UNREQUITED LOVE

You know there's no love from your audience if over a third of them walk out of the theatre before it's over. Sad but true. The first 10 seconds had me thinking it was a student film, mind you some student films are great, perhaps, the visual style was meant to portray that of surveillance, but this is not your typical documentary. There are no interviews, and pretty much all the dialogue is voiceover. There is a lady who is stalking someone and being stalked herself (oddly enough, this sounds like the plot of my first short film, haha) and a man who presumably is a writer about stalking and typing and talking during the film. This would work much better as a narrative film, if cleverly written, to better inform and educate about stalking.

SO MUCH SO FAST

ASL, an orphan disease that not much research is being done into finding a cure or treatment for it. Voila, enter Jamie Heywood with a dream to guerrilla research and save his brother Stephen's life. An informative and inspiring documentary about a family who stays upbeat and doesn't give up hope despite what life has thrown their way. The film begins with Stephen in good health (the crew followed him and his family for 4 years) and progresses along with his deterioration, which is both sad and heartwrenching for some, but Stephen is still upbeat. He has strong support from his family, an engineer brother who rigs up technology for him so that he can still move and communicate even when only his head is the only part of his body that he can now move. His other brother Jamie losing his wife. We don't know what happens at the end, but one thing for sure, we will remember this film and cheer them on.

THE RIDDLE

Ah, Bollywood, how much fun you are. This offering dabbles a little into the supernatural for a heartwarming and romantic love story. Shak Rukh Khan plays both the spirit that romances Lackchi as well as her husband who only seems to care about his money. Not saying more as the rest would only be spoilers, but this is Bollywood so there's always a happy ending =) It is a bit long, but a fun time, if you like music, dance and romance, this one's for you.

CLIMATES

Perhaps I should've watched Distant last year, I didn't realize that it was by the same director and in all honesty, this film was a bit on the slow and dull side. The basic plot line is a couple goes on vacation, breaks up as the man talks about their differences. The man wanders for a bit in Istanbul, at work, and runs into an ex, has a brief affair of her, and then decides to head to find the girlfriend that he had broken up with, wanting to get back to her. Too long for a film that lasted almost 2 hours with lots of long shots (time), although a few of them were beautiful, maybe more music would've helped. Favorite part of the film? The smuggled "music box" he buys for her.

A SOAP

Not a bar of soap, but rather a soap opera in itself, this Danish film is the story of two women, well a woman and a transsexual man waiting for his operation. Charlotte has left her husband, finding him boring. Veronica (aka Ulrick) lives in the flat downstairs waiting for the authorities' permission for the operation, watching soap operas and doing sexual favours to make money on the side. Veronica's suicide attempt is the first step in the bond between these two, and confusion and anxiety on both their parts blocks them from really taking the relationship to another level. Charlotte wants to be with Veronica (while she is still a man). Veronica is adamant about the operation. Throw in a jealous husband and TLC, and you've got a bit of a soap opera where for once leaves sort of an open ending. The two friends reconcile, but the secret is we're not sure where exactly they'll go from here.

BEAUTY IN TROUBLE

Now I was only able to see part of this as I had to leave and volunteer, so this is as fair as I can write, based on what I saw. There wasn't too much going on, the writeup seemed to have more going for the film. Think back to the trailer of "Laws of Attraction" and you'll know what I mean. The plot seems to move fast - until you actually watch the movie. It was also a bit predictable when Benes appears as an older man, offers to help Marcela find a lawyer for her husband (who incidentally stole his car), takes her out to coffee which ends up being dinner and gives her a book with money in it. Without having watched much further, it's almost guessable as to what happens in the rest of the film. But having all the above happen in 1 hour and not quite noticing the length isn't too bad, is it?

LOOP

Well, it was more interesting than 13 lakes last year, and it definitely threw me into a loop of what was going on in this philosophical doc. Following the lives of 5 men, we come to see what they want to do in nature, getting into nature in the Norwegian wilderness. One man is mountain climbing alone, another lives in a forest fire watch tower during his summers. Two of them are searching for the steepest cliff to ski off of, and it is the latter story that by far was the most beautiful and intriguing to watch and wonder as they finally reach the peak and head down the slope. It was definitely an interesting film and does encourage one to take time off from our busy lives to reconvene with nature and ask ourselves who we are and what we want to do. Otherwise, there was just something missing in terms of emotional attachment to the film.

LITTLE CHILDREN

Yikes, day 1 of VIFF and already I'm behind on my reviews, better get cracking, I certainly don't want to fall too far behind. Saw 5 films today - added to the three media screenings I saw on Tuesday, current favorites: Milarepa and No Mercy For The Rude. For now, back to the reviews...

Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson star in this film where symbolically everyone is a child, giving into their heart's desires until life delivers them a wakeup call. Sarah and Brad (Winslet and Wilson) meet one day in the neighborhood playground. Their casual chat leads to an innocent kiss which spirals into an affair which end up having them both decide that they want to run away together with their kids, until Sarah's daughter disappears when a known sex offender enters the park at night and Brad has a skateboarding accident on his way to meet Sarah. A slow start to the film, but good acting draws your attention in as we all ponder and wish that we could return childhood and do whatever our heart's desire without consequences. Growing up is only a hard pain and reality that we all need to face.

