It's summer and that means watching film festival movies. Unlike watching summer blockbusters, for the 3rd summer in a row I have been busy previewing and trying to book films for the international film festival. I have been fortunate to have seen a lot of interesting films over the past few weeks. I will be updating the list below and adding some comments about the best of the lot over the next few days. Also, once the films are confirmed, I will give details about the films I have been busy trying to book. It has been a real joy this time around because I got to talk with directors and producers directly in order to get their movies for our festival.
In no particular order:
1)Tzameti (13) -- Rating 10/10
Georgian movie written and directed by Géla Babluani. This is a wicked movie that I loved. It is best to watch this without knowing the story as it is a real treat. The black & white adds to the suspense/tension. Simple question: how far will a person go to make money?
2)Everything’s Gone Green (Directed by Paul Fox) -- Rating 8.5/10
Paul Fox's The Dark Hours was a wicked Canadian movie from 2005 that I was lucky enough to preview for last year's festival. A year later, Fox returns with something completely different -- a light-hearted/romantic feel good Canadian movie about love, lottery, life and everything else in between.
3) Documentaries about current problems in a certain part of the world.
Two amazing docs Occupied Minds and My Land Zion give a really good perspective on the Israeli-Palestine situation by exploring the past, which included the unfair eviction of Arabs from their homes in 1948, the 6 days war issues and the current checkpoints & daily harassments that go on. They docs give voice to both sides and really show a side that the North American media purposely ignore always.
4)Shôjo, An Adolescent (2001 movie directed by Eiji Okuda) -- Rating 7/10
Rebel cop meets young teenager, falls for her. But cop's ex-fling gets jealous and makes the two of them break up. The heart-broken girl tries to get back with the cop. Since 2001, quite a few Japanese/Korean movies have tackled such topics and done it better.
5)Rana’s Wedding (2002 film Directed by Hany Abu-Assad): Rating 9/10
Love is hard enough but if you have checkpoints, the army and politics in the way, well it just makes things even harder! This beautiful movie gives justice to Jerusalem and shows it in all its splendour. Rana gets a call from her father who wants her to get married from a chosen list or leave the country with him by 4 pm the same day. However, her father does not know about Rana's boyfriend. Rana rushes to find her love who is on the other side of various checkpoints and wants him to marry her. Does she love him? The question does cross her mind at various points as she rushes through her hectic day. The camera gives us a glimpse of the life in the ancient city and how even the simplistic tasks become complicated under occupation.
6)A New Day in Old Sana’a (Directed by Bader Ben Hirsi) -- Rating 7.5/10
This is a beautifully shot movie set in Yemen. While it is delicious to watch, it is too sugar-coated and scripted to make it feel like a genuine story; everything that happens in the movie feels being directed and does not feel natural. I still liked it enough though. The main character caught in the confusion of marriage is a young man who must choose whether between getting married to his selected woman or someone else who he happens to fall in love with. This film makes a great pairing with Rana’s Wedding .
7) Journey To Mars (short claymation from Argentina) -- Rating 10/10
We have had plenty of claymation shorts this year from a few countries (Argentina, Sweden, Switzerland, US, Norway) and all of them have been excellent. Journey to Mars stood out as being perfect in all aspects. A little boy wants to be an astronaut so that he can go to Mars one day. His grandfather says he can take the boy there in his truck. The two head off and along the way, the boy falls asleep. Once he wakes up, they are on Mars or what looks like the red planet. They find a small drink stand where the grandfather buys the boy a Mars souvenir. But the boy is ridiculed by his class-mates and teacher when he tells them he has visited the planet. He is ashamed of his grandfather and tries to forget all of this planet nonsense. Years later, when the boy is now a married man with a young son, the issue of Mars comes up again. This time, the man's son is watching the live telecast of man finally going to the red planet. He ignores the telecast and instead goes to help tow a car. Along the way, he gets lost and goes off the road only to land up in.....Mars :) Beautiful! His grandfather had not lied after all.
