MIFF 2012 - Day 16
Only one day left now. Where did the time go?
ParaNorman
Norman is a young kid who talks to the dead. And as a result he's bullied and ostracised from school. But then he's told he's the only person in the town of Blithe Hollow that can save them all from a witch's curse, so he has to go and save the day, with a number of hiccups along the way. This is a ripper little film that cleverly turns a lot of horror conventions on their head. Stop motion animated and with a great voice cast, I won't say much more about it coz I don't want to spoil your fun. Go and see it when it releases, it's awesome.
Berberian Sound Studio
Ever wondered if you could make a horror film just using sound effects? Someone did apparently, and we're introduced to the nebbish Gilderoy, a British sound engineer hired by an Italian producer to mix the sound on a ridiculous but incredibly gruesome horror film. We never see a single frame of the action he's mixing, but as they produce the sounds in the foley studio we get a good picture of what's going on. And poor Gilderoy is disturbed and visibly upset by a job that was not as advertised. But then they pull a psychotic break in the third act and it just departs from the horror of his situation into weirdass crap. It's a solid mood piece, but it never really comes together.
The Sound Of My Voice
Brit Marling of Another Earth fame once again writes and stars in this film about a couple attempting to infiltrate a cult led by Maggie (Marling) who claims to be from the future. She's aided by a Steve Jobs lookalike who is devoted to her. (Seriously, it's creepy how much the guy looks like him.) When one of the couple has an emotional breakthrough in one of the group sessions, their resolve in exposing her starts to unravel. It's a well-written and solidly acted film, but the finale is ruined by the end credits music intruding on a scene where you're left to decide if Maggie is on the level or not, killing the mood.
Himizu
A real slit-your-wrists-life-sucks film, about two 14 year old kids with awful parents. In the main it's the story of Sumida, who starts off as a kind and generous boy, but life crushes him down until he's a real bastard, rejecting everyone left who cares for him, especially Keiko, a girl at school who is obsessed with him. The film quite accurately captures the whole retreat into power fantasies of a disempowered teenager, but geez this film gets grim. The number of times the kids get beaten and slapped around, it's not exactly happy viewing. I wouldn't say that it's exactly a successful film, pulling some cheap tricks (especially at the end) and throwing up plot points that never get addressed. Eg, Keiko's parents are building a gallows for her, but then after they're nearly finished we never see it or them again. But it's extremely intelligent in describing what's going on in Sumida's head, and the confusion he feels. But it's hard going, and over-long. Sure it has a semi-positive ending, but I'm not entirely convinced the journey was worth it.
ParaNorman
Norman is a young kid who talks to the dead. And as a result he's bullied and ostracised from school. But then he's told he's the only person in the town of Blithe Hollow that can save them all from a witch's curse, so he has to go and save the day, with a number of hiccups along the way. This is a ripper little film that cleverly turns a lot of horror conventions on their head. Stop motion animated and with a great voice cast, I won't say much more about it coz I don't want to spoil your fun. Go and see it when it releases, it's awesome.
Berberian Sound Studio
Ever wondered if you could make a horror film just using sound effects? Someone did apparently, and we're introduced to the nebbish Gilderoy, a British sound engineer hired by an Italian producer to mix the sound on a ridiculous but incredibly gruesome horror film. We never see a single frame of the action he's mixing, but as they produce the sounds in the foley studio we get a good picture of what's going on. And poor Gilderoy is disturbed and visibly upset by a job that was not as advertised. But then they pull a psychotic break in the third act and it just departs from the horror of his situation into weirdass crap. It's a solid mood piece, but it never really comes together.
The Sound Of My Voice
Brit Marling of Another Earth fame once again writes and stars in this film about a couple attempting to infiltrate a cult led by Maggie (Marling) who claims to be from the future. She's aided by a Steve Jobs lookalike who is devoted to her. (Seriously, it's creepy how much the guy looks like him.) When one of the couple has an emotional breakthrough in one of the group sessions, their resolve in exposing her starts to unravel. It's a well-written and solidly acted film, but the finale is ruined by the end credits music intruding on a scene where you're left to decide if Maggie is on the level or not, killing the mood.
Himizu
A real slit-your-wrists-life-sucks film, about two 14 year old kids with awful parents. In the main it's the story of Sumida, who starts off as a kind and generous boy, but life crushes him down until he's a real bastard, rejecting everyone left who cares for him, especially Keiko, a girl at school who is obsessed with him. The film quite accurately captures the whole retreat into power fantasies of a disempowered teenager, but geez this film gets grim. The number of times the kids get beaten and slapped around, it's not exactly happy viewing. I wouldn't say that it's exactly a successful film, pulling some cheap tricks (especially at the end) and throwing up plot points that never get addressed. Eg, Keiko's parents are building a gallows for her, but then after they're nearly finished we never see it or them again. But it's extremely intelligent in describing what's going on in Sumida's head, and the confusion he feels. But it's hard going, and over-long. Sure it has a semi-positive ending, but I'm not entirely convinced the journey was worth it.
posted by Andrew Lee at 1:07 AM
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