Film Festivals...

In Richard Porton's TIFF piece, Reginald Harkema provides a key summary:

...Politics are of course (as with everything) a huge part of it. I have become a bit of a drinking buddy with an ex-programmer and he tells me horror stories of films that he absolutely hated and would never program, but because of the stature of the filmmaker (sex, race, celebrity, connection to the festival), they were programmed. I saw this happen this year, too, and one wonders about those many good Canadian films that didn’t get programmed when so many bad films are.

Reginald Harkema is talking about Canadian Cinema but the above statement equally applies to films programmed from any country at a film festival. No film festival can stand up and admit that every single film is selected based on merit alone. The higher the number of sponsors for a film festival, the greater the chance that films will be selected to please some sponsors or board of directors. Ofcourse, the bigger a film festival, the more the number of programmers at that festival. Each programmer has their own cinematic taste so it is impossible that all the films at a festival will suit every programmer, let alone appease every single festival patron.

Porton uses this line to describe the New York Film Festival:

Unlike a “boutique” festival such as the New York Film Festival, which showcases a small number of films that its programmers assert represent the year’s crème de la crème..

New York has a smaller selections of films but even NYFF opened with The Social Network, a Hollywood buzz film. Film Festivals need such buzz films to exist. That is a fact of festival life that cannot be avoided. Based on my programming experiences at local film festivals (CIFF, CPAFF), I have come to believe a film festival needs a certain commercial vs art film ratio in order to succeed. That means, a festival needs to show a certain number of commercially accessible films in order to earn some profit so as to show the truly artistic films which may incur a loss. This is because there may be only a few cities in the world where art films will make a profit so film festivals have to bend their ways to accommodate various other films that will get the crowds in. Also, art films like commercial films don't come cheap. In fact, every year that precious Cannes film will require almost the same programming fee as that new buzz Hollywood film. Back in 2006, I was able to get a worthy art film for free but that was a rare case and I am certain that will never happen again.

A few of us have worked hard to program that ideal film festival but every year, it is frustrating to see cinematic gems go overlooked while crowds pack substandard films. The irony is that if it were not for the substandard films, then the festival would have suffered a financial loss and been unable to get worthy films the following year.

Film festival goers are a curious bunch though. If they don't like a movie at a film festival, they direct extreme hatred at the programmer or even the film festival, because in their view the film programmer committed a grave sin by booking an awful film. Yet, these same film goers will never direct such venom at a multiplex owner for booking garbage, week in, week out. In fact, people will gladly return to the multiplex the following week despite suffering the previous weekend. But if these same people have a bad experience at a film festival, there is a good chance that they will not return to see another movie at the festival.

Cinephiles will rightly complain about movies a film festival does not book but will then go about ignoring new works from unknown directors, as if the only films worth seeing are from "masters" praised in Cannes/Venice or only films from a certain country are meant to be seen. For example, in my city, some cinephiles assume any French film is automatically superior to any Asian film because in their view the French have a history of good film-making. So they ignore works of art that are coming out of Thailand, China or Malaysia but will sit through any French language film, even if the film is from an unknown first time French director.

---

In addition...

It is a fallacy to believe that film festivals have the ultimate say in every single selection. The reality is that festivals are sometimes at the mercy of distributors and producers when it comes to showing some films. Of course, since very little is written about the inside workings of a film festival, people attribute the presence or absence of a film to the programmers decisions. Sure festival programmers have to answer for their selections but unseen powers behind some festival decisions are able to avoid any justifications.

Film programmers often have a thankless job because they can never satisfy everyone and there is a good chance they will be criticized by some segment of the film going public, no matter what films they select. Sometimes individual programmers are praised because a critic or cinephile might like that programmer's selections. On the other hand, a programmer who might be dismissed by professional critics might be held in high regard by the festival's board of directors because the programmer regularly picks films that draw crowds.

Popular vs art. The never ending film festival struggle.

CIFF 2010, Sept 23-Oct 3

Another wonderful film festival edition comes to an end!! I am very happy with the quality of films shown and even more delighted that I managed to achieve a few personal targets at this year's festival.

1) Gala duck broken

Previously, I always missed out on attending any of the gala films. But this time around, I attended 3 gala films -- the opening gala (Score: A Hockey Musical), black carpet gala (I Spit on Your Grave) and the closing gala (The Last Rites of Ransom Pride).

2) Everyday is film day

Finally I managed to watch at least one film on all the festival days. That is 11 straight days of film watching including the Gala premier on Sept 23.

3) Striking 30

I had wanted to reach the target of seeing 30 films for a few years now but for a variety of reasons, I was never able to come close. Thankfully this year I was able to meet the target of 30 and then promptly went home after the 30th film ended and skipped out on #31 because I was plain exhausted. The tally of 30 easily surpasses my previous feeble total of 22 set in both 2006 & 2009.

4) The plan stays strong

As soon as the lineup was announced, my shortlist featured 19 titles that I wanted to see. As it turned out, it was only possible for me to see 18 of those titles due to a timing clash with two films (The Light Thief vs Snow and Ashes). But in the end, I managed to see all the 18 titles from that list.

