, a mid-performance transformation on the stage at the Sydney Opera House and an unforgettable marsupial birth scene.

Sat 20 Sep 4pm

The Naked Bunyip unclassified 18+

John B. Murray, 136 mins, Australia, 1970, 35mm. print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

In his first feature film, Graeme Blundell stars as an innocent young market researcher assigned to report on sex.

In this raucous documentary Blundell gets up close and personal - but too personal for the censors of the time who demanded cuts to the film. Rather than remove the offending footage, director John Murray instead inserted bunyip caricatures and bleeps over the objectionable segments, infuriating the censors but making a bold statement about censorship.

With a guest appearance by Barry Humphries (among many other prominent Australians) The Naked Bunyip helped to revive the Australian film industry – and its mojo!

This screening will be followed by a panel discussion hosted by the Australian Film Critics Association.

The Week in Review - 24/8/08

• Moonfleet (Fritz Lang, USA, 1955)
• Fury (Fritz Lang, USA, 1936)
• Du levande (You, the Living, Roy Andersson, France/Germany/Denmark/Sweden/Norway, 2007)
• The Bank Job (Roger Donaldson, UK, 2008)

Moonfleet
My only exposure to Fritz Lang is his most famous film, Metropolis, which I saw a few years ago at the Astor Theatre. This film, apparently the only one shot by Lang in Cinemascope, seems quite insubstantial to me. It looks very staged, like an adult form of children's pantomime. Maybe I'm not imbibing its historical context. I'm certainly interested in the history of cinema and Lang is a significant player in cinema's early history. Fortunately, the following Lang film screening at Melbourne Cinémathèque was more engaging.

Fury
The plot of this film is fairly implausible, yet somehow manages to grab the audience and take it on a ride. Fury raises some ethical and other issues and I found it enjoyable, though still not overly substantial.

You, the Living
This film, in Swedish, has a bleak aesthetic that really appeals to me. Urban decay is very photogenic, and the various characters that are shot in single takes (mostly with a static camera) match their surrounds. The director has employed a number of peculiar devices such as irony, black humour, surrealism and social observation that results in a highly original, engaging and entertaining film. I found it tender, sweet, moving and quietly subversive (especially a religious woman's praying for forgiveness for various sinners), without being overtly political in any way.

I loved the way characters from one scene would intersect with those from another. I also loved the way some minor details recurred. But my favourite parts were the recounting of dreams, where the surrealism came to the fore, especially with the girl and the guitarist. I was in awe at how one scene (from inside a 'train') was shot. Well worth seeing if you like films outside of the box, Scandinavian films and black comedies/dramas.

The Bank Job
I had free tix to see this as a MIFF member pre-MIFF, but couldn't fit it in. The missus didn't like the previous film as much as I so she took the call on this one. It has the fairly conventional structure of a heist film, yet manages to maintain a high level of interest for a number of reasons. First, it's genuinely more complex than most, and the complexity is believable due to the underlying facts that the story is based on, even if the bulk of the film is a fictionalisation (which one would expect, particularly considering the reported national security implications).

The Bank Job had my heart palpitating in suspense for nearly the entirety of its run time and my hands were sweaty. So I felt it did a good job of grabbing the audience. The end was a bit too twee in my opinion, trying to conveniently smooth things over for resolution. This is a minor point however, and didn't really affect my appreciation for the rest of the ride. This is a good mainstream film. It looks good, has believable and well-developed characters (mostly) and has some genuinely unexpected twists.

Seeking Israeli FF Recommendations

With a great-great-grandfather who emigrated to Palestine from Russia in the 1800's, I feel a connection to Israel and would like to see a film or more at the upcoming Israeli Film Festival (1-7 September). The festival is a little obscure, so I won't be surprised if no-one has any recommendations. But that's what I'm looking for.

These are the titles that interest me, but I'll only be able to fit up to three films in. Any tips for or against are appreciated.

• Rage & Glory
• Julia Mia
• Foul Gesture
• Just Like Your Dad

Film synopses

AFI Screenings

Each year, AFI members get to vote on their favourite films and a number of free screenings are arranged to enable members to see these films. There seems to be quite a large number of films screening this year that I haven't seen. I've arranged them according to those I've seen, those I want to see and those that I haven't seen (but not sure whether they're worth seeing).

I've listed them accordingly below, and if anyone has any tips, for or against, I'd love to hear your comments.

For what it's worth, none of the films I've seen overly impressed me. The three titles I'd like to see have had good word-of-mouth and I'm going to prioritise those. Of the others, I have some pretty strong negative feelings towards several, but there's others I'm just not too sure about. That's either because I've heard conflicting reports, or because I've heard nothing about them.

SEEN
The Jammed
September
Not Quite Hollywood
The Independent
Death Defying Acts
The Black Balloon

WANT TO SEE
Three Blind Mice
The Tragedy of Hamlet Prince of Denmark
Men's Group
Salvation
The Square
All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane
Bitter & Twisted
Black Water (maybe)

HAVEN’T SEEN
The Tender Hook
Five Moments of Infidelity
Ten Empty
Beyond Our Ken
Gabriel
Rats and Cats
Punishment
The Plex
The Oasis
Green Fire Envy
Cactus
Unfinished Sky
Children of the Silk Road
Hey Hey it's Esther Blueburger

Head On + Q&A

Life's full of little surprises. I was riding to ACMI on my motorcycle in the cold drizzle wondering whether I would regret the effort to see a Greek romantic comedy by Christine Crokos called Bang-Bang Wedding! (Gamilio Party) featuring Australia's own Alex Dimitriades. ACMI's description (removed from their website):

Unclassified 18+, Christine Crokos, 89 mins, Greece, 2008, 35mm, Greek with English subtitles

In what must be something of a first, Alex Dimitriades returns to his parents' homeland (Greece) for this light-hearted romantic comedy. Dimitriades and versatile Greek actress and rising star Faye Xila are a young couple about to be married only to discover that a printing error in the invitation sends their guests all over the picturesque island of Crete. It's a fun ride all the way to the altar. Australian premiere!

Unbeknownst to moi, the film was replaced by the film that really put Dimitriades on the map, 1998's Head On. And silly me, though I receive ACMI's email newsletter, I hadn't read that the film was being replaced. Would I have gone, had I known? I don't know. I had seen the film previously, but not on the big screen. By jeepers, I'm glad I did see it, on the medium it should be seen. And furthermore, both Dimitriades and director Ana Kokkinos were on hand for a Q&A session after the film.

What is it about Greek-Australian film directors? Kokkinos and Alkinos Tsilimidos (my favourite Australian director) both are drawn to edgy film-making that is rare in this country. While Kokkinos' most recent film, The Book of Revelation, attracted mixed reactions (and I have reservations about it myself), I admired the fact it took risks in a risk-averse climate.

Head On remains one of my favourite local films, and stacks up admirably alongside world cinema. The film tackles universal issues such as migrant alienation, as did the recent renowned films, The Edge of Heaven (about Turkish migrants in Germany) and The Secret of the Grain (Tunisian migrants in France). Of course, Head On is about more than just migrant assimilation and alientation. Sure, it tackles the clash of cultures, and does it so well. It captures with brutal honesty, the authenticity of the intergenerational conflict. On the one hand you have the idealistic and hard-working older generation and on the other the complacent younger generation who don't understand the long past struggles of their parents and grandparents.

