MIFF 2019 - Day 17

Our Time Machine

Maleonn is a Chinese artist preparing a puppet theatre show, it's inspired by his father's declining health. He has alzheimers. Chronicling the work to get the play to the stage while also following the father's deterioration, it's a loving portrait of a son trying to create something as a testament to his father.

The Cordillera of Dreams

A film essay on the junta rule of Chile. It's personal meditation extended into looking at how little things have changed since Pinochet was arrested. I'm not sure it successfully links the images of the Andes to its subject, but it's still an informative and thoughtful work.

Machine

A slickly produced and really intriguing doc on AI and its current and future implications. Debunking much of the hype, and pulling things down to the ground, it looks at where we are and where we're headed. Things now are far more basic than some promoters would like you to think, but the future is still undefined and the consequences of strong AI or super intelligence are worth debating. It's neither optomist nor pessimist in its outlook, more of a thought provoker than a polemic. And a really nice way to end another year of MIFF.

MIFF 2019 - Day 16

Sea of Shadows

Another entry in the "we are screwed" genre of documentaries. This time focusing on the Vaquita whale in Mexico, it looks at how illegal fishing of the also endangered Totoaba fish, dubbed the cocaine of the sea, has reduced the Vaquita to an estimated 15 left in existence. But the Totoaba is worth a lot of money on the black market in China, so Mexican cartels, corrupt police and government all continue to profit from an ecological disaster. It's tense, capturing gunfights, murder, threats and more. And also the people trying to keep legally fishing the waters that have been closed off to them because of the crime. It's complex and angry making. A very well done and engaging doco.

Leftover Women

Watch this and never complain about Tinder again. Seeing the grief women in China have to go through for a date is crazy. Meddling parents, government propaganda and more, it's nuts. Following three women in their late 20s and early 30s, they're already considered old and stigmatised by propaganda as not doing their bit for the country by already being married. It puts you right in the middle of it all, and leaves you suffocated by the situation. Depressingly good film making.

I Lost My Body

Gah, waste of time. It couldn't be more French, in that pejorative way you mock French cinema. It's rubbish.

You Don't Nomi

I've never bothered to watch Showgirls, but this doco critically re-examining it has me second guessing myself. The doco itself is amazing, contrasting different ways to read the film, the history of the production and the fallout on the cast and film makers. Best of all, it uses almost entirely clips from Verhoeven's films to illustrate its points. Stylishly executed and really thought provoking.

Violence Voyager

Going to the top of the what the hell did I just watch list, this was pretty damn awesome. An animated film, sort of. More a puppet show done with incredibly painted cardboard cut outs, it looks like one of those old children's books, like ladybird or the little golden books. But it's a story of children getting kidnapped, mutated and fed to a monster created by a mad scientist. Grotesque imagery done in a kids book style. Add in things like ninja turtles references and it adds up to one of the most unique experiences I've had at the festival. So much fun.

MIFF 2019 - Day 15

Judy and Punch

A feminist retelling of the Punch and Judy story, examining the violence in the story and the way culture reinforces attitudes. It meanders a bit towards the end and wraps up a bit preachy. Like it didn't trust the audience to get the point, so decided to spell it out ala The Great Dictator, but it's a good film all the same. Good performances and a cool anachronistic soundtrack.

One Child Nation

A deeply personal documentary about the consequences of the one child policy in China. Infanticide, baby trafficking, forced sterilisations and more. Notably, few people oppose the idea of the policy, but all regret the things it led them to do. Talking to her family, and from there more people connected to their story, the director records many of the horrific results of the policy. As she says, it's important to remember, now that the policy is gone, and soon propaganda will erase the memory of those times.

Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks

A ripsnorter doco covering the enduring influence of Hong Kong kung fu cinema. Linking it to the rise of breakdancing, rap battles, parkour and more, it's a convincing argument for the cultural significance of the genre. My only gripe is there was no love for Mark Dacascos, which was a bit disappointing since Drive is a kung fu film worth remembering. But that oversight aside, it's bloody awesome.

MIFF 2019 - Day 14

Cats

A fun kids film, full of fantasy. If you like the idea of a kitten building a multi stage rocket to leave their apartment and fly to "Peachtopia" you'll enjoy this. Shades of Finding Nemo, The Secret Life of Pets, and a few others.

The Whistlers

All the pieces of a cool and twisty thriller, but assembled without an instruction manual. Something is missing from this film. You can see how it should be better than it is, but it just falls in a heap. Cool central conceit of a secret whistling code, but it's actually not that important in the end. Not bad, it just fails to come together at the end in any particularly satisfying way.