30 Films

Score: A Hockey Musical (2010, Canada, Michael McGowan)
The Illusionist (2010, UK/France, Sylvain Chomet)
Freetime Machos (2009, Finland/Germany, Mika Ronkainen)
Armadillo (2010, Denmark, Janus Metz Pedersen)
Secret Reunion (2010, South Korea, Jang Hun)
Heartbeats (2010, Canada, Xavier Dolan)
The Happy Poet (2010, USA, Paul Gordon)
A Screaming Man (2010, Chad/Belgium/France, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun)
Nora's Will (2008, Mexico, Mariana Chenillo)
The Sentimental Engine Slayer (2010, Mexico/USA, Omar Rodriguez Lopez)
Small Town Murder Songs (2010, Canada, Ed Gass-Donnelly)
Certified Copy (2010, France/Iran/Italy, Abbas Kiarostami)
Curling (2010, Canada, Denis Côté)
Incendies (2010, Canada, Denis Villeneuve)
A Simple Rhythm (2010, Canada, Tess Girard)
Rec 2 (2009, Spain, Jaume Balagueró/Paco Plaza)
Faith, Fraud & Minimum Wage (2010, Canada, George Mihalka)
A Film Unfinished (2010, Israel/Germany, Yael Hersonski)
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010, Thailand co-production, Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
I Spit on Your Grave (2010, USA, Steven R. Monroe)
Red White & Blue (2010, USA, Simon Rumley)
A Place Called Los Pereyra (2009, Canada/Argentina, Andrés Livov-Macklin)
Journey’s End (2010, Canada, Jean-François Caissy)
Valhalla Rising (2010, Denmark/UK, Nicolas Winding Refn)
The Last Rites of Ransom Pride (2010, Canada, Tiller Russell)
Mutant Girls Squad (2010, Japan, Noboru Iguchi/Yoshihiro Nishimura/Tak Sakaguchi)
A Brand New Life (2009, France/South Korea, Ounie Lecomte)
I Am Not Your Friend (2009, Hungary, György Pálfi)
The Light Thief (2010, Kyrgyzstan co-production, Aktan Abdykalykov)
New Low (2010, USA, Adam Bowers)

Words on pause

A lot of the films deserve longer write-ups but those comments will have to wait for another day as I am still trying to cope with return to normalcy post film festival. The films that really stood out from the last 4 days were Uncle Boonmee.., I Spit on Your Grave, Valhalla Rising and The Light Thief. Three of these films will most likely join Certified Copy, The Illusionist, Incendies, A Screaming Man, Heartbeats, Curling and Nora's Will as the 10 best films seen during the festival.

Overall, these 10 quality films still fall short when compared to the amazing quartet of this year’s Maverick films Manuel di Ribera, The Intern, R and The Robber. It may be hard to believe but I found Manuel di Ribera superior to Uncle Boonmee even though most likely no one will hear or even see Manuel di Ribera.

Number crunching

I saw 16 films during the first 7 days and 14 films over the last 4. That is just way too many films considering that I didn't take any days off from work during the festival. Reaching 30+ films at CIFF is much harder to do than at TIFF, VIFF or Rotterdam because on average CIFF only has 2-3 films on weekdays unlike the 5-7 films that show ever day at TIFF, VIFF and IFFR. CIFF only has 2 evening shows on Monday/Tuesday and 3 shows from Wed-Friday as the midnight feature slot is added. On weekends, one can watch 5-7 movies at CIFF. So that means, one has to watch a healthy dose of 4-5 films on the weekends along with at least 2 films on weekdays to make their target of 30 films at CIFF. That leaves very few free slots and requires a proper discipline. Whereas one can easily make 30 at TIFF, VIFF and Rotterdam in under a week. For example, I saw 24 films in just 5 days at VIFF 2007.

A few years ago, CIFF experimented with some afternoon shows (4 pm) but those extra shows have not happened for the last 2 editions. This year, CIFF did add 1-2 free afternoon screenings (12 pm & 2 pm) on weekdays plus there was an additional 4:45 pm show of A Film Unfinished on the final Friday. So in theory if someone was bold enough to see everything that CIFF showed, then they could have easily crossed 40. I don’t know anyone who has crossed that threshold. I know a few cinephiles who average 36-37 films at CIFF every year. This year, a regular festivalgoer was finally about to shatter 40 but in the end got tired and settled back on 37. Another long time CIFF attendee claims that no one will break his record of 39.

My target of 30 was a long time goal but after getting a pounding headache and exhausted eyes, I won't ever try to reach this number again. Like the 7 films-in-a-day in 2009, this 30 film number was a one-time target. Also, seeing these many films in a movie theatre makes me appreciate watching movies in the comfort of my home even more. Sure watching films in a cinema is a great experience but if only done in moderation, just like everything else. For the rest of the year, I am more than happy to soak in cinematic works in front of a tv or even on a laptop (gasp, the sacrilege...). Theaters can try as many gimmicks to attract audience but they will never be able to achieve the comfort that one has in their home.

Festival diary/notes

Days 1-7

Post Festival

My backlog of regional & directorial film spotlights are still waiting for me but I need atleast one film free week before I return to them. I have to finish my Spotlight on India and then start my Spotlight on China after that.

CIFF 2010, Days 1-7

Oh the sunlight. Beautiful sunlight. All summer long instead of a clear blue sky & sunshine, my lovely city got nothing but dark gloomy rain packed cloudy skies. So finally after a 3 month delay, summer has arrived. And she has decided to oust the traditional chilly winds that greet CIFF every year. As a result, the good weather has certainly made it fun to watch films and made for a pleasant stroll in between the different venues.

The films at the 11th Calgary International Film Festival have been very very good. 7 days and 16 films later, I have only seen one misfire. That's a pretty good rate.

Filmi list so far

Score: A Hockey Musical (2010, Canada, Michael McGowan)
The Illusionist (2010, UK/France, Sylvain Chomet)
Freetime Machos (2009, Finland/Germany, Mika Ronkainen)
Armadillo (2010, Denmark, Janus Metz Pedersen)
Secret Reunion (2010, South Korea, Jang Hun)
Heartbeats (2010, Canada, Xavier Dolan)
The Happy Poet (2010, USA, Paul Gordon)
A Screaming Man (2010, Chad/Belgium/France, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun)
Nora's Will (2008, Mexico, Mariana Chenillo)
The Sentimental Engine Slayer (2010, Mexico/USA, Omar Rodriguez Lopez)
Small Town Murder Songs (2010, Canada, Ed Gass-Donnelly)
Certified Copy (2010, France/Iran/Italy, Abbas Kiarostami)
Curling (2010, Canada, Denis Côté)
Incendies (2010, Canada, Denis Villeneuve)
A Simple Rhythm (2010, Canada, Tess Girard)
Rec 2 (2009, Spain, Jaume Balagueró/Paco Plaza)

Oh Canada!