There are many observational ethnic details, evidenced at the film's opening, when Dimitriades' Ari drops the fake wedding flowers from his lapel onto the ground. Interspersed is an uplifting sense of humour that reflects the idiosyncracies of Greek migrants in this country (and this city specifically). It reminded me of the underlying truth in the humour of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, though this film is no throw-away comedy. This is hard-hitting and confronting social drama. Ari is a rebel without a cause, rejecting his family's orthodoxies but unable to accept the norms of the society he is born into. And he's gay, even if he doesn't admit it to himself.

The migrant family's structure and chemistry was depicted with much authenticity. The device of ethnic music and dance both contrasted and complemented the initially heavy use of popular music that set a frenetic pace and tone to the film.

There are various implicit gay sex scenes that are potentially confronting for a conventional audience. The skill with which these scenes are written, filmed and edited are perhaps one of the main reasons this film succeeds so well, for otherwise it could alienate an audience from its wider themes.

Dimitriades has a rugged beauty that the camera captures wonderfully. I asked Kokkinos if the many close-ups was to create a sense of claustrophobia or to highlight the story from Ari's perspective and she replied that it was both. His performance is really quite remarkable, and I mentioned to him that though this may seem a back-handed compliment, it's the best performance I've seen from him. Kokkinos agreed wholeheartedly.

Dimitriades really has the spotlight in Head On, but he is also backed up with an excellent supporting cast. Ari's family and friends, and the small-part players like the police are all excellent, though a special mention must go to Paul Capsis for his portrayal as a transvestite. Capsis is a terrific female impersonator/singer, but in the film he also shows excellent range as a serious actor.

I asked Kokkinos why films like this aren't being made today. She replied that this is a complex subject and I don't think the question was satisfactorily answered.

There was only a small turnout for the event, particularly considering there was a Q&A. Perhaps this was because the event was not sufficiently advertised.

I confess that migrant alienation is a theme particularly close to my heart, but this film is important for more than just its excellent handling of this theme. It's a film that has confidently and maturely tackled a number of confronting and challenging issues with such a sense of underlying honesty and authenticity, with a great deal of humour and sense of humanity. I love it.

Persepolis

Having seen very few new cinema releases in months, and with the flood I mentioned coming up, I'm pretty keen to take every opportunity to see the pick of the new releases before all the festivals and other seasons swamp me. Friday evenings we (the family) meet up after work/school for dinner and, if there's a suitable film (ie, something you can take a 7-year old to), we're in. With advance screenings of Persepolis, this looked ideal. And it was.

Persepolis is a French production, an autobiographical coming-of-age story about an Iranian girl who overcomes all kinds of social, political and personal adversity and eventually settles in her adopted country, France. Omigod! This sounds like an almost identical premise to the raft of Australian coming-of-age films produced in the last year or two. Except that Persepolis actually works, and works well. It is bold, funny, deep, moving, intelligent, engaging, visually appealling, uplifting, original and educational. It's really an adult film though my son loved it too (4.5/5 stars from him, and he cried as well, always a good sign).

Directed by Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi, it tells the story of Satrapi's childhood, growing up in pre-revolution secular Teheran and how everything changed with the demise of the Shah, the war with Iraq and the takeover by religious fundamentalism. Marjane marries young, much to the consternation of her lively (and some could say feminist) grandmother. Eventually she leaves for Europe.

I was astounded at how entertaining an overview of modern Iranian political history could be. The film confidently and competently includes just enough detail to give us a sense of historical perspective without getting stuck in tedious details. But the main reasons it works so well are: (1) the telling of the story from a child's perspective, and (2) the novel way in which characters are presented, especially Marjane's very endearing grandmother.

Watching the film, I couldn't help but think of the parallels with contemporary Australian cinema. This is the kind of film we could (and should) be making. As far as animation, we have the talents of award-winners like Adam Elliot (Harvey Krumpet), Anthony Lucas (Jasper Morello) and others. Animated or not, it doesn't matter. This film demonstrates how to tell a compelling personal story, full of meaning and feeling, and imbued with humour.

The film's visuals are very appealling. The present is depicted in colour, with the bulk of the story in the past where a sort of tinted black and white is used. It looks fantastic. As I mentioned, it's a great story for children if, like me, you give credit to their capacity to understand complex concepts (ie, this is no Lion King or Finding Nemo). The use of well-paced and well-placed humour gives younger ones plenty of hooks into the story, even if they don't completely understand everything.

Persepolis has won a swag of awards including the sharing of the Jury Prize with Silent Light (one of my MIFF 2008 favourites) at Cannes last year. Advance screenings take place this weekend, and it opens next Thursday. I highly recommend it.

Did anyone else see it at MIFF? Or since? What did you think?

By the way, I saw this at the Kino and learnt that the Kino is now part-owned by Palace Cinemas. I knew that long time co-owner was looking for a new partner after his run with Dendy ended (due to Dendy's being sold to Icon Films). This explains why the upcoming Italian Film Festival is screening at 3 other Palace cinemas and the Kino.

From Drought to Flood

With MIFF over and still recovering from festival fatigue, it's hard to believe that until recently we've been starved of cinema releases for the best part of three months. It seems the distributors have been anxiously awaiting the end of the east coast major festivals and now the flood gates are opening. There's no shortage of new releases, several of which have screened at the recent festivals.

Coming up in the next few weeks are: Redbelt (David Mamet), The Visitor (Thomas McCarthy, director of The Station Agent), Katusha (Igor Grabovsky), Persepolis (Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi; I'm planning to take the family to see this tomorrow), Son of a Lion (Benjamin Gilmour), My Blueberry Nights (Wong Kar-Wai), (yes, the MIFF-opener by Mark Hartley), Not Quite Hollywood, In Bruges (Martin McDonagh), Welcome to the Sticks (Dany Boon), Funny Games (Michael Haneke), Waltz With Bashir (Ari Folman; this is one title I'm looking forward to, an animated documentary I planned to see during MIFF, but decided to wait when I learnt it was getting a release), Caramel (Nadine Labaki), (Andrew Stanton; not exactly arthouse, but I'm keen to take the kid to see it) and Blindness (Fernando Meirelles). All these are just what looks to me like the pick of releases for the next month or so.

There's the Malaysian Film Festival at ACMI (15-18 Aug), The Israeli Film Festival at Palace Como and Brighton Bay (1-7 Sep) and The Indian Film Festival at the Nova (3-17 Sep). The Indian festival looks like it's stepping outside of the usual Bollywood melodrama musical action romantic dramas (usually rolled into each film) and giving us some serious cinema with a retrospective of Satyajit Ray's films (thanks to Lynden Barber at Eyes Wired Open for the heads up).

There's the AFI Screenings, free but only for AFI members, screening at ACMI (5-28 Sep); ACMI's Focus on Jim Henson (4-14 Sep) and also a number of films connected with Yves St. Laurent (1-7 Sep), and the Italian Film Festival at Palace Balwyn, Como and Westgarth and at the Kino (17 Sep - 5 Oct).

