The Canadian Film Festival 2019

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Category: Cinéma - Movies

Published: Friday, 15 March 2019 04:26

Written by Gilbert Seah

The Canadian Film Fest 2019

  The Festival will open with Shane Belcourt’s Red Rover, starring Kristian Bruun and Cara Gee following a lonely geologist qualifying for a one-way mission to Mars with the help of an offbeat musician, and will close with Jaren Hayman’s documentary This is North Preston about the economic and racial struggles in the largest black community in the country. Continuing the Festival’s commitment to support Canadian independent films, this year the CFF 

introduces a second Homegrown Shorts programme. Nine features and 28 shorts will screen over the five-day event including six World Premieres, ranging in stories from deep exploration to historical satire, intense thrillers to warm romances. The 13th edition of CFF will take place March 19-23 at Cineplex’s Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto. Tickets can be purchased at canfilmfest.ca.

“This year’s lineup is one of the most entertaining programmes yet and we’re 

delighted that once again we can give Toronto audiences the opportunity to see 

them on the big screen,” said Bern Euler, Executive Director, Canadian Film 

Fest. “We are also honoured to welcome award-winning film producer Don 

Carmody to our first Producing Masterclass, inspiring and supporting a network 

of Canadian artists.”

This year’s feature film highlights include the Toronto Premiere of compelling 

documentaries Alone Across the Atlantic about Canada’s greatest living 

explorer, Adam Shoalts’ 2017 4,000 km solo journey across the Canadian Arctic, 

and Wolves Unleashed: Against All Odds about world renowned animal 

trainer, Andrew Simpson and his difficult task training wild Mongolian wolves in 

China for the film Wolf Totem; as well as the World Premieres of Gord Rand’s 

biting satire Pond Life about suburban dreams and family nightmares.

CFF will also present two incredible Homegrown Shorts programmes for the first 

time including the Toronto Premieres of Shelley Thompson’s drama Duck Duck 

Goose about an elementary school teacher and her students coping with fear 

and guilt during a school lockdown; Juan Riedinger’s A Snake Marked about a 

convict forced to examine his own place in the world when his estranged father 

visits; and Shane Day’s directorial debut The Desolation Prize, a throwback to 

the 60s style hammer horrors, but with a modern edge. The Festival is pleased to 

screen seven shorts that will have their World Premieres including Chala 

Hunter’s directorial debut Moon Dog with Martha Burns and Alice Snaden.

The Festival will host a number of engaging industry events and workshops 

including the first ever Producers Masterclass with legendary producer Don 

Carmody exploring small and large budget films; a panel discussion on 

transitioning from the big screen to the small screen; and a panel with film festival 

programmers on how they programme their events. Visit canfilmfest.ca for details 

on the Industry programme in the coming days. 

For the complete list of titles for this year’s festival, click on canfilmfest.ca

CAPSULE REVIEWS OF SELECT FILMS:

POND LIFE (Canada 2018) ***
Directed by Gord Rand

POND LIFE settles on a couple at home - a seemingly happily married couple, Dick (Ryan Blakely) and Sandy (Jeanie Calleja), high school sweethearts.  The relationship is about to be tested.  As Dick makes sexual advances towards his wife (showing a still healthy marriage), Sandy reveals that her sister or foster sister as Dick corrects his wife, Daisy (Kerry McPherson) and boyfriend, Richard (Ryan McVittie) are on their way to visit.  Two couples.  Two secrets.  And a night to celebrate a pregnancy goes haywire. As the film progresses, more plot points are revealed.  It seems that Richard and Dick have known each other quite well and in fact have some shady business going, despite many disagreements.  The story grows more sinister.  POND LIFE turns up a an entertaining quirky tale about couples, the type Canadian films are well-known for.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/189524970

RED ROVER (Canada 2019) **
Directed by Shane Belcourt

Shane Belcourt performs triple duty as director, co-writer and director of photography about an odd ball geologist (Kristian Bruun) and his relationship with a pretty musician (Cara Gee).  Damon, the geologist spends his waking hours searching for that elusive something. Whether it is for deeper meaning, love, or just “treasure” on the beach with his metal detector, it is to no avail.  So when Damon meets an offbeat musician named Phoebe handing out flyers for a one way trip to Mars, a bond quickly forms.  She’s going to help him find that thing he is looking for by sending him 33.9 million miles away, even though what he needs might be right in front of him.  The film hints at a love relationship rather than a plutonic one, and one can hardly tell where everything is heading even half way through the movie.  But the waywardness of the two individuals are nothing out of the ordinary and their gatherings grow tiresome quite soon.  Bruun and Gee carry the film for all that is worth.  The film is shot in Toronto with may familiar sights that should please audiences watching the film at the Canadian Film Fest for which this film has been chosen as the Opening Film.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/294847271

Film Review: Climax

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Category: Cinéma - Movies

Published: Sunday, 24 February 2019 00:52

Written by Gilbert Seah

CLIMAX (France 2018) ****
Directed b Gaspar Noé

French auteur Gaspar Noé excited audiences with his first two films, the excellent CARNE and the sequel SEUL CONTRE TOUS which were both an hour or so long.  But Noé pushed the limits with ENTER THE VOID and IRREVERSIBLE and he continues to do so with his new film CLIMAX about a troupe of dancers on acid.