Denis Villeneuve's Incendies is a beautifully crafted film that packs a mighty emotional punch. The film unfolds in multiple chapters, with each chapter profiling the principle characters and uncovering a smaller piece of the puzzle. As a result, the viewer arrives at the final destination more or less the same time as the two main characters in the film. The film starts and ends in Canada but the rest of the film dives deep into the Middle East and is the kind of cinema that Canada needs more of, films that use second generation Canadian characters as a launching pad to explore their complex cultural background.

Xavier Dolan's second feature Heartbeats is playful, funny and manages to neatly tuck in cute cinematic homages especially to the French New Wave. It is remarkable that someone so young can make such good films but Dolan is a national treasure.

Denis Côté has gone with the bold choice to give Curling a cold chilly look. As a result, it takes a while to warm up to the material but once one gets past the cold exterior, then one can admire the film's tale of a father's resolve to raise his daugther away from society. In a way, Curling is a cousin of the Greek film Dogtooth in showing how incorrect parental decisions can alter a child’s life. The father in Curling makes the decision to not send his daughter to school because he fears that she would be corrupted by other kids. As a result, his 12 year old girl is out of touch with everyday reality and a bit weak in basic math. The girl’s need for human contact is highlighted in one key sequence where she comes across a pair of frozen dead bodies in the wilderness. The daughter does not tell her father about the bodies but goes to visit the corpses day after day as it is the only contact she has with someone other than her father. Like his daughter, the father himself is lonely and needs human contact. Eventually the father realizes his mistake of isolating both himself and his child but he goes about making changes in small fragments. The snowy visuals are a constant in the film but as the movie progresses, rays of sunshine start to filter in, highlighting that even in an isolated Canadian town, winter will eventually come to an end.

Small Town Murder Songs uses the power of music to elevate a simple story into a grander tale about redemption and rebirth. The opening gala film Score: A Hockey Music is pure fun, packed with a few surprizing but welcome Canadian cameos.

There are still a few other worthy Canadian titles that I have yet to see and I have already praised the wonderful Taylor's Way which has 2 upcoming shows in the festival.

Overall, the Canadian film category has been very strong this year.

Best films

Picking one best film is a tough choice from the plenty of great titles seen but so far, Kiarostami's Certified Copy and Chomet's The Illusionist are front runners with Incendies not too far behind.

Kiarostami is on top of his game in the witty dialogue driven Certified Copy. Aptly descibed as "a Tuscan Before Sunset" in the film's write-up, the movie is also a beautiful variation on Guerín's In the City of Sylvia. In Guerín's film, there is no dialogue between the male and female leads and a distance is maintained between the two as the male follows the female. There are some scenes in Certified Copy where the two characters maintain their distance but most of the film is about the two walking side by side engaged in passionate discussion about relationships and marriage. One can imagine the dialogue in Kiarostami's film would be exactly what would have taken place had the characters in In the City of Sylvia talked to each other. Certified Copy is brilliantly acted and the direction is perfect in showing us either the Tuscan beauty or Juliette Binoche's charming face at the right moments.

A Screaming Man is a quiet powerful film that highlights the tough emotional decisions that occur in a state of constant war. Nora's Will is a wonderful film that manages to generate plenty of laughs despite starting with an act of suicide. Armadillo is a no holds barred film that literally gets in the line of fire to bring us an unfiltered look at the day to day dangers that greet Danish soldiers on their Afghan mission.

Worst film

No contest for this category. The worst film so far, clearly by 100 miles, is Rec 2. This horrible sequel undoes all the good work that went into the first film Rec which was a smart and edgy film. Rec 2 is covered from the perspective of three cameras. The first camera heads into the apartment building moments after the first film ends. Yet this first camera provides nothing but video game like shots of bullets and possessed demons running around trying to bite anyone in site. Yawn. The second camera tries to provide footage from a different angle but is clearly present to extend the wafer thin story. After the second camera's battery dies, we get the crucial third camera, which requires the necessary night vision feature to generate some final moments of tension. When all is said and done, this mess of a story is still not concluded which leaves the door open (ha ha) for a possible third film.

More films...

The last few days have some great films on tap. Of course, top of my list is Uncle Boonmee. The big question will be how many more films I can eat up. Thanks to a few additional screenings, there is the possibility of watching 7 movies again on the final Saturday. But this time around, I am not keen to take up the challenge. After watching 7 films in 2009, I decided that experiment was just a once in a lifetime attempt. Although this time around, the running time of the 7 films is shorter than the 2009 bunch, meaning, a person would end up spending 10.5 hours watching 7 films, and not the 12+ hours I spent last year.

TIFF 2010

My first ever visit to tiff was a completely enjoyable experience. Even though the trip was only for 4 days, I managed to view a respectable number of films and caught up with friends and family while enjoying Toronto's many wonderful cafes, bookstores and food joints.

Film x 8

Gorbaciòf: The Cashier who Liked Gambling (2010, Italy, Stefano Incerti)
Guest (2010, Spain, José Luis Guerín)
Red Nights (2009, Hong Kong/France, Julien Carbon/Laurent Courtiaud)
The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman (2010, China co-production, Wuershan)
Essential Killing (2010, Poland co-production, Jerzy Skolimowski)
Viva Riva! (2010, Congo co-production, Djo Munga)
Block-C (1994, Turkey, Zeki Demirkubuz)
Oki’s Movie (2010, South Korea, Hong Sang-soo)

Fatigue was a big reason in why I had to halt my tally at only 8 films.

I arrived in Toronto on Thursday afternoon with no sleep after an early morning flight. I still managed to make my first film, the 3 pm showing of Gorbaciòf, less than 2 hours after landing at the airport. The day only got longer after that as I managed to see 3 more films, including the midnight feature The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman. I got back to the hotel around 2:30 am Friday but was awake at 7:30 am in order to make my 9 am show of Essential Killing. I only saw 3 films on Friday as I had plans to meet with family for dinner on Friday night.