But wait, there's more. There's the Melbourne Cinémathèque seasons on Fritz Lang (20 Aug - 3 Sep) and Cinema '68 (17 Sep - 15 Oct). Cteq is also screening (10 Sep) La maman et la putain (The Mother & the Whore, Jean Eustache, France, 1973), a film I've been wanting to see for a long time. ACMI is continuing with the Focus on Ozploitation that started at MIFF with some titles that didn't screen as part of the festival retrospective: Kung Fu Killers, Howling III and The Naked Bunyip. ACMI is also screening Obscene (21-24 Aug), a documentary about my favourite director, simply called Lynch (25 - 28 Sep) and FW Murnau's Faust (11 Oct) with a live score.

There's even more, but where do you stop? Us Melbournians certainly have no cause to complain as we'll be drowning in cinema for many weeks to come.

MIFF 2008 Overview

MIFF is over for another year, which brings both sadness and relief. Sadness that we have to wait another year for so many good films that we wish distributors would drip-feed us throughout the year but - with few exceptions - don't. And relief that we can get back to eating and sleeping normally.

My daily 'reviews' were this year more summary/cursory than last year. I make no apology for this to myself or anyone who may happen to read. I just could not put the effort into it that I did last year. Fatigue has really become a health issue for me. There's maybe a dozen films I'd like to write more on, and if the opportunity presents itself I will. If any of those films get a release outside of the festival, I'll be sure to do so.

I saw 42 complete films this year, 2 more than last year. I tried to keep it to 40, the number I saw last year, so I wasn't too much over the mark. That really is about the maximum number of films that I can see and respectfully absorb without burning up (which I got close to yesterday). I also attended another 4 films that I walked out of, not necessarily because they were bad per se, but because they weren't worth staying for and I'd rather get a break or go home and get some sleep. There's a number of other films that I could've walked out of, but didn't. That includes everything in "GIVE IT A MISS" below, and pretty much everything in "MEH".

Were it possible, I'd have been happy to have just seen the "MUST SEE" and "VERY GOOD" films below and nothing else. That would have been extremely satisfying, and I wouldn't be feeling the fatigue I am now.

I managed to see all six of the Romanian Wave feature films, and I found this stream very satisfying. My pick of them is The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, with a special mention to The Paper is Blue. I look forward to seeing anything coming out of Romania by the directors in this stream.

I wanted to see all of the Edward Yang films (except Yi Yi, which I'd already seen) and managed to see all but two of them. I was disappointed that I couldn't fit A Bright Summer's Day in, which is reputed as his masterpiece. I found it interesting to see a number of his films, but at best I found them quietly satisfying without being earth-shattering in any way. I think I'd appreciate them more outside of the festival and maybe Melbourne Cinémathèque may put on a season of his films in the future. My favourite at the festival was A Confucian Confusion.

I found the Ozploitation films fun and added a nice touch of variety to the festival without being profound in any way. Not Quite Hollywood, opening night film, is entertaining rather than insightful, but gives a reason to visit or revisit these early Australian films. Of the three films screening in the Ozploitation stream, my favourite was Road Games (though it's really a thriller rather than an Ozploitation film).

I saw five of the ten films from the Tribute to the Cannes Director's Fortnight stream, but none of them impressed me overly. It's the stream that disappointed me the most.

I saw twelve films from the largest stream, International Panorama. Five of those films made it into my 'MUST SEE' or 'VERY GOOD' list, namely Lorna's Silence, Three Monkeys, Silent Light, Katyn and O' Horten.

I only saw one film from the New Gen stream, The Substitute, which I didn't particularly like. It's an obviously 'made-for-children' film, which is a kind of euphemism for 'be prepared to suspend all your critical and intellectual faculties because we're really dumbing this down'. I think the best children's films are those that don't underestimate a child's intellect, like John Sayle's The Secret of Roan Inish or Ken Loach's Kes. The best film at the festival that I think would suit children (but wasn't available to them) was Tricks. It's about a young boy who thinks a man he sees at the station might be his absent father.

This year I cut back on the number of Neighbourhood Watch films I saw compared to last year as I found there was too much homogeny among them. Of the four I saw, Secret Sunshine was the easy stand-out in this stream, though 24 City and Night and Day were very enjoyable.

Looking at the list of films I saw at MIFF, I have unsurprisingly gravitated towards the social-realist films. There didn't seem to be many 'headline acts', so to speak, this year. I think I could improve my future MIFF experiences by doing a little more research. I found a number of films weren't worthy of the festival (in my opinion, of course) and would prefer to see less quantity and more quality. I think my overall MIFF experience is on a par with last year, though I'd have to revisit my journal for last year to comment more authoritatively.

Last year I collated a list of suggestions for MIFF, and this year I'm doing the same. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to post them and if appropriate, I'll add them to my list.

As a MIFF Member, I thought the priority queue was a great innovation for this year. It certainly enhanced the festival experience for me and I suspect will lead to a rush of new members before next year's festival (perhaps there was one this year).

I thought the addition of the Kino as a venue was good, but it's a pity that MIFF didn't book the Regent, which is a magnificent venue and holds a huge number for the popular sessions. Opening Night at Hamer Hall just wasn't the same and I certainly will not attend opening night there again.

Greater Union has got to have the shittiest cinemas in Melbourne. Seats are broken, and the prime seating locations should be where the staircases are located. With both Hoyts and Village closed in the central CBD, I suppose there's not much choice, but it'd be nice if Greater Union would refurbish them after so many decades.

The festival ads drove me crazy, especially the MIFF ad itself and the Channel 10 Rush and Yalumba ones. You'd think the advertisers would produce a range of ads that would get circulated, so you wouldn't be seeing the same ads session after session. The advertisers really need to review their contracts with the advertising agencies. They were all poor at best.

Lighting is terrible at most venues. The lights often went out just as the audiences were entering the cinemas as the ads were starting. You'd think half-lighting would stay on while the ads are on, as is usual when one attends a cinema. At most of the venues, seating is so tight, so one invariably stood on others and/or was stood on by others in the dark. This was the case at every venue I attended except ACMI.

I thought the daytime programming was an improvement on last year, but could still be better improved. For those like myself who take two weeks off work, some days there was fairly uninspiring choices during business hours. I'd also like to see film start 11am during the week rather than 1pm. I'm sure there'd be sales for an earlier time as I saw sold out sessions at 1pm. An earlier start would enable one to catch a film, take a 2-hour lunch break and then see a 3pm film.

Other Suggestions (feel free to add your own):

• I'd like to see more films programmed for children, and screened on weekdays at 5pm and 7pm.
• The MIFF program would be easier to use if the middle section included the film's stream and the page number the film synopsis is on. This would reduce the film research process from three steps to two.
• Additional screenings of in-demand films without a local release
• Website: the ability to select more than one session's tickets at a time
• Website: the calender could show all events, not just film sessions
• Website: search engine is pathetic and needs improvement
• Website: the ability to associate a pass with a membership number
• I'd be happy to pay say $5 for an A5 size, bound festival guide rather than the free Age liftout
• Website: blue text on black background is terrible. I'd rather black text on white background.
  