Bellingcat: Truth in a Post Truth World

A really interesting doco about the "open source investigations" of the Bellingcat news website. Using freely available online information and a forensic approach to establishing facts, they're pioneering an interesting approach to investigative journalism that's showing a way to verify facts in a world full of disinformation. Really interesting stuff.

For My Father's Kingdom

A Tongan expat family reckon with their father's determination to send all his money back to the church in Tonga. This is one family making themselves very vulnerable for a documentary exploring their connections to Tongan culture, and their criticisms of it. It's a really compelling look at a cultural issue that isn't often spoken about.

MIFF 2019 - Day 13

Okko's Inn

A sweet little film about Okko, a girl whose parents die in a car accident and goes to live with her grandmother at a hot springs inn. There she meets some ghosts, a demon, and takes on the role of Junior Innkeeper. It's like a lower key version of Spirited Away. Sweet and fun.

The Swallows of Kabul

Beautifully animated, and depicting the horror of life under the Taliban, I really wanted to like this more. But the whole thing is either under motivated, or driven by artificial drama. It just irritated me how things happened, or how people behaved in dangerous situations you'd think they'd be more careful in. I dunno. It's not bad, but I didn't go along with its contrivances.

Dark Place

Anothology films are always a mixed bag. This one has one genuinely fun splatter comedy short, but the rest are fairly average.

Something Else

Hank is having a bad time. His girlfriend of 10 years has just gone, and a strange monster comes and terrorises him at night. And nobody believes him. This is a ripper monster movie that looks at relationships, grief, and the uncanny. It's also got the best wide-screen cinematography and mise en scene I've seen for the whole festival. These guys are in love with monster movies and movie making. I loved it.

MIFF 2019 - Day 11

The Gasoline Thieves

Geez I hated this movie. An interesting idea filtered through every cliche trope imaginable. Add in an annoyingly passive main character you want to slap rather than root for, and the end result is a mess that wastes your time.

Children of the Sea

It's very pretty and well animated, but that's about it. A plotless and rambling tale of a girl who meets two boys who might be incarnated stars, or the sperm that gives birth to the universe. I dunno. Looks good, but that's about it.

We Are Little Zombies

A fun story about four kids who meet at the crematorium where their parents are all being cremated. They run away, form a chip tune band, and decide if life is worth living. It reminded me a lot of the work of Daigo Matsui. With a cool pixel art, jrpg aesthetic, it's very entertaining. Maybe runs a bit long, a few people lost patience and walked out after a fake out ending, but they missed one last good musical number. A weird good time.

MIFF 2019 - Day 10

Sakawa

Ghanian dating scammers try to make ends meet by convincing lonely men they're in love. Meanwhile, they're getting scammed themselves by self styled voodoo priests promising wealth, or Christian preachers promising much the same. It's fascinating, especially when you hear them on the phone with their "clients". How anyone could be taken in is a mystery. But it's a lonely world, and people need hope. And hope is exploitable. Definitely worth checking out wherever it ends up showing.

Evelyn

Orlando Von Einseidel has won Oscars for his documentaries like Virunga. Now he turns the camera on himself and his family as they embark on a five week walking tour of the UK to remember their brother Evelyn, who committed suicide 13 years earlier. They've never spoken about it. Keenly observed grief, and encounters with strangers along the way help you to realise how prevalent their experience is, and how sharing doesn't remove the pain, but it does help. Beautiful landscape cinematography also adds to the experience.

Sword of Trust

Making fun of civil war conspiracists who believe that the south won the war, this is a comedy about a pawn shop owner, his assistant and a couple who are bequeathed a sword their grandpa insists proves that the North surrendered to the South. Most of the laughs come from Marc Maron amping up his cynical irascability, he gets all the best lines. But since it's heavily improvised, scenes rise and fall depending on how much the cast is up to it. When it works, it's hysterical, the rest is pretty flat. Good fun overall though.

Funan

Grave of the Fireflies now has competition for the best animation I might never watch again. Telling the story of one family as they live through the Khmer Rouge rule of Cambodia, it's just one horror after another. In a situation with no good choices, how to survive becomes a more and more awful question to consider. It's gruelling, but brilliant.

Bros: After the Screaming Stops

Billed as the funniest music film since Spinal Tap, it's not quite there, but damn Matt Goss says some amazingly funny things. By turns funny and emotional, you watch the Goss brothers reunite for a tour, and work through the issues that broke the band up originally. It's actually really sweet, even if you're laughing at them more than with them a lot of the time.