However, I was drained after seeing 7 films with less than 6 hours sleep over a 2 day period. So I decided to skip seeing any films on Saturday and only saw one more show on Sunday morning.

Cafes

The Seattle based coffee chain that dominates downtown Vancouver and Calgary is also omnipresent in downtown Toronto, especially near all the film festival venues. But with a little bit of effort, I managed to find some excellent cafes and avoid the big chain altogether.

Dark Horse Espresso
Green Beanery
Coffee Culture

Books, Comics

Another goal on this trip was to finally visit all the bookstores on my shortlist.

Of Swallows, their deeds and the Winter below
Book City
World's Biggest Bookstore -- I was not aware that this was owned by Chapters/Indigo but the diverse selection of books/DVD set it apart from the regular Chapters/Indigo stores.
BMV
The Beguiling -- Girish describes this comic book store perfectly:

"If you're an indie comics aficionado, leave your credit card at home and take a budgeted amount of cash. You've been warned. "

It is indeed quite easy to spend money here. I came across some amazing stuff such as an anthology of Swedish comics, Independent Canadian & American titles, Italian comics and some Japanese titles that I have wanted for a while. I had to force myself to leave the store before I spent too much money.

Food & Beer

One of my fondest memories from a previous trip to Toronto almost a decade ago was going to Marche in downtown for some amazing food. So I was quite eager to visit it again. I am absolutely delighted to say that the food is still quite incredible.


Beer Markt came highly recommended because of the huge number of beers they serve (100+). The selection is indeed very impressive and I came across a very good stout (Dragon Stout from Jamaica) that I had never heard of previously.

More films? Sure

There is no time for film withdrawal to set in because CIFF starts in a few days. Atleast the prospect of seeing some great films slightly offsets the negative sentiment of constant rain and a bit of snow that is already gathering on the city streets.

Calgary International Film Festival 2010, preview II

Taylor's Way

A quite incredible film that effortlessly switches gears between three different genres with considerable ease. The opening 15 minutes appear to be familiar territory (girl in a bad relationship is picked up by a guy at a bar) but then the film transforms into a road journey/self-discovery story which navigates the beautiful British Columbia countryside. Yet, amid the beauty and tranquility signs of darkness start to slowly filter through. However, the meaning of these signs is only revealed in the film's final moments. A must see film!

Pelada

Soccer is called the beautiful game. Now, that beauty may be hard to find on a professional or international game pitch but it does exist. Proof of that genuine beauty is provided courtesy of an American college duo who hit the road to play pick-up games in various countries. Their journey takes them to unlikely destinations such as a Bolivian prison, a slum in Kenya, a roof-top in Japan, a playing field in Iran and the streets of China. The end result is a magnificent documentary that highlights why the world loves this game and how the real passion of the game exists on the streets amid everyday people. Professional soccer players, their managers and FIFA should be forced to watch this film and lower their heads in shame. Because the ugliness of the World Cup and its negative play (4-5-1/5-5-0 tactics, dives, fouls) is ruining the game yet uglier the game gets, the more money these professional players make.

Bioscope

An engaging Indian film that demonstrates the hypnotic effect that cinema has on people. Some of the film’s strongest scenes are those where there is no dialogue and the beautiful haunting images (such as the recurring dream of a dead body washed ashore) flood the screen. The film is set in 1921 India when cinema was largely unknown in the country. So we witness villagers seeing cinema for the first time and observe how their views are shaped – some consider the device as ungodly while others are entranced by the images. And we even get to meet a character (Diwakaran) whose love for the new medium leads him to neglect everything around him and only focus on cinema. In fact, Diwakaran probably depicts the actions of the first cinephile in Indian history.

Cinema is such an integral part of modern Indian life that it is hard to imagine Indian society without movies. So it is fascinating to watch a film which shows how love for cinema started to make its way through Indian life.

At World's End

This humorous Danish film is a throwback to the 1980’s style of action/adventure comedies. In a way, it is refreshing to see an old fashioned film about adventure in an exotic land told with humor and a bit of political incorrectness. The actress Birgitte Sorensen steals the show and it wouldn't be a surprize to see her land bigger profile roles in the future.

Norberto's Deadline

Norberto is drifting aimlessly in life until he finds his true love in theater. However, if it was not for theater, then it is likely possible that Norberto would morph into either a Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver) or a Raúl Peralta (Tony Manero). It is to Daniel Hendler's credit that he allows us to closely observe Norberto in his moments of despair and misery so that we can better understand Norberto and comprehend how someone who is just one or two steps away from a complete breakdown can still find the courage to salvage their life.

Mundane History

Winner of a Tiger Award at Rotterdam, Mundane History is cut from the same cloth as one of Apichatpong Weerasethakul's films. Yet, Anocha Suwichakornpong is able to carve out an individual identity and demonstrate true talent in two mesmerizing sequences which break away from the 'mundane' everyday life scenes. The first sequence charts a journey all the way to the origins of the universe. And the second sequence charts events following the big bang towards a human birth and lands firmly in the main characters hospital room location, thereby putting the whole story into perspective. Patient viewers will be rewarded with a truly cinematic treasure.

Kosmos

Reha Erdem is certainly an intriguing filmmaker but at times he can be frustrating as well. While each of his last three films have improved their visual beauty, each successive work has had a slight dip in the story and character depiction. Times and Winds was a satisfying film where the cinematography was perfectly in sync with the coming of age tale while in My Only Sunshine the on-screen beauty overpowered the bleak tale. Now with his latest offering Kosmos, Reha Erdem has given us a delicious visual treat but the story is not as dark as the cinematography points to. There are hints of distrust about the magical healing powers of the outsider and a bit of cosmic interference (UFO) but the innocent love tale slightly halts the film's mesmerizing rhythm. Still, it deserves to be seen because it is one of the best shot films of the year.

