MIFF 2012 - Day 8
Well, it had to happen eventually. Two duds in a row, hopefully it's just an aberration...
Chicken with Plums
Persepolis was a wonderful animated film by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud based on Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel. They've reteamed once more but the results are much less impressive. This is a tedious film with some wonderful scenes, a few great actors and a nice visual aesthetic. But the script pacing is woeful, and the logic of the character actions completely nonsensical at times. Chicken with Plums wants to be a magic realist tale of lost love and broken hearts. In theory it has the right elements, but they weren't mixed in the right proportions. A total misfire.
Faust
And speaking of tedious misfires, Aleksandr Sokurov's interpretation of the classic story by Goethe is an overlong mess. Judging by the number of walkouts I wasn't alone in thinking it was all a bit pointless. The contrived use of distorting lenses for much of the film didn't help either. Sometimes you just have to accept that despite the pedigree you're watching a bad film, and sadly this was one of those times.
Sightseers
A nasty film by Ben Wheatley, whose Kill List I sort of enjoyed last year. Nasty in the best possible way. This is the story of two chavvy morons in their mid thirties who go on a caravan tour of easily mockable landmarks through Britain. He's a bit of a serial killer, and she finds she kinda likes it too. You're laughing at everyone in the film, and everything that happens. It's a very dark comedy best watched with a crowd of like-minded individuals, it's more fun when everyone howls with laughter at the same time. Much like Kill List it doesn't really go anywhere, which I suspect is due to it being an improvisational comedy. The script credit goes to the two main actors, which is usually a giveaway for this sort of thing. But it's entertaining the whole way through, and after two dogs it was good to watch something twisted and funny.
Chicken with Plums
Persepolis was a wonderful animated film by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud based on Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel. They've reteamed once more but the results are much less impressive. This is a tedious film with some wonderful scenes, a few great actors and a nice visual aesthetic. But the script pacing is woeful, and the logic of the character actions completely nonsensical at times. Chicken with Plums wants to be a magic realist tale of lost love and broken hearts. In theory it has the right elements, but they weren't mixed in the right proportions. A total misfire.
Faust
And speaking of tedious misfires, Aleksandr Sokurov's interpretation of the classic story by Goethe is an overlong mess. Judging by the number of walkouts I wasn't alone in thinking it was all a bit pointless. The contrived use of distorting lenses for much of the film didn't help either. Sometimes you just have to accept that despite the pedigree you're watching a bad film, and sadly this was one of those times.
Sightseers
A nasty film by Ben Wheatley, whose Kill List I sort of enjoyed last year. Nasty in the best possible way. This is the story of two chavvy morons in their mid thirties who go on a caravan tour of easily mockable landmarks through Britain. He's a bit of a serial killer, and she finds she kinda likes it too. You're laughing at everyone in the film, and everything that happens. It's a very dark comedy best watched with a crowd of like-minded individuals, it's more fun when everyone howls with laughter at the same time. Much like Kill List it doesn't really go anywhere, which I suspect is due to it being an improvisational comedy. The script credit goes to the two main actors, which is usually a giveaway for this sort of thing. But it's entertaining the whole way through, and after two dogs it was good to watch something twisted and funny.
posted by Andrew Lee at 12:36 AM
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