8)Darfur Diaries
A documentary that tries to give voice to the people ignored by the world and abused by the military regime. The movie starts off with an excellent shot of small children's drawings of war-planes and tanks coming to life. The sad fact is that 4-8 year old kids are only drawing images of planes dropping bombs, huts on fire, people being killed because that is all what they have seen. Really highlights the fact why innoncence is important and violence committed in front of children will never have a peaceful end because the children will grow up to commit violence of their own. You cannot continue to f***ing bomb people and expect to have peace!
9) Midnight (US Feature directed by Court Dunn & Michael Matson Forest)
The screen is split in two throughout the film, when we are supposed to focus on one side more, the sound moves in that frame. In the opening sequence, the left hand side shows a screenwriter smoking, while the right hand side has a couple in a hotel bedroom. We hear the couple talking while the screenwriter continues smoking. Eventually, he starts walking inside the hotel and goes to his room but since there is nothing to hear, the screen does not give him focus. Ok, this is an interesting idea but the fact is it gets tired and boring after 30 minutes or so. Rating 6/10
10) Hamilton (US Featured directed by Matthew Porterfield)
Like Midnight not much happens in Hamilton but somehow the movie’s easy flow makes it an interesting watch. We watch a group of teenagers cope with their daily difficulties, including boredom. That is about it. A movie that will either be loathed for being as boring as watching paint dry or will be praised immensely for exposing the characters complexity simply by putting a camera in front of them. I won’t go as far as the latter category but I did like this a lot. Rating 8/10
11) Punching at the Sun (US Feature directed by Tanuj Chopra)
A wicked debut feature – Post 9/11 America, Basketball, Hip-hop, Basketball, guns, gangs, drugs and a brother’s death! Sanjay was the best basketball players in his hood but his sudden senseless killing (killed during a store robbery) affected his younger brother, Mameet, the most. Drifting along, Mameet tries to find his own voice while trying to shake off the Sanjay’s shadow. This is a well made feature which has some flaws (the overacting of some characters) but overall, it is refreshing!
Like Bomb the System last year, this is another example of a new kind of American cinema, one that has powerful voices from different communities, this time it is South Asian. Such different voices are ignored in mainstream American media or ridiculed or worse brushed up and presented as ‘Crash’ in order to win awards. Rating 8.5/10
12) The Gold Bracelet (US Feature directed by Kavi Raz)
Like Punching at the Sun this is another example of the new American cinema. This time it is an American Sikh that is at the centre of misconception after those two buildings fell and his undying love for America is ignored amidst racial hatred (fuelled by ignorance present in mainstream media). Along his story is a fresh and wonderful love story which is handled very well (albeit it has a needless badly choreographed song in ode to Bollywood). Good performances all around, especially from Archana Puran Singh as the wife and mother. Rating 8/10
14)Manuale d'amore (Manual of Love) Directed by Giovanni Veronesi
A charming Italian movie about the different stages of love – first love starting with a crush, a marriage dying of love, a new exciting affair, a breakup and a new start! Now just as one story comes to an end, another story starts off, with some characters acting as the bridge to the new story. Yes there are some cute aspects to this movie, but at times it feels tiring. A smash hit in Italy, this movie is worth seeing but not as good as the hype surrounding it. Rating 7.5/10
15) Dosar (Directed by Rituparno Ghosh): Rating 10/10
Vintage cinema! This is one of the best movies made this year!! Rituparno Ghosh gets it absolutely right with his gorgeous black and white film about marriage infidelity. And Konkana Sen Sharma adds to her already impressive reputation with yet another stellar performance. A 2 hour own movie that never feels slow and just flows by. This Bengali film may be one of the best movies out there! We are extremely fortunate to get this shown at our film festival.
16) Milk and Opium (Directed by Joel Palombo): Rating 7.5/10
A good journey (road/train) film starting from the dreamy Rajasthani landscape to the modern isolated Indian capital of New Delhi. A young boy leaves his village with a group of sufi musicians to head to the capital city. Once in the city, the boy is separated from everyone because of his uncle’s greed. Along in an alien city, he finds his own way and his unique sufi music takes roots in the most unexpected manner.
