MIFF 2015 - Day 4
Today was a good day.
Democrats
I'm kind of in awe of the fact that this film exists. It follows the two chairs of COPAC, the Constitutional Select Committee set up to create a new constitution for Zimbabwe following the fallout from an obviously fraudulent election that left Robert Mugabe in power. Douglas Mwonzora from the opposition, and Paul Mangwana from Zanu PF, Mugabe's party are thrown together and they travel the country to get feedback from the populace on what the new constitution should say. And we see first hand the power of Mugabe's organisation as people are threatened into silence, meetings are stacked with party members bussed in from other areas, and the whole process becomes a farce. But somewhere along the way, Mangwana stops trying to derail the process and tries to create a genuinely good constitution. At the end, he observes that their differences faded as they worked together. It suggests something hopeful, but then Mugabe destroys that with a single sentence, and Mangwana learns that his own party is amazed he's still alive, since he was meant to have died from an "accident" during the process. It's an eye-opener into the fraught process of trying to bring real democratic change to a country that's only known a sham for decades.
The Lobster
Yorgos Lanthimos has been on my radar for years, but I've never been able to sit down to one of his films. Both Alps and Dogtooth are sitting in my Netflix queue, but I know he makes absurdist parables and coping with lots of weird with subtitles has meant I've never been in the right mood to sit down and watch. With his English language debut, I was ready. I'm glad there were no subtitles, as there was more than enough to process as it was. It's a world where if you're single, you have to go stay at a hotel with every other single person, and you then have 45 days to find a match and pair off, or else you get turned into an animal. Colin Farrell plays David, who would like to be a lobster if he fails to find love. But through a series of misadventures in his quest, he joins the "loners". People who hide out in the woods and sanction anyone who loves another in their group by cutting their lips or worse, and conduct terrorist raids on happy couples. It's basically the worst date movie ever, as everyone desperately pretends to be a match to someone else, or else attacks them for having found one. As a critique of culture it's perfect however, as anyone who's ever had a friend begin a conversation with "So, I have this friend you should meet..." will attest. And the end is a powerful statement on the difference between faking something to fit in, and sacrificing something for love.
Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon
Some may think of Saturday Night Live as the birthplace of many a comedy legend, but way back before it became the institution it now is, most of the legends were working for the National Lampoon. In a surprising reveal, National Lampoon turned down the chance to create what would become Saturday Night Live, but all that meant was that the producers hired away their talent. People like Jim Belushi, Harold Ramis and Bill Murray. It's incredible to see how many influential comedians and writers got their start at the Lampoon, and it's effect on the culture. A potted history of a huge moment in American comedy, it's one for anyone interested in the source of so much of what's now regarded as classic comedy.
Democrats
I'm kind of in awe of the fact that this film exists. It follows the two chairs of COPAC, the Constitutional Select Committee set up to create a new constitution for Zimbabwe following the fallout from an obviously fraudulent election that left Robert Mugabe in power. Douglas Mwonzora from the opposition, and Paul Mangwana from Zanu PF, Mugabe's party are thrown together and they travel the country to get feedback from the populace on what the new constitution should say. And we see first hand the power of Mugabe's organisation as people are threatened into silence, meetings are stacked with party members bussed in from other areas, and the whole process becomes a farce. But somewhere along the way, Mangwana stops trying to derail the process and tries to create a genuinely good constitution. At the end, he observes that their differences faded as they worked together. It suggests something hopeful, but then Mugabe destroys that with a single sentence, and Mangwana learns that his own party is amazed he's still alive, since he was meant to have died from an "accident" during the process. It's an eye-opener into the fraught process of trying to bring real democratic change to a country that's only known a sham for decades.
The Lobster
Yorgos Lanthimos has been on my radar for years, but I've never been able to sit down to one of his films. Both Alps and Dogtooth are sitting in my Netflix queue, but I know he makes absurdist parables and coping with lots of weird with subtitles has meant I've never been in the right mood to sit down and watch. With his English language debut, I was ready. I'm glad there were no subtitles, as there was more than enough to process as it was. It's a world where if you're single, you have to go stay at a hotel with every other single person, and you then have 45 days to find a match and pair off, or else you get turned into an animal. Colin Farrell plays David, who would like to be a lobster if he fails to find love. But through a series of misadventures in his quest, he joins the "loners". People who hide out in the woods and sanction anyone who loves another in their group by cutting their lips or worse, and conduct terrorist raids on happy couples. It's basically the worst date movie ever, as everyone desperately pretends to be a match to someone else, or else attacks them for having found one. As a critique of culture it's perfect however, as anyone who's ever had a friend begin a conversation with "So, I have this friend you should meet..." will attest. And the end is a powerful statement on the difference between faking something to fit in, and sacrificing something for love.
Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon
Some may think of Saturday Night Live as the birthplace of many a comedy legend, but way back before it became the institution it now is, most of the legends were working for the National Lampoon. In a surprising reveal, National Lampoon turned down the chance to create what would become Saturday Night Live, but all that meant was that the producers hired away their talent. People like Jim Belushi, Harold Ramis and Bill Murray. It's incredible to see how many influential comedians and writers got their start at the Lampoon, and it's effect on the culture. A potted history of a huge moment in American comedy, it's one for anyone interested in the source of so much of what's now regarded as classic comedy.
posted by Andrew Lee at 12:20 AM
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