The Famous and the Dead

Every now and then there appears a film that reminds everyone that there is more to Brazil than soccer, beaches, samba, favelas, poverty and crime. A few years ago, it was Heitor Dhalia's wonderfully bizarre Drained set in a warehouse that showed a Brazil devoid of these common symbols and now it is Esmir Filho's chance with The Famous and the Dead. There are no beaches to be seen in The Famous and the Dead and the film's depiction of suburban isolation and loneliness is more familiar material for American Indie cinema. Yet the setting of such themes in Brazil highlights how similar issues can take place in any part of the world, especially in a modern globally connected world where various social networking sites and blogs allow people to hide their true identities and assume another.

The film's chilly mood and atmosphere goes perfectly with the theme of death and suicide. In fact, in almost all scenes one can detect the presence of death hovering above the main character. The film also does a great job of integrating social networking sites, blogs, online videos within the story to highlight the main character's sense of isolation. Also, the transition from the web videos to regular footage is seamless. The end result is a work that is very much in tune with modern times, aspects that most current cinema seems to sidestep.

Note: The film's look and mood evokes the chilly winter conditions of Canada or Northern Europe. So in a way, the film is a perfect companion to the fall weather that greets CIFF every year:)

Family Tree

There have been quite a few films that have used a family gathering as a starting point to uncover a dark past about one of the family members (such as Celebration, Monsoon Wedding). So directors Olivier Duscastel and Jacques Martineau deserve a lot of praise for using this familiar template to make an intelligent and delicate film which manages to deliver an emotional punch. A son's funeral is the starting point for unwrapping a family secret that provides quite a shock when all is said and done. An incredibly moving film!

Calgary International Film Festival 2010, preview 1

The 2010 Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) kicks off in less than 2 weeks time. The film selections continue to grow in technical and artistic strength each year and this year the festival has some amazing films on display, with the Mavericks competition category showcasing some of the best films of the year. Last year, Mavericks contained some worthy films such as Karaoke (2009 Maverick winner), Be Calm and Count to Seven, Everyone Else and Fish Eyes but this year's selection is much stronger than the 2009 list.

Manuel di Ribera

This visually stunning film is a fascinating mix of Lisandro Alonso and Bela Tarr yet is completely original. The lonely journeys of Manuel, conducted with the aid of boats, has touches of Alonso (from both Los Muertos & Liverpool) while the mostly grayish/dark environment and the drunken locals' distrust of Manuel feels similar to Tarr's The Outsider and Satantango. Also, the film brilliantly plays with the concept of reality by having two almost similar scenes of an event incorporated into the film -- one real and one imagined. The audience is left to figure out what the reality is.

Note: The isolated Chilean island seems to echo the island in the third short of Andrés Wood's Historias de fútbol.

The Intern

Clara Picasso's sublime film cleverly uses a Buenos Aires hotel setting as a springboard to examine wider issues, such as male-female power games and the thin boundary that exists between private and public life. Not a single minute is wasted in the film's brisk 64 minutes. Almost at each 20 minute segment, the viewer has to track back to the previous segment to get a clue as to mystery or relationship tussle taking place on screen. The end result is an engaging film.

R

Stand by for the one of the most brutal and dark films of the year!! The tag 'dark film' is easily thrown around but in the case of R, the tag is entirely justified. The film makes last year's wonderful Un prophète look like a feel good happy film. Besides being completely savage, R is intelligent and that is demonstrated by a clever perspective shift two-thirds into the film which shows the similar hierarchies of two rival gangs.

The Robber

A highly entertaining yet intelligent film. This film is an example that an accessible film can be made without clichés or spoon feeding the audience. The two highs of running and robbing give Johann’s life meaning and it is clear these habits will eventually take a toll on his life. The entire film is defined by fast movement, shown by Johann's marathon runs or his perfectly timed car getaways. Remarkably, the story is not fiction and based on a real life character.

Hunting & Zn

This powerful Dutch film shows how a complicated relationship can be strained when lies and a pregnancy enters the equation. Like last year's brilliant Everyone Else, this film is bold enough to look at the nasty side that exists in all relationships and thereby causes the audience to get deeply involved with the film. As a warning, pregnant women or couples expecting a child might want to brace themselves for an emotionally challenging film.

You All Are Captains

This fascinating award winning black and white film demonstrates that even an improvised film needs a structure to make the work engaging. The film's first 20 minutes feature a filmmaker teaching school kids how to use a camera. The filmmaker has no script or goal in mind and a result, frustrates his students who are puzzled by the filmmaker's motives. After the kids complain, the filmmaker is replaced with another director who gives a structure thereby letting the film's brilliance shine through. The ending of the film in color puts the whole work into perspective including the first 20 minutes. A film and filmmaker to watch out for.

Lucky Life

Lee Isaac Chung deserves a lot of credit for making a poetic film that deals with cancer in such a tender manner that one never gets the sense of impending death that will take over one of the characters. The film is more concerned with mood than specific details as most of the conversations appear to be improvised and not scripted cinema, which adds to the film's fluid flow. The film has a very cool mood around it and when the characters meet each other, there are smiles and tender moments throughout reflecting the strong friendship that exists.

Cold Water of the Sea

This Tiger Award winning film (Rotterdam) adds an artistic layer on top of an accessible coming of age tale. The parallels between a young girl and woman is interestingly shown as the two characters form reflections of each other. The beautiful landscape of Costa Rica contrasts the internal struggles of the characters.

Putty Hill

A unique and interactive film that blurs the line between documentary and fiction. The interactive aspect is executed by having the actors in the frame stop what they are doing and look towards the camera to answer questions by an unseen interviewer. And once they are done answering the questions, the camera steps back and films the action.

And finally, this year there is a Canadian entry in competition -- Snow and Ashes. It is a film that I am looking forward and is the only one that I have not previewed from the 10.