What can one do with a troupe of real dancers?  Noé proves that more than everything can be done.  His film can be divided into 5 parts - the interviews; the group dance; the mingling of the dancers; the individual dances; the sex that occurs after the acid takes effect and the climax (aftermath).   Even if all else fails, the dance choreography is so good, many done with one long take, that watching these dance segments is worth more than the ticket price.  I myself, would watch the film again just for the dance sequences.

The film begins with the dancers being interviewed by an unseen male and female interviewer.  This sequence takes about 15 minutes and the audience sees the obsession of the dancers. “Dance is everything.” “I will commit suicide if I cannot dance.”  “I would do anything to be able to dance in the troupe.”  To the last comment, Noé pursues the implications further, bringing light to the current sexual abuse in the entertainment industry, but with an intelligent difference.  The two dancers who make the identical last comment are probed further to the point that their sexual offers might be accepted.  Noé uses the males instead of the females to be accosted and the possible guilty party to be one male and one female.

The troupe’s dance number is nothing short of stunning.  Forget the dances in any other television show or dance movie.   This is the real thing - real dance from the streets, expertly choreographed by gifted dancers.

When the dancers start mingling, the audience discovers more about each individual, their sexual orientation, who each has the hots for and how one might be related to another.  This is the time the dancers take to the spiked sangria. The LSD (acid)  takes about a hour to take effect.

The film breaks out into dance again.  This time it is individual dance where each dancer is given the chance to perform solo.  Noé uses the overhead shot.  The camera displaced above and each dancer moves in a and then out of the spot, with the dance performance seen from a bird’s eye view.  It is uncommon to shoot dance numbers this way, but it is nevertheless inventive and effective.

The last two segments are not so easy to watch.  Once the dancers start to feel the effect of the drug, their emotions come loose and sex begins leading to the films climax which unfortunately is not so entertaining as the dance sequences.   Noé’s camera goes upside down with lighting going on and off so that not every scene can be deciphered clearly.

Noé never fails to shock and to push his filming limits.  CLIMAX shows Noé at one of his most effective, disturbing though not disgusting.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AuDB8pskGs

Film Review: Woman at War

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Category: Cinéma - Movies

Published: Friday, 15 March 2019 03:59

Written by Gilbert Seah

WOMAN AT WAR (Kona for i strio) (Iceland/France/Ukraine 2018)***
Directed by Benedikt Erlingsson

Those who have visited Iceland (myself included) will find extra pleasures in watching the Icelandic film WOMAN AT WAR shot in Icelandic.  The residential shots are typical what one would see around Reykjavic and the heroine moves into the countryside where the landscape shows typical Iceland - the barren outcrop, the moss and the hills.  Iceland is known as in other Scandinavian countries to be ultra-modern and more ecologically and environmentally friendly so a film that centres on an eco-terrorist is totally appropriate.  And a woman at that, makes the film even more politically correct.

The film opens with lots of promise.  A middle aged woman later revealed as Halla (Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir) who conducts the local choir, is in the mountains with a bow and arrow (the modern kind), taking refuge from the police.  She takes down a huge transformer pole carrying key power lines causing havoc in outages.  Funnily, a Latino tourist nearby gets arrested and blamed for a terrorist act.  The story is quite simple, revolving around he woman and later with her new-age twin sister (also played by the same actress).  Both sisters are intent to adopt a girl from the Ukraine which explains the film as a Ukrainian co-production.

The only complaint of the film is its predictability, particularly in the story’s main twist.  It does not take a genius (I guessed it) to figure what happens when the sister visits Halla in prison, but not everyone is like me, who sees about 400 films a year.

The script co-written by the director with Ólafur Egill Egilsson pokes fun often at Iceland.  There are scenes with Halla with her face on moss, common in Iceland’s vegetation.  The part about the population of Iceland being so small that everyone is somehow related to each other is used in the film when Halla meets a farmer who hides her.  He claims that he could somehow be related, tracing verbally all his ancestral roots.  The country’s many sheep is also used to hide Halla from the cops in one scene.

The Chinese are the main villains in the film.  They are the lot to blame, taking away the blame from the Icelandic government for the anti-environment projects that Halla is so angry about.

Director Erlingsson utilizes a band of musicians and singers (in Icelandic and in Icelandic native garb) in the background of most scenes to deliver the soundtrack, which gives the film a surreal (Greek Chorus) look, adding to the film’s quirkiness and bit of humour, though the tactic is a bit distracting.