17) The Trials of Darryl Hunt (Directed by Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg): Rating 10/10
This is what a documentary should be all about. Absolutely brilliant stuff! In 1984, a white woman journalist is found raped and murdered. A half clear dubious phone call tip sends the police on a hunt and they bring in a suspect. But without any clear evidence, the police are convinced they have their man. Why? Because the year is 1984 and the police believe that one black man is the same as another. Proof of innocence does not matter. But thankfully justice is finally done, albeit 20 years later. This is the story of Darryl Hunt, a man clearly innocent from the first footage to the last yet the blind policemen and media seem to think otherwise. Very well put together, the doc has excellent interviews and great archive footage. One of the best docs this year!
18)Ahlaam (Directed by Mohamed al Daradji): Rating 8/10
This is a first, an Iraqi film! Unfortunately, we won’t be able to show this movie at our film festival because the movie is in high demand and is over-booked for the upcoming months. The story starts off in 2003 during the American invasion and bombing of Baghdad. We see a few people in a mental hospital and with the aid of flashbacks, their tale is told. It all starts in 1998 when Iraq is bogged down by sanctions. Life is not that great, with people suffering from poverty. Ahlaam is on the verge of marriage, Hassan is having doubts about being in the army because he doesn’t believe in serving Saddam, Mehdi is troubled because he won’t be able to go for higher studies because of his father’s past. These are ordinary people suffering from enough problems already. And then, the American bombs fall. Everything changes. And 5 years later, things get worse. There will be plenty of American movies based in Iraq over the coming years, but none will give voice to the Iraqi people. The truth is the Iraqi people suffered under Saddam and now without him, things are worse for them. The looting, the uncertainty, the lack of electricity, no water and a hostile world are all America’s doing. This is their legacy yet the men in power will never admit their mistake. A country which was already backward would never have been a threat. And now it is more backward, except for the oil. The Americans dying in the country are also dying for no reason whatsoever. Ahlaam is not a happy movie, it can’t be. It gets worse for the main character. First her marriage is ruined because her fiancée is taken by the Iraqi police. She is pushed to the ground which subsequently damages her mind. But over the years, her mental situation gets worse. The American invasion causes the looters to move into the mental hospital she and her fiancée are in. She escapes, but only to an unsafe deserted Baghdad. Her fate is unresolved at the end, but it is clear, it can’t be hopeful.
In no particular order:
1)Tzameti (13) -- Rating 10/10
Georgian movie written and directed by Géla Babluani. This is a wicked movie that I loved. It is best to watch this without knowing the story as it is a real treat. The black & white adds to the suspense/tension. Simple question: how far will a person go to make money?
2)Everything’s Gone Green (Directed by Paul Fox) -- Rating 8.5/10
Paul Fox's The Dark Hours was a wicked Canadian movie from 2005 that I was lucky enough to preview for last year's festival. A year later, Fox returns with something completely different -- a light-hearted/romantic feel good Canadian movie about love, lottery, life and everything else in between.
3) Documentaries about current problems in a certain part of the world.
Two amazing docs Occupied Minds and My Land Zion give a really good perspective on the Israeli-Palestine situation by exploring the past, which included the unfair eviction of Arabs from their homes in 1948, the 6 days war issues and the current checkpoints & daily harassments that go on. They docs give voice to both sides and really show a side that the North American media purposely ignore always.
4)Shôjo, An Adolescent (2001 movie directed by Eiji Okuda) -- Rating 7/10
Rebel cop meets young teenager, falls for her. But cop's ex-fling gets jealous and makes the two of them break up. The heart-broken girl tries to get back with the cop. Since 2001, quite a few Japanese/Korean movies have tackled such topics and done it better.
5)Rana’s Wedding (2002 film Directed by Hany Abu-Assad): Rating 9/10
Love is hard enough but if you have checkpoints, the army and politics in the way, well it just makes things even harder! This beautiful movie gives justice to Jerusalem and shows it in all its splendour. Rana gets a call from her father who wants her to get married from a chosen list or leave the country with him by 4 pm the same day. However, her father does not know about Rana's boyfriend. Rana rushes to find her love who is on the other side of various checkpoints and wants him to marry her. Does she love him? The question does cross her mind at various points as she rushes through her hectic day. The camera gives us a glimpse of the life in the ancient city and how even the simplistic tasks become complicated under occupation.