Rotterdam -- Cinematic Bliss

It was about four years ago that I started paying closer attention to Rotterdam’s International Film Festival lineups and since 2006, I have been constantly impressed by their programming and longed to make a trip to the festival. So this year I finally made my journey to Rotterdam, albeit for a very short stay. I ordered my film tickets online and picked them up at the De Doelen where the box office is located along with an amazing cafe where one can grab some delicious food and much needed drinks. During the festival the hall with its spacious seating area is normally buzzing with the sound of constant conversations in multiple languages and allows one to rub shoulders with festival goers, filmmakers and critics. The hall also has a merchandise store where one can buy t-shirts, catalogs and DVDs of films showcased in past Rotterdam festivals. Most of the DVDs (in PAL format) are films that are not yet available in Canada, so it is worth picking some of the titles up, although one has to make sure that the DVD contains English subtitles as not every DVD has that feature.

There are 6 primary theatre venues to choose from and two of the venues (Pathe and Cinerama) have 7 screens each which means in a particular time slot one can have a choice of anywhere from 10 - 16 films. One can begin each day as early as 9:30 am and see about 5-6 films a day with the final screenings starting as late as 10:45 pm. Most of the films are repeated more than once so one can plan accordingly. My time constraints prevented me from going to multiple venues so I confined myself to the Pathe across from De Doelen. In a way, that was more than enough since the Pathe is a spacious multiplex with comfortable seating that makes it a treat to watch foreign films. For me, the giant screen of the Pathe perfectly enhanced the experience of watching Heng Yang's fascinating Sun Spots, a film shot on HD video. The large screen ensured every image looked breathtaking and crisp. Sun Spots consists of 31 long single take scenes with no camera movements, meaning no pans or zooms. This style makes the film a challenging one to watch but it is also a rewarding experience because one can soak in the on-screen atmosphere and freely observe all the details present in each frame.

The remarkable aspect of Rotterdam 2010 was that even on the festival’s last day there was a breathtaking lineup of films available. On the final day, it was possible to start a cinematic journey in Suriname (Let Each One Go Where He May), hop over to Costa Rica (Agua fría de mar) or Mexico (Alamar), jump to Brazil (Avenida Brasilia formosa) or India (Sailor of Hearts, The Well), spend an evening in Africa (the several features that were part of the Where is Africa series) and end the night in Thailand (Mundane History) or the Philippines (two short features by Pepe Diokno & Lav Diaz). Or one could have confined themselves entirely to Europe and taken in the new Pedro Costa or Bruno Dumont along the way. Also, all the three Tiger Award Winners, Agua fría de mar, Alamar & Mundane History, were available for viewing on the final day along with the audience favourite winner, Yo, también (Spain). 10 days of such a wide array of films is enough to satisfy any cinephile's appetite.

Over the years, Rotterdam has become a great source for discovering fascinating foreign film titles, especially Asian ones, and is not shy to show longer works, such as Wang Bing’s documentaries The Journey of Crude Oil (a running time of 14 hours), West of the Tracks (9 hours) or Lav Diaz's Death in the Land of Encantos (9 hours) and Melancholia (7.5 hours). At Rotterdam, one can find artistic films easily rubbing shoulders with some commercial offerings and since the festival is not concerned with only showing premieres, one can catch some great titles which graced the festival circuit the previous year while trying to discover new gems. And there are plenty of gems to discover. Since 2007, a few of those gems from Rotterdam have ended up at CIFF, first thanks to Angela Kempf and last year thanks to Trevor Smith, both of whom made a journey to the famous port city. Three of the best films that featured at CIFF 2009, Be Calm and Count to Seven (Iran), Breathless (South Korea) and Wrong Rosary (Turkey), were all Tiger Award winners at Rotterdam. While the Cannes Film Festival in May gets the most attention with regards to new foreign film titles, in reality, the foreign film calendar is kicked off as early as January when Rotterdam announces its lineup.

---

Note: originally published on CIFF's website

CIFF 2009 Diary, Day 9 & 10

Day 9: Saturday, Oct 3

Oct 3 was all about achieving a personal record of seeing 7 films in a single day. Originally, I had planned on seeing atleast 5-6 films but when an additional screening was added at 10:45 am, the path was clear for me to hit the elusive seven.

Cyborg, She (2008, Japan, Jae-young Kwak)
Time: 10:45 am at The Plaza

The originally scheduled screening for Wednesday night was sold out but the print never arrived on time. So a special screening was added on Saturday morning. But as it turned out, the film-makers still screwed up and sent a print without English subtitles.

Watching this film without subtitles is not that bad as there are quite a few stretches without dialogue (one such sequence was atleast 10 minutes long). But I was quite disappointed by this film because it looks like a recycled version of Jae-young Kwak's earlier film My Sassy Girl with a sci-fi angle tacked on. While My Sassy Girl was fresh and funny, the humour in Cyborg, She is stale and predictable.

I Killed My Mother (2009, Canada, Xavier Dolan)
Time: 12:45 pm at the Globe, downstairs screen.

This film blew me away and was easily the single best film of the festival I had seen. Normally, only a few films inspire such strong reactions in me and I was certainly not expecting to be jolted this early in the day.

Dolan's film is raw, funny, emotional and brutally honest. It properly depicts the teenage vs adult struggle that exists in a majority of households in probably every country in the world. Normally, there is a mutual loving bond between parents and children early on in the child's life. But when the hormones start gushing through the children’s blood stream in the early teens, those same loving parents become the children’s enemy and the relationship between the two sides starts to degenerate. In some cases, the relationship starts to mend once the teen has grown up into an adult. For some people, this happens around the mid 20's, for others much later. But Dolan seems to have acquired this understanding a lot early on as he directed the film when he was 19 (and wrote it when he was 17).

