MIFF Day 10
Citizen Havel
Vaclav Havel was President of the Czech Republic for 10 years, two 5 year terms. This documentary followed him for pretty much that entire period, though the highs and lows, crises and successes. And he's an amazing man to get to know. A playwright and poet, jailed as a dissident and then finally elected President, he has a fractious relationship with the parliament despite the fact they keep electing him President. He's a funny, intelligent and very observant man. The film is clearly made for a Czech audience, as a lot of the political situations referred to aren't properly explained, prior knowledge seems to be assumed. But it's easy enough to work it out, and it's a wonderful portrait of a really likeable man. And as an insight into the behind the scenes of politics, surprisingly frank and honest too. At the moment, it's my favourite film of the festival.
Unmade Beds
And funnily enough, this is my least favourite film of the festival so far. Will somebody please tell young filmmakers that while the French New Wave was a wonderful thing, apeing it doesn't work if you don't have interesting characters and engaging actors. This is a wank of a film, all about pretentious bohemians living in a squat in London. Two stories run through it. One is the story of Axl, a young spainard come to town to find the father who abandoned him. He's a dull character and scenes between him and his father that could be charming or emotionally engaging are just flat. I can't work out why. The second story is slightly more successful, Vera, getting over a broken heart, meets a guy and they have what again could be a whimsical romance. Except again it kinda falls flat. Vera is a more engaging presence, but it still doesn't really sell itself. Comparisons to Wong Kar Wai are flawed, because in the best of his work (which this film does seem to aspire to) the actors have a strong presence and the characters have personality. This film just doesn't manage it. It's like a copy of a copy of something that was good. The soundtrack is awesome however, which is about the only thing that got me through it. Maybe I'm getting old and cranky, but this film just completely failed for me.
Nymph
Pen Ek Ratanaruang is a filmmaker I've come to love, ever since his drunken introduction to Last Life in the Universe at MIFF some years ago (2004 I think). His films are minimalist, but always arresting. This is no different. A couple go camping in the forest and the husband goes missing. The wife goes home, the husband suddenly appears. They go back to the forest and he disappears again, but not before dealing with his wife's affair with her boss. It's got a constant unsettled mood, as it's more a ghost story than anything else. There's a spirit or something in the forest, and the husband appears to have become it's lover. There are no answers, but the sense of a kind of benign but occasionally malevolent force permeates and makes for engaged viewing.
Vaclav Havel was President of the Czech Republic for 10 years, two 5 year terms. This documentary followed him for pretty much that entire period, though the highs and lows, crises and successes. And he's an amazing man to get to know. A playwright and poet, jailed as a dissident and then finally elected President, he has a fractious relationship with the parliament despite the fact they keep electing him President. He's a funny, intelligent and very observant man. The film is clearly made for a Czech audience, as a lot of the political situations referred to aren't properly explained, prior knowledge seems to be assumed. But it's easy enough to work it out, and it's a wonderful portrait of a really likeable man. And as an insight into the behind the scenes of politics, surprisingly frank and honest too. At the moment, it's my favourite film of the festival.
Unmade Beds
And funnily enough, this is my least favourite film of the festival so far. Will somebody please tell young filmmakers that while the French New Wave was a wonderful thing, apeing it doesn't work if you don't have interesting characters and engaging actors. This is a wank of a film, all about pretentious bohemians living in a squat in London. Two stories run through it. One is the story of Axl, a young spainard come to town to find the father who abandoned him. He's a dull character and scenes between him and his father that could be charming or emotionally engaging are just flat. I can't work out why. The second story is slightly more successful, Vera, getting over a broken heart, meets a guy and they have what again could be a whimsical romance. Except again it kinda falls flat. Vera is a more engaging presence, but it still doesn't really sell itself. Comparisons to Wong Kar Wai are flawed, because in the best of his work (which this film does seem to aspire to) the actors have a strong presence and the characters have personality. This film just doesn't manage it. It's like a copy of a copy of something that was good. The soundtrack is awesome however, which is about the only thing that got me through it. Maybe I'm getting old and cranky, but this film just completely failed for me.
Nymph
Pen Ek Ratanaruang is a filmmaker I've come to love, ever since his drunken introduction to Last Life in the Universe at MIFF some years ago (2004 I think). His films are minimalist, but always arresting. This is no different. A couple go camping in the forest and the husband goes missing. The wife goes home, the husband suddenly appears. They go back to the forest and he disappears again, but not before dealing with his wife's affair with her boss. It's got a constant unsettled mood, as it's more a ghost story than anything else. There's a spirit or something in the forest, and the husband appears to have become it's lover. There are no answers, but the sense of a kind of benign but occasionally malevolent force permeates and makes for engaged viewing.
posted by Andrew Lee at 11:41 PM
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