MIFF 2019 - Day 9

The Day Shall Come

Chris Morris tackles terrorism from the side of the FBI and other law enforcement in his new satire. It's not as strong as Four Lions, and not nearly angry enough for what it's portraying. Watching different law enforcement agencies get in a tangle as they each try to stitch up their patsies and end up almost arresting each other. And in the middle of it all, a mentally unhinged man whose horse tells him how to overthrow the state without guns gets manipulated so that counter terrorism forces can justify their existence. It's absurd, allegedly based on 100 true stories, and ultimately lacks the punch you'd think something that dark could manage.

Hearts and Bones

Like Ben Lawrence's previous film, Ghosthunter, this is a film obsessed with trauma. It starts with a war photojournalist meeting a Sudanese refugee, and you think maybe it's about two men coming to terms with their respective war traumas. And you'd be wrong. Mostly. Instead, it's a pretty harrowing story of how past trauma haunts the present, and also the ethics of war photography that won't let people move on from their pasts. The end music is pretty misjudged, but otherwise this is a well made and unrelenting examination of the many forms of ptsd that exist, and how people cope.

Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project

Marion Stokes recorded every second of US television for decades. She was by all accounts a highly intelligent and very difficult person. She could see the trends in society and technology, and their possible impacts, so she sought to guard against the changing of narratives by preserving what people said. But in her personal life she isolated her husband from his family, drove her son away, and only managed a reconciliation with him two months before her death. She was a remarkable person, who you'd write off as a crazy hoarder if not for the value and the intent behind her collection. Interesting stuff.

The Amazing Johnathan Documentary

It doesn't give you a heap of insight into Johnathan, but that's not the point either. To say more would be to give it away. Just know it's bloody funny and you'll be questioning reality by the end.

Extra Ordinary

An absolute cracker to end the day with. An Irish comedy about a retired exorcist who works as a driving instructor. When a satanist musician tries to kidnap a student's daughter for a ritual, she has to get over her issues and go back to ghostbusting. Of course, being an Irish comedy it's gonna be quirky, full of gentle awkwardness and general good nature. Full of laughs, great lines and really warm too.

MIFF 2019 - Day 8

Fire Will Come

Cue the slow burn jokes. This is a gentle and slow film observing a pyromaniac released on parole returning to his mother's farm. He tends to the cattle and quietly refuses to reintegrate into the life of the community. Then there's another massive forest fire. Did he do it or not? We never find out. It's extremely light on narrative, heavy on image and sound. It's a sensory experience. And oddly, for something like this, very satisfying.

Akasha

Adnan loves his AK 47, he's named it Alice. His girlfriend doesn't like that because it's his ex's name. She kicks him out and keeps the rifle. Thus begins a series of hijinks as Adnan and his mate try various knuckle head schemes to retrieve the rifle and avoid being redrafted into the rebel army they're AWOL from. It's a light comedy, kind of reminds me of The Gods Must Be Crazy for some reason. Screwball comedy done well.

Animation Shorts

Normally a highlight of the festival. This year I'm not sure. The animation was a lot more experimental than normal this year. Some fun ones, well animated, but nothing stands out particularly.

First Love

Miike is a staple of the festival. He's coasting a bit this year though. A fun but sloppy story about a boxer who thinks he has terminal cancer gets mixed up with a girl sold into sex slavery who has been set up as the patsy for a drug heist. Then cops, yakuza and the triad are after them. Lots of blood and gore, comic stupidity and hijinks. Miike on a bad day is still entertaining, but it's not his best work.

MIFF 2019 - Day 7

Bunuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles

Covering Bunuel's making of Las Hurdes, this isn't quite what I expected. I was thinking there'd be more surrealism and such. Instead, it's a fairly straightforward story of the making of the documentary, animal cruelty and all, and the friendship between Bunuel and his producer Ramon Acin. A coda explains Acin was executed by the fascists because he was an anarchist. But the film itself gives no sense of a threat building or anything beyond the basics of the film itself. It barely even addresses Bunuel's falling out with Salvador Dali. It's so focused on the making of the documentary it gives you no reason to understand why they felt it was so important that they make it. Apparently it's based on a graphic novel, I'd be interested to know if that was similarly lacking in context, or if it's just a failing of the film. It would probably play better if I knew all the background already, but as it stands it's just ok. 

Capital in the 21st Century

I remember watching this film when it was called The Corporation. Well, to be fair this explores the historical and social sides of rampant capitalism more than that film did, but it's still much the same thing. An interesting talking heads piece about how screwed we are.