Memos to self for next year (feel free to make your own suggestions):

• Make sure you're well-rested before MIFF starts
• Better to see one or two festival films other than the opening night film on opening night
• Take more note of which films won Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, etc at major film festivals like Cannes, as these invariably are the must-see films at the festival
• 40 films is more than enough
• Take home-cooking with me to eat at appropriate times
• Get to bed earlier
  

Here's a repost of my arbitrary classifications of the films I saw:

MUST SEE CINEMA!
Lorna's Silence
Three Monkeys
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Secret Sunshine
Silent Light

VERY GOOD
The Paper Will be Blue
Katyn
O' Horten

QUIETLY SATISFYING
Tricks
On War
A Confucian Confusion
Occident
Momma's Man
Night and Day
My Marlon and Brando
Mahjong
24 City
12:08 East of Bucharest
Boogie
The Terrorizer

GOOD FUN
Surveillance
Roadgames
Long Weekend
Not Quite Hollywood
My Winnipeg
Dead End Drive-In

OK BUT DISAPPOINTING
The Devil Probably
Fata Morgana
Private Lessons
Taipei Story
Matewan
Fox and His Friends

MEH
Time to Die
Everything is Fine
The Pope's Toilet
Sleepwalking Land
California Dreamin' (Endless)

GIVE IT A MISS
40 x 15: The 40 Years of the Directors' Fortnight
Ashes of Time Redux
The Substitute
Of Time and the City
Lion's Den

WALKOUTS
Xiao Jia Going Home
The Desert Within
La Rabia
Just Anybody

MIFF Day 16

Sat 9 August
Pora umierac (Time to Die, Dorota Kedzierzawska, Poland, 2007)
Hîrtia va fi albastrã (The Paper Will Be Blue, Radu Muntean, Romania, 2007)
Sztuczki (Tricks, Andrzej Jakimowski, Poland, 2007)
De la guerre (On War, Bertrand Bonello, France, 2008)


Time to Die
A nice looking film with it's gorgeous black and white cinematography and photogenic subjects (an elderly woman in her deteriorating home and a border collie dog). Somehow, it all seemed a bit too twee. The director played it safe and pulled all the sentimental strings he could. At this stage of the festival, it didn't grab my interest particularly. It's the kind of film that could do well at the Palace Como cinema.

The Paper Will Be Blue
The Romanian Wave films continue to impress and this one is right up there. It has an aesthetic similar to 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days though, rather than a social drama, this is a war/political thriller. It depicts Bucharest at the peak of civil unrest and during the revolution that culminated in the overthrow of the communist dictatorship of Ceaucescu. Some of the politics are a little opaque to non-Romanian audiences, which I didn't mind. What was evident was the confusion, mistrust and general peril in the streets.

The film starts with a tragic outcome that the rest of the film leads up to. We follow a military unit as one member attempts to join the revolution, and as his comrades struggle through the urban chaos to bring him back. The film has the realist/documentary feel of many of the Romanian new wave films. We get glimpses into the everyday lives of the protagonists, betraying the director's humanist approach to the subject. The film is a testament to the events of the era. Highly recommended.

Tricks
A Polish social drama with a slight hint of understated black comedy. This would be a good film for culturally aware adults to take their children to (but it's not part of MIFF's New Gen stream, so kids weren't allowed). The film looks nice with its depictions of family life in impoverished provincial Poland. I would have enjoyed it more outside of the festival context.

On War
This is a very unusual film, and that's a good thing. It's not a conventional story and it's not conventionally told. A film-maker is unfulfilled and stumbles into a cult that transforms his life. He leaves his life as he knew it and things get both weird and potentially dangerous. The film looks great, is unpredictable but I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have due to fatigue. It was at this point that I decided to make it my last festival film. I was planning to see A Christmas Tale on the final day. Better to get a day's rest before I return to work.

MIFF Day 15

Festival fatigue is a terrible thing, and difficult to shake. It doesn't affect me with a great film, but many a lesser yet worthy film may not be appreciated as I nod off. Such was the case with the first two films of Day 15.

Fri 8 August
Le Diable probablement (The Devil Probably, Robert Bresson, France, 1977)
Tout est parfait (Everything is Fine, Yves Christian Fournier, Canada, 2007)
O' Horten (Bent Hamer, Norway, 2008)
Stellet licht (Silent Light, Carlos Reygadas, Mexico/France/The Netherlands/Germany, 2007)


The Devil Probably
Apparently the 35mm print screened at my session is a rare print and the only one available. So announced the MIFF person prior, requesting tolerance for the print's quality. As it turned out, the scratches and discolouration weren't too much a problem. The film just didn't grab me and I nodded off for a couple of minutes near the start. Consequently, much of the subsequent story didn't make sense to me and I struggled to the end. While I respect the exploration and experimentation in French New Wave, much of it eludes me still.

Everything is Fine
Five 17 year old classmates commit suicide and a remaining friend is left wondering why. Look, I lost my 17 year old son to suicide, but none of this French Canadian film rang true for me. I just couldn't buy into it and it seemed aimed not much higher than an episode of Neighbours. The final conceit of the film was just so silly that it just confirmed everything else I perceived of it.

O' Horten
I was very curious to see Bent Hamer's latest film in his native Norway. His previous film, Factotum (2005) was a great little rendition of the life of Charles Bukowski by Matt Dillon. O' Horten is a highly original black comedy that is beautifully photographed as it follows a retiring train driver before, during and after his retirement. The film's use of irony made me realise how little it is employed in comedy.

The film could be called quirky, but nothing like the spate of over-contrived quirky indie US comedies of recent years. There was always the unexpected, and while the film is stylised, the surprises always have an authentic and natural feel to them. The film is an homage to old age, full of elderly characters and observations of some of their idiosyncrasies.

Last year, I found Snow Angels an example of the type of films I'd like to see more of at MIFF: films with the potentially mainstream appeal that are unlikely to get a local theatrical release. Such is the case with O' Horten. It's highly enjoyable, original and a vastly super alternative to the many French and UK comedies that make their way to our local arthouse cinemas.

Silent Light
After Matt Ravier's glowing review of Silent Light at Sydney Film Festival, I decided to order the DVD (along with Reygadas' earlier films, Japon and Battle in Heaven). By the time the DVDs arrived, Silent Light had been announced as screening at MIFF. Consequently, I held off waiting to see it on the big screen first. And boy, the wait was worth it. This is a sublimely beautiful film that, even though it runs for 142 minutes and ended close to midnight, had me completely entranced by its aesthetic story-telling.

Yes, those bookend sunrise and sunset shots are amazing, but it's the totality of the story-telling that grabbed me. The extremely long takes grab the attentive viewer into the beauty of the details in the seeming ordinary. It confirms my perspective that art is a way of seeing the world, not just the creation of physical objects of art.

The apparent use of different languages confused me, and I was trying to work out whether the film was set in Mexico or Europe. I thought the predominant language was Dutch with the occasional German and Spanish. The sight of an RV van and a Chihuahua State number plate later in the film clarified that it was shot in Mexico. The other language was neither Dutch nor German but Plautdietsch, described on Wikipedia as "Mennonite Low German, originally a Low Prussian variety of East Low German".

The film depicts a glimpse into the life of a Mennonite family in crisis. The film references both Sleeping Beauty and Ordet, has been compared to the work of Tarkovsky, yet is a highly original work that I find vastly superior and more compelling than any of these. This is one of my favourite MIFF films and must-see. Kojo Films are the local distributors but, given that they put Mister Lonely straight to DVD, I wouldn't be too optimistic that Silent Light will get a theatrical release. Big screen or small, I highly recommend it.