6)A New Day in Old Sana’a (Directed by Bader Ben Hirsi) -- Rating 7.5/10
This is a beautifully shot movie set in Yemen. While it is delicious to watch, it is too sugar-coated and scripted to make it feel like a genuine story; everything that happens in the movie feels being directed and does not feel natural. I still liked it enough though. The main character caught in the confusion of marriage is a young man who must choose whether between getting married to his selected woman or someone else who he happens to fall in love with. This film makes a great pairing with Rana’s Wedding .
7) Journey To Mars (short claymation from Argentina) -- Rating 10/10
We have had plenty of claymation shorts this year from a few countries (Argentina, Sweden, Switzerland, US, Norway) and all of them have been excellent. Journey to Mars stood out as being perfect in all aspects. A little boy wants to be an astronaut so that he can go to Mars one day. His grandfather says he can take the boy there in his truck. The two head off and along the way, the boy falls asleep. Once he wakes up, they are on Mars or what looks like the red planet. They find a small drink stand where the grandfather buys the boy a Mars souvenir. But the boy is ridiculed by his class-mates and teacher when he tells them he has visited the planet. He is ashamed of his grandfather and tries to forget all of this planet nonsense. Years later, when the boy is now a married man with a young son, the issue of Mars comes up again. This time, the man's son is watching the live telecast of man finally going to the red planet. He ignores the telecast and instead goes to help tow a car. Along the way, he gets lost and goes off the road only to land up in.....Mars :) Beautiful! His grandfather had not lied after all.
8)Darfur Diaries
A documentary that tries to give voice to the people ignored by the world and abused by the military regime. The movie starts off with an excellent shot of small children's drawings of war-planes and tanks coming to life. The sad fact is that 4-8 year old kids are only drawing images of planes dropping bombs, huts on fire, people being killed because that is all what they have seen. Really highlights the fact why innoncence is important and violence committed in front of children will never have a peaceful end because the children will grow up to commit violence of their own. You cannot continue to f***ing bomb people and expect to have peace!
9) Midnight (US Feature directed by Court Dunn & Michael Matson Forest)
The screen is split in two throughout the film, when we are supposed to focus on one side more, the sound moves in that frame. In the opening sequence, the left hand side shows a screenwriter smoking, while the right hand side has a couple in a hotel bedroom. We hear the couple talking while the screenwriter continues smoking. Eventually, he starts walking inside the hotel and goes to his room but since there is nothing to hear, the screen does not give him focus. Ok, this is an interesting idea but the fact is it gets tired and boring after 30 minutes or so. Rating 6/10
10) Hamilton (US Featured directed by Matthew Porterfield)
Like Midnight not much happens in Hamilton but somehow the movie’s easy flow makes it an interesting watch. We watch a group of teenagers cope with their daily difficulties, including boredom. That is about it. A movie that will either be loathed for being as boring as watching paint dry or will be praised immensely for exposing the characters complexity simply by putting a camera in front of them. I won’t go as far as the latter category but I did like this a lot. Rating 8/10
11) Punching at the Sun (US Feature directed by Tanuj Chopra)
A wicked debut feature – Post 9/11 America, Basketball, Hip-hop, Basketball, guns, gangs, drugs and a brother’s death! Sanjay was the best basketball players in his hood but his sudden senseless killing (killed during a store robbery) affected his younger brother, Mameet, the most. Drifting along, Mameet tries to find his own voice while trying to shake off the Sanjay’s shadow. This is a well made feature which has some flaws (the overacting of some characters) but overall, it is refreshing!