Cold Case Hammarskjold

Mads Brugger returns with another bizarre documentary, this time examining a conspiracy theory around the plane crash that killed UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold in 1961. What starts as a theory that he was assassinated by a coalition of mining interests intent on exploiting African countries quickly expands into something far weirder. A South African paramilitary, supposedly funded by the British, intent on sowing discord and strife across Africa. There are explosive allegations, rarely backed up with anything beyond a few people saying they were a part of it. Most of the allegations rest on one man's testimony, and it can't be corroborated. Half the time you wonder if this is a giant prank to show how inclined we are to believe in conspiracies. But other parts stack up, and do have validation. As Brugger states at the beginning of the film, "This could either be the world's biggest murder mystery, or the world's most idiotic conspiracy theory". I'm still not sure which side I fall on, but it's a thought provoking ride.

MIFF 2019 - Day 6

Meeting Gorbachev

Werner Herzog interviews Mikhail Gorbachev. Sounds like a slam dunk, but despite meeting him three times, Gorbachev is not the greatest of interviewees. He's not particularly communicative. Far more interesting are the other people commenting on his life and career. There are some great insights, for instance that many encouraged him in his Perestroika and Glasnost initiatives as they knew it would lead to the collapse of the Soviet Union, giving them freedom for their own homelands. Also interesting was Gorbachev's regret that he didn't exile Boris Yeltsin after the failed coup, knowing he was up to no good. You get the sense of a decent man unwilling to play ruthless power games, and coming off the worse for it. It's an interesting overview of a significant political career, but you don't so much meet Gorbachev as hear about him from others. Not quite what was advertised.

Brittany Runs a Marathon

A real crowdpleaser about an overweight woman whose life is spiraling out of control. Then she takes up running, and in finding purpose finds a way to get her life on track. Sort of. Brittany is a completely believable character, full of insecurities and self-loathing, struggling to love herself as she transforms her life. It's kinda excruciating at times to see how she behaves, and how much you enjoy the film depends on how willing you are to go along with her, warts and all. But it's a warm, sweet film with some smart observations and a lot of laughs.

Alice

Alice lives a quiet life as a housewife, until the day her husband doesn't come home, her credit cards are blocked, and the bank tells her they're going to repossess their home. He's been spending big on escorts, and now that he's driven them broke he's run away. Forced to try and save her home, she ends up working as an escort herself. And she doesn't find it all that terrible. It's a solid little family drama, examining the conflicting attitudes to sex workers and their clients, as well as showing Alice's journey to knowing herself.

MIFF 2019 - Day 5

Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love

This film pissed me off. Ostensibly about Marianne Ihlen, Leonard Cohen's partner for maybe 8 years, it frequently drops her from the story to talk about random Cohen stuff that's often less interesting. More unfortunately, there are interviews and commentary that hint toward a far more interesting film. One about the destruction a person leaves in their wake while pursuing their art. Centred as it is on Cohen's time with Marianne on the Greek island of Hydra, we hear about the children of the expats on the island, mostly now dead or institutionalised. Stories of the freewheeling artists spiking children's drinks with acid, the hedonism consuming the talent of the adults living there, etc. There's a better film to be made about this, deconstructing the romantic myths of artists abroad, producing great works while living free. And while it dances around the idea of destructing the myth of an artists muse, it shies away from really going where the material keeps pulling your interest, the roadkill on the path to success. It's a gutless work, though probably still worth it for a Cohen tragic.

Over the Rainbow

Opening on an interview with a psychologist examing PTSD in claimed alien abductee victims, we're set up with an interesting idea. That the very thing that causes you trauma can also be something that profoundly elevates your sense of being. It's an interesting angle to take in understanding why people believe in and stick with Scientology. What does it bring to someone's life? What does any religion for that matter? Unfortunately, while it presents a number of believers to us, it never asks them that question. It's a bit of a waste of time really. And the numbing, hypnotic soundtrack is probably not well chosen. When a film is this dull, a soundtrack that threatens to put you to sleep is ill advised.

Midnight Family

Best doco of the year. Easily. Following a family run private paramedic service in Mexico City, you start off heralding them as heroes for filling the gap that endemic government corruption and disinterest has created. There are very few government ambulances, so private ones take on the role. For a fee. But roughly 70% of patients either can't or won't pay, and police shake them down regularly for bribes. And you follow the family as they have to make more and more ethically dubious choices to stay in business. They're on the edge of poverty themselves, constantly near broke, and providing an essential service. You're going to be challenged, as it would be easy to view them as shakedown artists by the end. But things are far more complex. It's a ground level view of the consequences of government failure and corruption. Go see it the moment it's on general release.