For what it's worth, this film had the largest walkout of any session I attended at MIFF: I counted 67 departures, most in the first 45 minutes. It's understandable, due to the extremely slow pace of the film, which demands much of an unsuspecting and conventional audience. This was similar to the response of last year's The Man From London, a film with completely different aesthetics, but also moved along at a snail's pace. What some audiences don't appreciate is that this is the point.

MIFF Day 14

I saw one and a half films today: one must-see, and one walk-out. There was an arsehole in the first film, three rows in front of me. He pissed of the woman in front of me with his arrogance when she tried to get past him, and then later holding his mobile phone in his hand with the lights visible. She moved away and after about five or ten minutes, I leaned over and called "excuse me". After repeatedly ignoring me, I called out to please turn off the phone. By this time, an usher thankfully intervened, the phone was put away and the usher remained seated close to the offender. Arsehole offender left soon after, during what is one of the best films of the festival. C'est la vie.

Thu 7 August
Milyang (Secret Sunshine, Lee Chang-dong, Korea, 2007)
La Rabia (Albertina Carri, Argentina, 2008)


Secret Sunshine
I only saw this by changing my program at the last minute (thanks Goran, for the idea). If I'd read the MIFF program more thoroughly, I'd have selected it to start with, as it's by the director of Oasis, one of the very few films I saw at MIFF in 2003 and really enjoyed. As I recollect, that film was bleaker than this one.

The film's title refers to the literal meaning of a town's name that a woman, Shin-ae (Jeon Do-yeon) moves to with her son. It's the hometown of her recently deceased husband. The film starts out as an understated social drama, but turns into something else when another tragedy befalls the woman. The film's focus is then on a crime, but shifts again when Shin-ae discovers religion. This is a very interesting part of the film, as Lee shows great insight and sensitivity in his depictions of how and why someone chooses this path (something I could relate to myself), without placing any personal judgements on religion per se.

Everything changes for Shin-ae when she visits the perpertrator of the crime to forgive him. What then transpires exemplifies the unpredictable nature of the film's narrative. Secret Sunshine is one of the better films at MIFF and though I'd only had 4 hours sleep last night, I was thoroughly absorbed by it for its 140+ minutes. There are some genuinely heart-churning moments that had me in tears. Joen's performance is truly remarkable and I only later discovered that she won Best Actress at Cannes this year for the performance. Her renditions of grief are particularly impressive and authentic. I attended the final screening, but I note that the DVD is available (which I have ordered) from Amazon Canada.

La Rabia
I can't honestly review this film, but I can explain why I walked out in disgust after 45 minutes. It's not unwatchable, in fact, I found its visuals looks quite good. But first seeing one gratuitous tits'n'arse scene, then followed up by an even more gratuitous sex scene really grated. When a third, yet more gratuitous soft-porn sex scene started, I decided if I wanted this, I'd rather go home and masturbate. Fact is, I'd rather go home and sleep. Aside from this, the film aims pretty low, with a commercial audience in mind, and I found it an insult to one's intelligence.

MIFF Day 13

I saw four films today, more than I like to, and all of them were at the Forum. For me, as a Screen Legend MIFF member, it means I can use the reserved seating there. Festival director Richard Moore came and sat next to me for one film (well, for part of it - I doubt he's seen a complete film during the festival) and I gave him some feedback. He's well aware of the repetitiveness of the ads, and I also mentioned that the theatre lighting tends to go off as the audience is entering the cinema. I've been collating a list of suggestions since before the festival started, something I also did last year. I'll be sending these off post-festival.

Wed 6 August
Du li shi dai (A Confucian Confusion, Edward Yang, Taiwan, 1994)
Occident (Cristian Mungiu, Romania, 2002)
Fata Morgana (Werner Herzog, West Germany, 1970)
Le premier venu (Just Anybody, Jacques Doillon, France/Belgium, 2007)


A Confucian Confusion
I saw this at a 1pm screening, the time of day I'm most likely to nod off if a film doesn't engage me. So, while I did nod off more than once, I felt that this is quite an interesting film by Yang, one of my favourites of his so far. A festival retrospective affords the opportunity to see multiple works and connect themes. Yang's work documents changes in Taiwanese culture, how it has become Westernised yet retained Chinese idiosyncrasies (like superstitiousness, for example).

A Confucian Confusion is both comedic and melodramatic, with more than a touch of soap opera. Yet Yang's mature and confident style works well with the whimsy by once again developing interesting characters and their inter-relationships. I'd like to see this film outside of the intensity of a festival to better appreciate it. Well worth a look.

Occident
I wanted to see as many of the Romanian Wave films as possible but didn't think I could fit this one in. When I realised it was by the director of 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, my favourite arthouse release of 2007, I made the extra effort and saw it this evening, even though it meant I would see three films consecutively (not something I like to do). I'm glad I did.

This first film is a completely different type of film to the director's acclaimed second feature. It's a black comedy cum social drama with three interwoven and overlapping stories. The tone is light, the cinematography reflects that and is a much more commercial film than the Palme d'Or-winning 4 Months. I found it very enjoyable, the more so seeing it in context with the later film. How this guy's work has matured from one film to the next!

Having now seen his two films, it strikes me that he may have been strongly influenced by the work of Krzysztof Kieslowski. Occident is a lighter film than Kieslowski ever made but uses similar devices and has similar themes. 4 Months is more like the 'hard-core' mid-career films of Kieslowski. Occident is no must-see film, but is a good festival film and, as it's not available on DVD (as far as I can ascertain), MIFF is a good opportunity to see it.

Fata Morgana
I've heard much of the 'legendary' film-maker, Werner Herzog, but seen little of his work (other than Grizzly Man and Rescue Dawn). This is a strange film, more of a moving picture essay. There's little dialogue, mostly just a prose narrative, much of it sounding very biblical. The visuals are of the Sahara, and quite stunning. I counted 27 people walking out on this film, more than any other film at MIFF so far (but well short of the 60 or so I counted at The Man From London last year), but I found it visually interesting enough to keep awake (always a good indicator). Mind you, if I knew what it was going to be like, I wouldn't have gone, but it's not too bad.

Just Anybody
I walked out this film after an hour. It was late, I was tired and I couldn't justify staying for something so dull and uninteresting. It seems like an overly-intellectual exploration of a scenario that is almost completely implausible: an attractive young woman tries to redeem the junkie loser who raped her, to the point she practically stalks him. There are so many other contrivances with interwoven relationships that it feels like a stage production or made-for-TV. At best, the film seems unready for release, as if the actors are rehearsing. The digital camera work was also a bit rough and looked cheap. My suggestion: avoid.

MIFF Day 12

French classes today, sandwiched by a film either side. For what it's worth, today I learnt about imperfect (l'imparfait) and revised passé composé. I have weekly classes at Alliance Française and conversational classes with a French person, Cécile, in a local cafe each weekend. I'm loving it and have recently started feeling like I could be understood in France (though I'd struggle to understand others, hehe).

In short, the early film was disappointing and the late film was fun.