No Mercy For The Rude

I've been a growing fan of South Korean films for the last 2 years, and continuing on the South Korean film spree at the Vancouver International Film Festival, "No Mercy For The Rude" builds on that great entertainment and story that is ever so present in recent South Korean films to hit North America, at least in this neck of the woods. Heavily into action and violence, like the recent Old Boy and Lady Vengeance, "No Mercy" is the story of one killer, played brilliantly by Shin Ha-Kyun, who is killing so that he can make enough money to cure his muteness in order to utter "I love you" to a girl he's loved from childhood, unknowing for the most part that she is closer than he thought. And being the main character, one sympathises with him as he only kills those who deserve it.
The script is well written and the killing, to quote Shin's character, is almost like a dance with careful steps in the killers' professionalism. Subtle hints in the narrative lead to nice backstory. Shin's voiceover narration is also one of freshness that not many films will employ to communicate the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist (exception, see Adaptation). Perhaps it's welcome is also due in part to the fact that he is unable to speak, keeping everything to himself. Maybe everything is only a matter of mind over matter as in the end, he utters the three words he most wanted to say. A beuatiful ending, one we don't want to see but yet understand.

And did we mention bullfighting and matadors? The soundtrack is quite unique given the country of production, but lends an almost playfulness to the protagonist and his hopes and dreams despite the path he's on.

The Host - some spoilers

A monster created from the dumping of formeldahyde in the river. Where have we seen this one before? And the dumping under the orders of the US nonetheless. There are political undertones about the way the US handles certain issues, such as taking over and using biological warfare. Their rumour of a virus, and the revelation that there isn't actually a virus is no surprise, given how many films depict governments that keep the truth to their own best interests. In this case, poor Gang Du is forced to undergo numerous tests, including having his skull drilled through so that the scientists could examine his brain for signs of the virus. One test he passed with flying colors is his undying love and devotion to his daughter, despite being a mess in the other aspects of his life.
After a slow start, the film picks up pace with the emergence of the monster surfacing the water and beginning its hunt. The film results as touching and funny as a group of misfits of a family fall together as they search for their little girl (granddaughter/daughter/niece). Each has their own strengths and weaknesses that come to play in the search and although it was a shame that the ending was at is, but to no surprise. Anything else, and it would have felt forced to have a really happy ending. The audience is not disappointed though despite this, as the children's fate become predictable. So too do the child actors steal the show in their time in the sewer.
An entertaining piece and if you liked Jurassic Park or any other creature monster movies, this one's for you. The only question is, how many times can a person brush death from the same Grim Reaper?

LOVE FOR SHARE

Can one actually share love? In Nia diNata's latest film, we find out through three linked stories where men take more than one wife and what happens in those relationships and situations. In almost a testimony of how women have been involving in society, the first story shows how the women just accept the situation. The second, where two of the wives fall in love with each other and plot and escape. The third still, where the second wife realizes that she doesn't really need a marriage to be happy, that so long as she is happy with herself and self dependent.

The 120 minutes of the film are definitely felt, however, the strength of the growing characters in their liberation holds the audience in as we come to feel for the characters, why they live as they live and cheer them on when they make the first step to leaving a relationship that is less than fair to everyone involved. Good acting and the little coincidences when you realize how their paths cross enables this to be an informative about polygamy in Indonesia as well as a strong film about women, their fates, and their choices.

MILAREPA

The only Bhutan film screening at the festival this year brought a breathtaking landscape and the magic of sorcery and finding inner self peace to the screen. By the same person who brought us "Travellers and Magicians" recently, the film takes place in the mountainous countryside where a woman seeks revenge on her brother in law and his wife when they refuse to return her son's inheritance. As her son goes off to fulfill his mother's desire of revenge for sorcery, the filmmaker takes us on a stunning tour of the land. The magic and visual effects are equally beautifully and surrealistically done in that the overall film lulls us into the story. Traditional music and vocals also play a key role in creating an ethereal serene, yet loneliness to that world. It was hard to imagine that the 97 minutes had gone by as the end of the film leaves the audience wanting more. And fear not, part 2 is said to be released in 2009.

The VIFF 2006 Kickoff - Media Screenings 1

Ah, my first screenings for VIFF 2006. It's the most wonderful time of the year! Filmhopping rain or shine, Starbucks in hand, snacks in the bag, and the Cafe Crepe menu in my program. How many dollars we spend in these two exciting weeks while watching as many films as possible, many outside the mainstream and into the art/foreign. Sigh, a happy camper in the candy store for film fans. Still a couple of film slots I haven't planned anything yet, so we'll see what comes up, sometimes I've learned the best films are the ones we stumble upon. Milarepa is one such surprise.