Memory: The Origin of Alien

A more angular take on the making of Alien. Not just looking at the influences on the script, design work and so on, but at the influences on those prior works. Diving into mythology, the collective unconscious and more, it brings out a lot. Easily one of the most interesting analyses of the film to date, and one definitely worth checking out.

MIFF 2019 - Day 4

A Family Tour

A Chinese film director, exiled to Hong Kong after offending the authorities with a film, finds a way to see her mother again by joining a package tour to Taiwan, pretending they aren't related to each other. It's a gentle film in style, but the anger at a regime that brutalises families and makes them live secret lives is potent.

House of Hummingbird

Eunhee is a teen, growing up in a dysfunctional and abusive family in Seoul. She navigates boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, family, always asking when will her life finally shine. Very much a teen domestic drama, keenly observed and gently refusing to pick easy heroes or villains.

The Gift: The story of Johnny Cash

A pedestrian documentary that nevertheless manages to enlighten you about the life of John R. Cash. It punctures the romantic myths about Johnny and June as a fairy tale love story, showing how hard happily ever after really was. Interesting material presented in an unfortunately average manner. Still worth it for the fans though.

The Wild Goose Lake

A Chinese gangster film of cross, double cross and counter cross. It overstays its welcome, though the final pay-off is almost worth it. But it's a fun time, just not particularly memorable.

MIFF 2019 - Day 3

Amazing Grace

Aretha Franklin's lost concert film. The recording over two nights of her album of gospel music. It's pretty much just unbridled joy in the music. Lots of little moments showing the depth of feeling it evokes. Strangely Franklin herself seems almost a minor character, with the choir, pastor and audience taking centre stage for most of the film. But she's the reason they're all there, the heart of it. And when she takes over, it really is amazing.

The Art of Self Defense

Damn this was a good film. Pretty much the dictionary definition of deadpan, it's a rich and absurd take on Fight Club, skewering ideas of alpha masculinity and "toughness" mercilessly. The dialogue is hysterical, definitely worth checking out when it's inevitably released.

Monos

Gorgeously filmed, and with an equally incredible score, this is Lord of the Flies through the lens of child soldiers. It kinda loses its focus towards the end, and though you could call it "mysterious" or "elliptical" to cover that up. But it's an aesthetic experience more than a narrative or thematic one. On that measure, it's worth a look.

Friedkin Uncut

The man in his own words reflecting on a career directing some highly acclaimed films. This sort of doco rests on how interesting the guy talking is, and thankfully William Friedkin is a really engaging personality. It doesn't really add anything to your understanding of his films, but it's very entertaining.

MIFF 2019 - Day 2

In Fabric

Half of a good film. The first half that is. The story of a killer dress, occult department stores and a lonely woman looking for love. All shot in lush, vibrant colours. It's awesome. Unfortunately pulling the annoying trope of ending one story and then starting a second midway through, all momentum is lost and you're required to care about a new set of characters. And honestly, they're not very compelling. The end, when it comes, is a lot of fun, but you'd be better off walking out halfway through, it'd be a better experience.

Deerskin

More killer clothes. This time a deerskin jacket leads a man to kill over and over to stop anyone else wearing a jacket. With a bunch of meta jokes about film making and a deadpan sense of humour, it's pretty killer. Not quite as amazing as the director's previous film, Rubber, but still a ripping good time.

MIFF 2019 - Day 1

Vivarium

There's always a few of these. An intriguing idea that manages to be entertaining and frustrating at the same time. It's a neat little film about a couple who end up trapped in a bizarre housing development, forced to raise a strange child. But it's parodies of social norms go nowhere, and it's horror feels too constrained to be very effective. It's not bad, the performances are uniformly amazing, but that's not quite enough to stop it being the kind of film you damn with faint praise.

Confesso

A short film about an odd true crime event. A hunter killed two rangers in a deserted hunting ground, then called to confess and say it wasn't intentional. But forensics proved he reloaded his shotgun and shot them again. I don't know what to make of it. Why did he call to confess?

Dark Suns

Another film about cartel violence in Mexico. But this one goes further to examine how both the gangs and the state itself use violence to keep the populace in fear, and compliant. It's sad and horrifying. And a monument to the bravery of its subjects. The families left behind, fighting for truth and justice for their lost loved ones.