Tue 5 August
California Dreamin' (Endless) (Cristian Nemescu, Romania, 2007)
Surveillance (Jennifer Lynch, USA, 2007)


California Dreamin' (Endless)
This is my least favourite of the Romanian films at this year's MIFF so far. It's the most contrived and there's a number of clues that this was made with an international (especially a US) audience in mind. First there's the title (which bears no conceivable connection with the film's story). Then there's the use of US troops on their way to the Balkans. When the ends comes and the title track blares out, the film's unashamed targetting of Western audiences is most obvious.

The film's cinematography was enough to put me offside. The use of wobble-cam was just way over the top and distracted me for every single minute of the film's long 150 minute run time. The story (a black comedy) is too trivial to warrant such a length. And the film's central premise - that a local station-master could hold up NATO forces until they present a required customs form - is just so implausible that I couldn't buy into the story at all. That the delay took five days was just inexorably painful. I'm sure some mainstream audiences could find this amusing and entertaining, but it shitted me big time.

Surveillance
Trash! Exploitation! Implausible! But I liked it, a guilty pleasure. Trash, but polished trash. Bill Pullman is close to the top of his game, and boy he's aging. Jennifer Lynch has extracted a performance from him that reminds me of his performance in her dad's film (and my favourite), Lost Highway. This is a good festival film, a bit of fun in between all the serious stuff, not unlike some of the Ozploitation flicks.

MIFF Day 11

Mon 4 August
Boogie (Radu Muntean, Romania, 2008)
Leonera (Lion's Den, Pablo Trapero, Argentina, 2008)
Kong bu fen zi (The Terrorizer, Edward Yang, Taiwan, 1986)

Boogie
This film is screening as part of the Romanian Wave stream at MIFF. I liked it quite a lot. I felt it wasn't as powerful as it could have been, perhaps due to a lack of dramatic tension, or perhaps the characters were hard to empathise with. There were other elements that worked well. Like most of the Romanian films I have seen, there is a unified aesthetic, in films by various directors. And Australian film-makers could really learn a thing or two from these, as they are clearly made on shoe-string budgets (probably much less than our own productions).

Boogie uses very long takes of naturalistic dialogue - it fits clearly into the social realist genre that I'm fond of. It depicts the everyday in a very typical relationship, the sparring, the conflict. A couple are on vacation with their young son. The husband's meeting up with a couple of old friends and going out to drink with them while the wife (played byAnamaria Marinca, the central character in 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) stays behind is the central plot. It's not an earth-shattering film but is quietly satisfying, showing confidence by the director, using subtlety and understatement to tell his story.

Lion's Den
I didn't like this film at all. There's a sense one gets right from the start of some films that it's trying too hard to be cool and stylish, but treats the audience's intelligence with, if not contempt, then indifference. Maybe that's a bit harsh, but that's how I felt with Lion's Den. A supermodel-looking babe finds herself accused of murdering her boyfriend and we never find out for sure. The movie is so caught up in its own sense of cool to bother with resolving little details like those. As implausible as every step is, we're taken on a silly ride through the nursery section of an Argentinian women's prison, where our babe goes when she's found to be pregnant.

The film tries hard to wring our emotions, but at every point where I felt I should be crying or feeling some gut-wrenching emotion, I felt nothing. Everything looked staged. I could have walked out of this film at any point from two minutes into it.

The Terrorizer
This is my favourite Edward Yang film yet. It's an ensemble piece that connects people from different social standings within Taiwanese society. The connections are clearly contrived, yet it works quite well because of the film's visual and narrative austerity. There is a sparseness that has a very attractive aesthetic. The circular structure that reminds me of Jafar Panahi's The Circle.

Other MIFF Review Sites

AFCA (the Australian Film Critics Association)
Senses of Cinema

Blogs
The Outland Institute
Stale Popcorn
moviesmad

My MIFF film classifications

This is a running list, using completely arbitrary classification, of films I've seen at MIFF 2008.

MUST SEE CINEMA!
Lorna's Silence
Three Monkeys
The Death of Mister Lazarescu
Secret Sunshine
Silent Light

VERY GOOD
The Paper Will be Blue
Katyn
O' Horten

QUIETLY SATISFYING
Tricks
On War
A Confucian Confusion
Occident
Momma's Man
Night and Day
My Marlon and Brando
Mahjong
24 City
12:08 East of Bucharest
Boogie
The Terrorizer

GOOD FUN
Surveillance
Roadgames
Long Weekend
Not Quite Hollywood
My Winnipeg
Dead End Drive-In

OK BUT DISAPPOINTING
The Devil Probably
Fata Morgana
Private Lessons
Taipei Story
Matewan
Fox and His Friends

MEH
Time to Die
Everything is Fine
The Pope's Toilet
Sleepwalking Land
California Dreamin' (Endless)

GIVE IT A MISS
40 x 15: The 40 Years of the Directors' Fortnight
Ashes of Time Redux
The Substitute
Of Time and the City
Lion's Den

WALKOUTS
Xiao Jia Going Home
The Desert Within
La Rabia
Just Anybody

MIFF Day 10

The second weekend comes to an end. We're clearly past the half-way mark and a week to go.

Sun 3 August
Faustrecht der Freiheit (Fox and his Friends, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Germany, 1975)
Roadgames (Richard Franklin, Australia, 1981)


Fox and His Friends
I can't say I've seen much of Fassbinder's films, so this was a good opportunity to see one on the big screen. I loved Fear Eats the Soul, a serious film with a social conscience. This MIFF screening left me untouched. I found it trivial, a film I could imagine playing as part of the Queer Film Festival. It depicts characters that don't interest me, with behaviour that alienated me and perhaps Fassbinder's intent was to bring homosexuality out of the margins. I don't have a problem with that, but it just didn't engage me. I did, however, like Fassbinder's dark humour at the end, when a couple of schoolboys pilfer Fox's last remaining possessions.

Roadgames
This film's reputation precedes it and, yes, it's a very satisfying genre piece with some pretty cute nods to Hitchcock. A good addition to the Ozploitation screenings, and I also like the trailers for other Ozploitation films that have been screening prior to the features. Jamie Lee Curtis shows her trademark attitude, and it's a pity we don't see a little more of her. Boy, is she young! She must have been about 22 when the film was shot. Stacy Keach was also good as lead, though it's kinda strange having two yankee leads in an Australian film. A bit like Jindabyne, I suppose.

MIFF Day 9

Sat 2 August
Üç maymun (Three Monkeys, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey/France/Italy, 2008)
Dead End Drive-In (Brian Trenchard-Smith, Australia, 1986)
Matewan (John Sayles, USA, 1986)

Three Monkeys
Nuri Bilge Ceylan really impressed me with his MIFF 2006 film, Climates, my festival favourite that year. Three Monkeys is no less a film, that I found very, very satisfying. This is what I go to the cinema in search of. And after the previous evening's Lorna's Silence, that's two top films in a row. Both these films have another screening on the last day of the festival and highly recommend them before they sell out. Ceylan's film won Best Director at Cannes this year, and I can see why.

Looking at Ceylan's very slick and informative website, I learnt that he has a long background as a stills photographer. It's worth putting aside some time and exploring this site (which documents both his films and photography), as not only is his work visually remarkable, but it also gives some insight into the photographic aesthetics that inform his film-making.

