MIFF 2013 - Day 16
THE ROCKET
The problem with doing mini reviews of so many films so close together is that you run out of superlatives if you get a good grouping of excellent films. I feels wrong to repeat yourself, and you become painfully aware you have a set stock of phrases you use to describe good work. In other words, you're not as original as you think you are. The Rocket is a film where I was trying to think my way out of this problem while I was watching it, because it really is excellent. Beautiful cinematography, great performances, and a coming-of-age story that frames issues like forced relocation, the dangers of living with the unexploded ordnance of a past war, and tribal beliefs and rivalries. It really runs the gamut of experiences, while painting a hopeful but sad portrait of modern Laos. It's getting released, so race out and see it, it deserves the awards it's won.
FRANCES HA
So, do you like Greta Gerwig? No? Then don't watch this film. Wait, you do? Well, then you'll enjoy this. She plays the titular character, a self-absorbed 27 year old who doesn't handle her best friend moving out of their apartment very well. It's filmed in black and white, I assume to meet the checklist of New York indie cliches. Much of this film is typical of that oeuvre. Lots of sitting around apartments talking, being painfully hip or painfully awkward, making bad decisions with hilarious results and finally bringing it all together for a final resolution where everyone grows up. It's fun, but nothing special.
BENDS
The story of a Hong Kong socialite and her driver. Her husband abandons her, leaving her to struggle to find money to maintain her lifestyle. He's struggling to raise the money to get his wife into Hong Kong from the mainland, as she's pregnant with their second child and they need to give birth in HK to avoid the second child fine. The whole film is a gentle descent into desperation, as both compromise much of themselves to try and achieve their goals.
LESSON OF THE EVIL
Miike Takashi is a hit and miss director, though given he makes at least two films each year, if not more, that's not surprising. This is a bit of both, as it tells the story of a psychotic schoolteacher who massacres his entire school. But not before blackmailing or murdering the other teachers, one of the parents, and having an affair with one of the students. It's an ugly film, but intentionally so. early on trying to put you on his side, before flipping you the other way. The guy is insane, cruel and relentless. The last hour or so is just him walking around the school with a shotgun blowing away students. And it doesn't push into comic territory with its excess either, it's a kind of awkward horror where it's not really fun. And I like that about it, given the subject matter is so loaded. But the end gets silly, setting up a sequel for no apparent reason. Stupid ending aside though, it's pretty good.
The problem with doing mini reviews of so many films so close together is that you run out of superlatives if you get a good grouping of excellent films. I feels wrong to repeat yourself, and you become painfully aware you have a set stock of phrases you use to describe good work. In other words, you're not as original as you think you are. The Rocket is a film where I was trying to think my way out of this problem while I was watching it, because it really is excellent. Beautiful cinematography, great performances, and a coming-of-age story that frames issues like forced relocation, the dangers of living with the unexploded ordnance of a past war, and tribal beliefs and rivalries. It really runs the gamut of experiences, while painting a hopeful but sad portrait of modern Laos. It's getting released, so race out and see it, it deserves the awards it's won.
FRANCES HA
So, do you like Greta Gerwig? No? Then don't watch this film. Wait, you do? Well, then you'll enjoy this. She plays the titular character, a self-absorbed 27 year old who doesn't handle her best friend moving out of their apartment very well. It's filmed in black and white, I assume to meet the checklist of New York indie cliches. Much of this film is typical of that oeuvre. Lots of sitting around apartments talking, being painfully hip or painfully awkward, making bad decisions with hilarious results and finally bringing it all together for a final resolution where everyone grows up. It's fun, but nothing special.
BENDS
The story of a Hong Kong socialite and her driver. Her husband abandons her, leaving her to struggle to find money to maintain her lifestyle. He's struggling to raise the money to get his wife into Hong Kong from the mainland, as she's pregnant with their second child and they need to give birth in HK to avoid the second child fine. The whole film is a gentle descent into desperation, as both compromise much of themselves to try and achieve their goals.
LESSON OF THE EVIL
Miike Takashi is a hit and miss director, though given he makes at least two films each year, if not more, that's not surprising. This is a bit of both, as it tells the story of a psychotic schoolteacher who massacres his entire school. But not before blackmailing or murdering the other teachers, one of the parents, and having an affair with one of the students. It's an ugly film, but intentionally so. early on trying to put you on his side, before flipping you the other way. The guy is insane, cruel and relentless. The last hour or so is just him walking around the school with a shotgun blowing away students. And it doesn't push into comic territory with its excess either, it's a kind of awkward horror where it's not really fun. And I like that about it, given the subject matter is so loaded. But the end gets silly, setting up a sequel for no apparent reason. Stupid ending aside though, it's pretty good.
posted by Andrew Lee at 12:33 AM
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