The film premiered at Cannes and won Geirharðsdóttir the Best Actress prize at Montreal/s 2018 Festival of New Cinema.  The film was Iceland’s Official Entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar though it did to make the short list.  Worth a look for its quirkiness and topicality but nothing really out of the ordinary.  But the film won 10 Edda Awards (Icelandic Film Awards) including the coveted Best Film, Best Actress and Best Director and Best Cinematography prizes.

Trailer: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7279188/videoplayer/vi2484779545?ref_=tt_pv_vi_aiv_1

Next Wave Film Festival 2019

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Category: Cinéma - Movies

Published: Thursday, 14 February 2019 18:49

Written by Gilbert Seah

TIFF NEXT WAVE FILM FESTIVAL (2019)

NEW WAVE Film Festival features films about youth y youth for youth - adults also welcome.

For the next generation of movie lovers: selections approved by the festival’s youth-driven TIFF Next Wave Committee

Besides parties and other activities, (Battle of the Scores; Young People Lab) films are one of the main features.  There are quite a few new film entries, a few selected the are capsuled reviewed below.  A few classic features including: BUT I AM A CHEERLEADER, MILLENNIUM MAMBO and PRINCESS MONONOKE will also be screened.

For the complete program check out the TIFF website at:

tiff.net

Note: Regular screenings are FREE for those under 25.

Capsule Reviews of Selected Films:

BLUE MY MIND (Switzerland 2017) ***

Directed by  Lisa Brühlmann

This Swiss production, shot in Swiss German follows the difficulties of a young Mina (Luna Wedler) as she goes through puberty.  At the same time, a strange transformation is occurring as she has appetite and swallows the goldfish in her fish tank.  In the surreal tale, she attends a new school where she turns from being bullied to being belonged.  Her group of school friends now accept her and she turns out to be worst then them in terms of partying and having sex with the boys.  “Do you sleep with anyone, you slut!” says one of the boys to Mia.  Her clueless parents are of no help either.  One wishers there are more scenes with Mia’s parents as they are unintentionally funny and interesting.  Actress Wedler is marvellous as Mia, creating a character that one can feel sympathetic for, despite her rebellious nature.  One wonders the reason director Lisa Brühlmann inserted the surrealism in the film as the film could have done just as effective without it.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLv8B7Sd8u4

LES METERORITES (France 2018) ***

Directed by Roman Laguna

This low budget French film set in the south of France follows the misadventures of teenage Nina.  Nina works at the local theme park.  She falls for Morad, brother of her co-worker who warns her against being dumped by him.  Nina hangs out with Morad, nevertheless.  The film follows the restlessness of youth as personified by Nina who gets in trouble at work for hitting kids.  Nina also smokes dope and has sex with Morad, with nudity provided uninhibitedly in the film’s sex scenes.  Whether the audience would side with Nina is questionable as director Laguna does not do anything to make the audience take her side.  Nina just does her thing.  The film is so called because Nina sees a meteorite one night, thinking it to be the end of the world.  But it is a sign that her life’s to be changed, just as meteorites were supposed to have  changed the course of earth’s history by destroying the dinosaurs.

Trailer: https://www.cineuropa.org/en/video/360594

RESPETO (Philippines 2017) **
Directed by Tree Monteras II.

Directed by Montera II and written by him together with Nathaniel De Mesa, RESPETO (RESPECT) follows the routine of a rapper known as Hendrix (Abra) looking to hit it big with his rapping.  The story shows Hendrix living in poverty doing the odd job like selling drugs while rap battling.  He gets in trouble with the police after breaking in an old man’s bookstore.  Ordered to fix up the bookstore by the court, Hendrix befriends the old man.  The story is not really spectacular or credible.  Why would the old man help the rapper out when all he has done are bad things?  The rap routines are not that impressive either - like a poor man Filipino version of the YOU GOT SERVED movies.  The only reason the film likely got attention is the fact that Filipino rap has never been seen elsewhere except in this film.  The depiction of poverty and police violence among youth is disturbing.  Still, it is difficult to root for Hendrix who is unambitious (except for his rap) with little to no redeeming qualities.  Shit in Filipino Tagalog and English.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQJOig_ghkI

VIRUS TROPICAL (Ecuador/Colombia 2017) ****
Directed by Santiago Caicedo.

This full length animated feature is inspired by the graphic novel by the Colombian-Ecuadorian illustrator Power Paola, and directed by Santiago Caicedo,  TROPICAL VIRUS is so called because when Paolita's (as Paola is called) mother had her in her womb, the doctors told the mother that she was not pregnant and had contacted a tropical virus.  She conceived anyway going birth to Paolita, the youngest of three sisters.  The film  a shows us the life of the Gaviria family, seen from the perspective of her, from her unexpected birth to the inevitable journey to reside in another country.  Paolitia faces a series of events that will change her perception of the world that surrounds her.  Caidedo’s film is high spirited, full of keen observations, totally femminist and totally delightful an refreshing.  It is a coming-of-age stay set in a foreign place (Ecuador and Colombia) though the problems encountered by the young protagonist is common to all.  The animation is simple but stylist offering a different look in an animated film.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jutDJ3PGBmQ