This guy has an amazing sense of frame. The film's opening scene as the darkness swallows up a passing car, the wind-swept sea- and landscapes, the child's hand appearing out of nowhere all have a breath-taking impact. Another thing that struck me was the cinematography. Shot on high-definition digital, the film uses a stylised palette similar to two films that screened at MIFF last year: Still Life and Alexandra, with strong use of desaturated colours and with a bias towards greens. The transfer to 35mm film was excellent, with none of the graininess of those two other films.

The film is about how small lies become big problems when we adopt the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" position. Ceylan is so accomplished a visual story-teller that he doesn't need to rely so heavily on dialogue or musical cues like most directors. What he depicts of people's inner turmoil is a beautiful experience to behold. This film moved me so much that I have just now ordered everything I can of his works on DVD.

Dead End Drive-In
After last year's festival intensive, I had a better idea of how to plan for this year. Based on past experience of Nuri Bilge Ceylan's work, I made sure the film I saw after it wasn't too deep. What better than a 'throw-away' Ozploitation flick like Dead End Drive-In? I really enjoyed this a lot and can see why Quentin Tarantino is a big fan. I could just imagine his enthusiastic squealing and hooting over the old-style stuntwork, the spirit of which he replicated in Death Proof. In fact, most stylised big-budget Hollywood equivalents today don't even come close with their over-reliance on CGI and manic editing. This film captures something of its era and perhaps, rough as it is, could inspire a return to some of the old (and better) ways of genre film-making.

Matewan
This is a great-looking film, and it starts out very promising with a strong and recognisable cast. There's a host of actors that I would not have recognised at the time: Chris Cooper and Mary McDonnell, who both performed in Donnie Darko, are there. There's David Strathairn, Will Oldham, James Earl Jones, Gordon Clapp (NYPD Blue) and others.

The story depicts the struggle of coal-miners for decent working conditions and the part that the union played against the mine owners. I enjoyed the film, but found it a bit unnecessarily sentimental at the end. Nonetheless, I was keen to see another film by Sayles, the maker of my favourite family film, The Secret of Roan Inish. I've heard it said that every Sayles film is different to anything else he made. I have a lot more of his work to catch up on.

MIFF Day 8

Festival fatigue has definitely got a hold, but fortunately I saw three solid films on day 8, including the latest by the Dardenne brothers, my festival favourite so far.

Fri 1 August
Ma jiang (Mahjong, Edward Yang, Taiwan, 1996)
Er shi si cheng ji (24 City, Jia Zhang-ke, China, 2008)
Le silence de Lorna (Lorna's Silence, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Belgium/France/Italy, 2008)


Mahjong
This was a welcome change of pace after the previous evening's Taipei Story, also part of the Edward Yang retrospective. The film is similarly austere, but with characters that are less likeable, giving the audience more of a challenge. With a group of low-grade criminals, there was a palpable sense of the unpredictable, keeping the audience on edge. I particularly liked the casting of la actrice française Virginie Doyenne, who has a similar look and persona to the lovely Natalie Portman.

The film meanders somewhat at the end, with faux-endings making the narrative unpredictable. The ending is surprisingly sentimental. I enjoyed the film both as part of the Yang retrospective and as a festival film.

24 City
Jia Zhang-ke's Still Life was one of my favourite films at MIFF last year. Thus I was keen to see this doco by him. Still Life itself has a documentary look and feel about it, documenting a disappearing way of life for millions in the China Three Gorges project. In this actual documentary, Jia captures the recollections of various workers in a high security military factory that is being relocated after over half a century's operation. We see similar devices Jia used in Still Life, with long takes of dialogue.

At first, I didn't think I would stay for the length of the film, due to fatigue and a general disinterest in documentaries on the big screen. However, on the strength of Jia's earlier film, I stayed and was surprised at how moving the film becomes. As different workers express their experiences at the factory, we get personal glimpses into each of their lives as well as their changing culture. I was very much reminded of Errol Morris' style of film-making, the way he just rolls the camera and allows his subjects to speak with little prompting. Without the constant cutting and other editing we usually get, we get a greater sense of the person and the impact of their experiences. It's quite amazing what naturalistic performances ensue. Highly recommended.

Lorna's Silence
Another great film from les fréres Dardennes. I will have to see again if it gets a theatrical release by Madman. The intensity of a major festival like MIFF doesn't do a film like this justice. But is it better than L'enfant (The Child)? I find it hard to answer that right now, but it's of the same high quality of cinematic story-telling. For what it's worth, L'enfant was my favourite film of 2006, so I had high expectations. And I wasn't disappointed.

It's about an Albanian woman, Lorna (Arta Dobroshi, who was present for a Q&A session after the screening and who kindly agreed to being photographed, left), who finds herself in a difficult position. She is in the process of acquiring Belgian citizenship, by paying a local (a junkie played by Dardenne regular, Jérémie Renier) to marry her. There is a complex web of international criminality being played out, of which Lorna is a pawn. There is an omniscient sense of danger that if things don't go to plan (and they don't) that things may get ugly for Lorna.

Dobroshi is in just about every frame of this film and turned out an amazing performance. She is an Albanian actress, whose work has mostly been in theatre and who learnt French for the film. She skillfully treads a fragile path between deceit and criminality on the one hand, and innocence and an empathetic character on the other. She depicts vulnerability, valour and resourcefulness wonderfully. The film has a powerfully ambiguous ending. It's my favourite at MIFF so far, and an exhilirating experience. It was my pleasure to express as much to Ms. Dobroshi in person after the Q&A session last night.

MIFF Days 2 - 7

We're a week into MIFF, and I've only written about the Opening Night film, Not Quite Hollywood. Fatigue, time (or lack of) and the realisation that I have to get to bed by 1am have prevented me from writing as promptly as last year (as I recollect, I did a write up every night, no matter the time - crazy!). I must say, I made a big mistake this year. I went to Opening Night with not enough sleep, and have struggled since. I'm trying to catch up now, but it's difficult. Memo to self: next year make sure you're well-rested before the festival starts.

Day 2: Sat 26 July
A fost sau n-a fost? (12:08 East of Bucharest, Corneliu Porumboiu, Romania, 2006)
Long Weekend (Colin Eggleston, Australia, 1978)

Day 3: Sun 27 July
Vikaren (The Substitute, Ole Bornedal, Denmark, 2007)
My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin, Canada, 2007)
Of Time and the City (Terence Davies, UK, 2008)

Day 4: Mon 28 July
Terra Sonâmbula (Sleepwalking Land, Teresa Prata, Portugal/Mozambique, 2006)
Momma's Man (Azazel Jacobs, USA, 2008)
Katyn (Andrej Wajda, Poland, 2007)

Day 5: Tue 29 July
El Baño del Papa (The Pope's Toilet, Enrique Fernandez, Cesar Charlone, Uruguay/Brazil/France, 2007)
Moartea domnului Lazarescu (The Death of Mister Lazarescu, Alexandru Munteanu, Romania, 2005)

Day 6: Wed 30 July
Bam gua nat (Night and Day, Hong Sang-soo, South Korea, 2008)
Élève libre (Private Lessons, Joachim Lafosse, Belgium/France, 2008)
40 x 15: The 40 Forty Years of the Directors' Fortnight (Olivier Jahan, France, 2008)
Ashes of Time Redux (Wong Kar Wai, Hong Kong, 2008)

Day 7: Thu 31 July
Gitmek: My Marlon and Brando (My Marlon and Brando, Huseyin Karabey, Turkey, 2008)
Qing mei zhu ma (Taipei Story, Edward Yang, Taiwan, 1985)


12:08 East of Bucharest
This is a quietly satisfying film. It starts out as an ensemble drama with understated dry wit and somewhere along the way - I'm not sure when - it becomes a black comedy. The film documents the impact of the fall of the Ceacescu dictatorship on a micro level, analysing social changes, people's recollections and how lies are perpetuated. I'm making a point to see as many of the Romanian films screening at MIFF, and this was a good start.