The dialogues are sharp and pointed. In one case, the mother remembers the time when her son used to tell her everything and they were friends. To which the son replies "I was 4 and I had no choice". Ouch. Words can hurt, especially if they are always spoken with venom and sarcasm. The mother is unable to cope and the son wants away. Their arguments and fights may be about personality traits and specific issues but they echo the universal teenage angst and sense of rebellion. There have been many films in the past which covered similar topics but most works usually turn into one-sided rants from a teenager's perspective. On the other hand, I Killed My Mother perfectly depicts the struggle that exists on both sides -- it is not easy for parents to raise their kids while it is equally difficult for kids trying to assert their self, despite depending on their parents. We are also introduced to another parental example in the film which shows how a parent tries to be their child's friend. Yet, even that parent gets disrespect no matter how hard she tries. Damned if you let the kids have their way and damned if you stand in their way.

Plenty to take away from this film. Quite simply, a sensational debut.

Gigantic (2008, USA, Matt Aselton)
Time: 3 pm at Eau Claire, Screen #2

Sometimes the indie American films follow a prescribed formula especially by ensuring their stories contain quirky off beat characters who are supposed to generate humour for their unique behavior. Sure there are some tender moments of genuine humour here but for the most part, I didn't react with much enthusiasm. Still, it was a nice relaxing film to watch after I Killed My Mother.

Cooking History (2008, co-production, Peter Kerekes)
Time: 4:30 pm at Eau Claire, Screen #5

This insightful documentary highlights the rarely depicted topic of military cooks who fed the soldiers. Peter Kerekes does an excellent job of ensuring the documentary is vibrant and always interesting by getting the surviving characters to either cook or re-enact the tension of their war time drama. And as an added bonus, Peter Kerekes also provides humour in the form of recipes, in case someone wants to serve their nation by poisoning an entire enemy army. And each recipe appropriately ends with the common ingredient of "a pinch of salt". The final segment which features a cook standing in the ocean is precious, especially his preparation of imaginary dishes for an imaginary sea crew.

note: I missed the first 8 minutes of this film as Gigantic was a 98 minute long feature.

Breathless (2009, South Korea, Yang Ik-June)
Time: 6:30 pm at the Globe, downstairs

For the second time in the day, I was absolutely shook up by a film. But it took a while to appreciate what the director had in mind because the first 20 minutes appear to be routine stuff straight out of most Korean/Japanese gangster films -- punching, swearing and some slapping. The person dishing out all these is Sang-Hoon (played by the director himself), one of the nastiest on screen personas seen in recent years. The violence is put in context via a flashback when we observe a tragic episode in Sang-Hoon’s childhood where his mother and sister were accidentally killed in an episode of domestic violence. Sang-Hoon never forgave his father and after his father is released from prison, Sang-Hoon visits and beats him up frequently. Sang-Hoon’s kicks at his father usually occur at the end of night when a drunk Sang-Hoon ponders over his past. The father quietly accepts the beatings.

Sang-Hoon is a loner with no friends but one day he comes across a fiery teenage girl, Yeon-Hue, who refuses to take his abuse and fires back. The two form an unusual friendship and take comfort in each other’s presence, even though the two swear and put each other down. It turns out that another example of domestic abuse is taking shape in Yeon-Hue’s house, where her teenage brother is just starting to assert his “manliness” by taking his anger out on his sister. The abuse that Yeon-Hue suffers is two fold because her father is mentally disturbed (triggered most likely after his wife and Yeon-Hue’s mother’s death) and hurls profanity at his daughter frequently.

A few years ago, I had seen an Israeli documentary where someone asks an Israeli woman how her fellow countrymen could treat the Palestinians so badly considering the suffering Jews underwent. The Israeli woman replied that if a young boy saw his father slapping his mother, would the young boy be a peaceful person when he grew up? Her reply was negative and she said most likely the young boy would grow up into a man who would in turn slap his own wife. Her words came to my mind while watching Breathless because the film shows that kids who witness violence in their youth will grow up and re-enact those same episodes onto others. While the film may not be the most pleasant to watch, it takes a brave stand in drawing a direct line from domestic abuse to gangster violence. There are some examples of youth joining the gang due to unemployment but the film emphasizes the cycle of violence aspect quite clearly.

There are many movies out there which have graphic scenes of violence and horror and the directors of such graphic films defend their works by emphasizing their movies are anti-violence and the violent scenes are meant to prove a point. But in most cases, these movies end up glorifying violence because the consequences of violence is never fully explored. On the other hand, Breathless clearly depicts the danger of a violent life, whether that life is in a household or in a gang. There is a consequence to every violent action and Yang Ik-June’s film is the only one I can think of that has a purpose for every scene of violence and abuse. This film should be shown to every teenage and adult male. And if after seeing this film, those males would still opt for a violent life, then there is no hope not only for those people but humanity in general.

And to think that Ddongpari (Breathless) is just a debut feature by Yang Ik-June! Wow. Easily one of the year’s best and relevant films!

Seven Minutes in Heaven (2008, Israel, Omri Givon)
Time: 9:30 pm at the Globe, downstairs

There is a good story idea in this Israeli film but while the idea may have worked perfectly for a 20 minute short film, it is painfully worn out in a full length feature. The needless repetition and spoon-feeding do nothing for the story but merely pad the time, and when the interesting twist on the story is revealed near the end, it is too late.

Daybreakers (2009, Australia, the Spierig brothers)
Time: 11:30 pm at the Plaza

For the seventh film, I was back at the location where I started my day, almost 12.5 hours earlier at 10:45 am. I got to the Plaza at 11:15 pm and the long line up had me worried. There were two lines, one for the advanced ticket and pass holders, and the other for rush tickets. Only a certain amount of pass holders are let in and when that quota is reached, the pass holders have to join the back of the rush ticket line. Since I was a pass holder who was at the end of the advanced ticket line (only 5 people were behind me and they all had tickets), I was certain I would not make it. But amazingly, I just made it.