Like Bomb the System last year, this is another example of a new kind of American cinema, one that has powerful voices from different communities, this time it is South Asian. Such different voices are ignored in mainstream American media or ridiculed or worse brushed up and presented as ‘Crash’ in order to win awards. Rating 8.5/10
12) The Gold Bracelet (US Feature directed by Kavi Raz)
Like Punching at the Sun this is another example of the new American cinema. This time it is an American Sikh that is at the centre of misconception after those two buildings fell and his undying love for America is ignored amidst racial hatred (fuelled by ignorance present in mainstream media). Along his story is a fresh and wonderful love story which is handled very well (albeit it has a needless badly choreographed song in ode to Bollywood). Good performances all around, especially from Archana Puran Singh as the wife and mother. Rating 8/10
14)Manuale d'amore (Manual of Love) Directed by Giovanni Veronesi
A charming Italian movie about the different stages of love – first love starting with a crush, a marriage dying of love, a new exciting affair, a breakup and a new start! Now just as one story comes to an end, another story starts off, with some characters acting as the bridge to the new story. Yes there are some cute aspects to this movie, but at times it feels tiring. A smash hit in Italy, this movie is worth seeing but not as good as the hype surrounding it. Rating 7.5/10
15) Dosar (Directed by Rituparno Ghosh): Rating 10/10
Vintage cinema! This is one of the best movies made this year!! Rituparno Ghosh gets it absolutely right with his gorgeous black and white film about marriage infidelity. And Konkana Sen Sharma adds to her already impressive reputation with yet another stellar performance. A 2 hour own movie that never feels slow and just flows by. This Bengali film may be one of the best movies out there! We are extremely fortunate to get this shown at our film festival.
16) Milk and Opium (Directed by Joel Palombo): Rating 7.5/10
A good journey (road/train) film starting from the dreamy Rajasthani landscape to the modern isolated Indian capital of New Delhi. A young boy leaves his village with a group of sufi musicians to head to the capital city. Once in the city, the boy is separated from everyone because of his uncle’s greed. Along in an alien city, he finds his own way and his unique sufi music takes roots in the most unexpected manner.
17) The Trials of Darryl Hunt (Directed by Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg): Rating 10/10
This is what a documentary should be all about. Absolutely brilliant stuff! In 1984, a white woman journalist is found raped and murdered. A half clear dubious phone call tip sends the police on a hunt and they bring in a suspect. But without any clear evidence, the police are convinced they have their man. Why? Because the year is 1984 and the police believe that one black man is the same as another. Proof of innocence does not matter. But thankfully justice is finally done, albeit 20 years later. This is the story of Darryl Hunt, a man clearly innocent from the first footage to the last yet the blind policemen and media seem to think otherwise. Very well put together, the doc has excellent interviews and great archive footage. One of the best docs this year!
18)Ahlaam (Directed by Mohamed al Daradji): Rating 8/10
This is a first, an Iraqi film! Unfortunately, we won’t be able to show this movie at our film festival because the movie is in high demand and is over-booked for the upcoming months. The story starts off in 2003 during the American invasion and bombing of Baghdad. We see a few people in a mental hospital and with the aid of flashbacks, their tale is told. It all starts in 1998 when Iraq is bogged down by sanctions. Life is not that great, with people suffering from poverty. Ahlaam is on the verge of marriage, Hassan is having doubts about being in the army because he doesn’t believe in serving Saddam, Mehdi is troubled because he won’t be able to go for higher studies because of his father’s past. These are ordinary people suffering from enough problems already. And then, the American bombs fall. Everything changes. And 5 years later, things get worse. There will be plenty of American movies based in Iraq over the coming years, but none will give voice to the Iraqi people. The truth is the Iraqi people suffered under Saddam and now without him, things are worse for them. The looting, the uncertainty, the lack of electricity, no water and a hostile world are all America’s doing. This is their legacy yet the men in power will never admit their mistake. A country which was already backward would never have been a threat. And now it is more backward, except for the oil. The Americans dying in the country are also dying for no reason whatsoever. Ahlaam is not a happy movie, it can’t be. It gets worse for the main character. First her marriage is ruined because her fiancée is taken by the Iraqi police. She is pushed to the ground which subsequently damages her mind. But over the years, her mental situation gets worse. The American invasion causes the looters to move into the mental hospital she and her fiancée are in. She escapes, but only to an unsafe deserted Baghdad. Her fate is unresolved at the end, but it is clear, it can’t be hopeful.