Long Weekend
Screening as part of the Ozploitation stream, I'd heard good things about this film. With a low budget and a cast of two, despite its obvious flaws, this is a film that has much to admire and enjoy. Director Eggleston is able to maintain a high level of suspense without dialogue for long stretches. I liked the film and the missus really loved it.

The Substitute
I took the kid to see this, and while I didn't think it had anything scarier than a Harry Potter movie, there was one scene that unsettled him to the point that he started crying (he's 7 years old) and the missus had to take him out. Aside from that, I found the film fairly clumsy, like many Australian or German films. It felt like an Australian kids flick you might see after school on the ABC. It also seemed quite derivative (from parts of Men in Black). It has, however, won overseas awards as a children's film. It has funny moments, but I found it unsatisfying as either a children's film or as a film in general.

My Winnipeg
This ode to Guy Maddin's hometown reminded me of a film I watched online on Matt Clayfield's blog a while ago, but be damned if I can find it. This is the second Maddin film I've seen, after Brand Upon the Brain at MIFF last year. In the context of a film festival, I like the unconventional nature of Maddin's work, though this one is not as gripping as last year's title. Still, it's worth a look.

Of Time and the City
I found this pretty dull, perhaps a made-for-TV BBC documentary. Because I set up my MIFF schedule and forget what each film is about, I often go into the cinema without a clue of what I'm about to see. It took me quite some time to work out that this film is an homage to the director's hometown Liverpool. I found the narrative using mostly prose, including quotes from a wide range of writers like Jung and Engels, distancing. With a short run time of 72 minutes, I still found myself looking at my watch waiting for the end.

Sleepwalking Land
This film looks good and had some good elements, but just didn't work for me. I found it's narrative too clunky, too contrived. The dynamics between the actors just didn't seem quite right and I couldn't believe in the story.

Momma's Man
Low budget indie US film-making that aspires for the transcendence of Old Joy, replete with subtle political messages. Not bad, but doesn't achieve Old Joy's peaks.

Katyn
Wow, this film packs a punch. It looks great (with the same cinematographer from Polanski's The Pianist and Oliver Twist). Like other Polish films I've liked (including others by Wajda and also early Kieslowski), there's historical and political references that may seem a little oblique to non-Polish audiences. If anything, that only piques my interest to learn more about them. Perhaps more of a problem, though, are some of the relationship dynamics that I didn't completely work out - it'll take another viewing to clarify some of them for me.

Nonetheless, this is a powerful film that was clearly a very personal project - it depicts the World War 2 massacre that took the life of Wajda's own father and clearly impacted not just many of the films he has made, but his whole life. It certainly shows that the Soviets were not benevolent dictators but rather treacherous murderers who colluded with the Nazis for their own ends. Massively popular in Poland and that's country's entry for this year's Oscars, hopefully it will get a local release. This was the first stand-out film at the festival for me.

The Pope's Toilet
An enjoyable enough dark comedy that captures the social and cultural life of poverty in an Uruguayan village as it prepares for the visit of the Pope. The ending is somewhat predictable but it's the journey that is more satisfying.

The Death of Mister Lazarescu
This is the kind of film I want to see at a festival, or any time for that matter. A film like this would never be made in the West, yet it is as universal as any film could be. Who would think a story that follows an obsese and drunken slob through the last hours of his existence could be so compelling? With long takes, the film has a documentary look and feel very similar to 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, my favourite cinema release of 2007.

The film is an damning indictment, not just of Romanian bureaucracy, but of the failings of hospitals everywhere. In all its minute detail and documenting of hospital admissions, I could see no material difference between how we operate here on the other side of the globe in a much more affluent society. Perhaps the only departure from Australian society is that we could more reliably expect an ambulance when needed.

Like 4 Months, this film has a fly-on-the-wall feel to it, as we get a glimpse into this poor man's life: how he lives, what is family situation is, who his neighbours are and how his addiction to alcohol is about to lead to a descent into bureaucratic hell as he is shunted from one hospital to another. Must-see cinema at its finest!

Night and Day
Pardon me now, and for the rest of my mini-reviews of MIFF films, if I become repetitive in my use of the term "quietly satisfying". For that is how I found this film, as I did with the director's Woman on the Beach, which screened at MIFF last year. A Korean guy flees to Paris to avoid possible arrest for possession of marijuana. Not seeking to absorb French life in any way, he simply bides his time and we see a foreigner's experience of Paris as he hooks up with various compatriots. While I've been a little disappointed with my overall selection of films so far, this one is enjoyable and - wait for it - quietly satisfying.

Private Lessons
I should not have gone into this film with the high expectations I did. But I couldn't help it: after the director's magnificent Private Property, my favourite film at last year's French Film Festival, this is one of only two films that this year I decided I must see. It is not a bad film, but lacks something that his early film had.

Both films have a common theme: boys growing up without their fathers. While Private Property was extremely restrained and understated, Private Lessions goes for the jugular and puts to the fore, transgression that is only hinted at in Private Property. The film looks good and has some good elements. I think it lacks subtlety. Perhaps after Christophe Honoré's Ma mère (My Mother), it is a little too predictable and a little too contrived. Still, if you like transgressive and challenging cinema, this is a good film to see.

40 x 15: The 40 Forty Years of the Directors' Fortnight
I suppose this is a reasonable festival selection considering the Directors' Fortnight stream at this year's MIFF. It was interesting enough, but nothing compelling that says you've gotta go out and see it. It covers how the DF came into being, its rocky history and where it is now.

Ashes of Time Redux
This film is all style and very little substance. It's a story in the vein of Zhang Yimou's martial arts spectaculars though with Wong Kar Wai's vivid and impressionistic visuals. I found the story very confusing and would need to see it again to understand it better, but there's no way I'd want to see it again, regardless of how good it looks. There's some good humour there, especially the way the film at times resembles or emulates the American Western genre. For me, the film is meh.

My Marlon and Brando
An interesting film that is not spectacular in any way but holds much interest for its depiction of a Turkish woman who tries to travel to Kurdish Iraq to hook up with her lover. It's 2003 and the US has just invaded Iraq, and she has to go via Iran. What I found most compelling was the difference in social mores as she travelled from one country to another. Turkey is really progressive compared to some of the places she went.

Taipei Story
I found this disappointing after all the hype surrounding Edward Yang. The film is austere, with minimal dialogue or narrative exposition. Generally, this is a quality I admire and it's on display in a MIFF film I liked a lot more, The Death of Mister Lazarescu. In Taipei Story, I found it kept me confused for way too long and I failed to understand the nature of the relationships between some of the central characters.