As for the film itself, after an impressive start and good setup, it was a huge letdown to see the film settle into a comfortable Hollywood template, complete with loud music, some explosions and even a car chase. The film does redeem itself with a good ending. There are lots of neat elements in the film not covered by other vampire movies, especially the “Daytime Driving” aspect, which could also serve as the film’s alternate title. I thought the film had a great idea in combining a vampire tale with a sci-fi & political angle and there are many aspects which add something new to the vampire genre. So it was especially frustrating to see the film contain a very dull and average middle segment.

---

After 7 films in a day, sleep. Precious sleep. zzzzzzzzzzz

---

Day 10: Sunday, Oct 4

The Prophet (2009, France, Jacques Audiard)

I had first heard of Jacques Audiard about 4 years ago when I was in London. His film The Beat that My Heart Skipped earned rare reviews, especially from Peter Bradshaw. So I decided to check the film out during its opening weekend in London and was left in awe of both the film and Roman Duris’ performance. Duris was already a favourite of mine, especially from his performance in the pulsating Exils, but he was mesmerizing in Audiard’s well crafted film. I made a point to see the next film that Audiard would direct.

Fast forward to 2009 and when Audiard’s Un Prophet hit Cannes, I lay in eager anticipation. My excitement only grew over the coming months and hit a high point when I was in Paris where almost every cinema seemed to be showing the film. I waited for its CIFF debut and quickly snapped up my ticket. And it was a good thing I had an advanced ticket because the film was sold out on its 7 pm show on the festival’s final day.

The Prophet dives into the heart of the gangster world, right from the prison cells to the controlling ports and cities. The prison’s hierarchy and daily routines are outlined with a fine observant eye, which at times recalls the work of Jacques Becker in his brilliant film Le Trou. We observe a criminal (Malik El Djebena played by Tahar Rahim) elevate himself through the ranks by his quick intelligence, observant and diplomatic skills. There are plenty of neat references (religious are the common ones) tucked away in this film which will ensure a second viewing will also provide a pleasurable experience. Overall, quite an amazing film.

note: In the second half of the film, I found Tahar Rahim to resemble a bit like Robert Pires. Since at one point in my life I considered Pires to be a footballing God, I found the presence of his look like in a film called The Prophet to be appropriate.

CIFF 2009 Diary, Days 6-8

Day 6: Wednesday, Sept 30

The 10 film Maverick competition kicked off on September 30 with 4 screenings, followed by a further 4 on Thursday and the final two on Friday night.

Schedule for the 10 Maverick films:

Wednesday -- Juntos, Everyone Else, Unmade Beds and Karaoke.
Thursday -- Be Good, Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench, Wrong Rosary and Fish Eyes.
Friday -- My Suicide and Be Calm and Count to Seven.

I had seen four stellar films prior to the festival (Be Calm and Count to Seven, Everyone Else, Fish Eyes and Karaoke) and I was looking forward to seeing a few more.

Juntos (2009, Canada/Mexico, Nicolás Pereda)

Before the screening, Nicolás Pereda mentioned that he felt strange talking about Juntos as a movie because originally it was intended to be an art gallery project. He then asked the audience to watch the film with an open mind.

It is easy to see why this work could have been an art gallery project. One can imagine seeing the footage beamed on walls as audiences walk by a particular moment and then return later on to see what the three characters are up to. The film contains long static takes and gives a glimpse into the relationship between three people living in an apartment -- Gabino, his girlfriend Luisa and his friend Paco. Gabino finds himself in the middle of this awkward dynamic as Luisa's dislike at Paco's presence means that Gabino's relationship with Luisa is put under stress. The stress is conveyed early on and reaches breaking point in a stellar 10 minute long dialogue less scene with Gabino and Luisa sitting quietly at the kitchen table. With each passing second in this scene, one can feel the tension rise between the two and had Gabino dared to speak a word, then the relationship would surely have been over then and there.

The title Juntos refers to Gabino's dog that goes missing at the film's start. The dog's disappearance also signals the degradation of the relationship Gabino has with Luisa and Paco, although Gabino's easy going manner with Paco suggests that he will eventually forgive any of Paco's mistakes (a beautiful dialogue exchange between the two when Gabino is working on the sink pipes is another strong highlight of the film). There is also a scene that will inspire walkouts or discontent from the audience. In this particular scene, the camera does not shy away from watching Gabino take a bath in the nude. The scene starts off with Gabino's member slightly covered but slowly, everything is out in the open. This long sequence, which features Gabino lathering himself with soap, brought laughter from some of the women in the crowd and caused one man to loudly blame another woman for bringing him to see this movie. The man walked out a few minutes after the scene was over. But the scene does bring up the question that if it was a woman shown bathing instead of a man, would there have been any walkouts or even any laughter?

There are also some precious moments of humour derived from watching the characters and their crumbling household appliances. The film certainly requires an investment from the audience and does reward those who are patient enough.

note: Robert Koehler's review is worth reading.

Karaoke

After Juntos I headed down to the Plaza to meet up with Chris Chong Chan Fui and introduce his film. As it turned out, Karaoke proved to a frustrating challenge for quite a few of the audience members, including some good friends.

Day 7: Thursday, Oct 1

Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009, USA, Damien Chazelle)

This black and white free flowing jazzy film is a breath of fresh air and has shades of John Cassavetes. The story is simple enough -- Boy Meets Girl, Boy dumps Girl, Boy meets another Girl and eventually Boy realizes he made a mistake. But the film has such a beautiful free style to it, like a jazz piece, that one can forget about the story and enjoy the images that are musically conveyed on the screen. There are also a few musical numbers, especially the cute restaurant tap dance sequence, that are integrated nicely in the film's framework.

Note: originally I had intended on seeing Be Good but then I changed my mind because I figured that I might have better chance of catching Be Good on DVD than Damien Chazelle's film. As good as Guy and Madeline.. is, I do wonder what future the film might have outside of the film festival circuit.

Wrong Rosary (2009, Turkey, Mahmut Fazil Coskun)

There is a famous Indian song from the film Padosan: "Mere samne wali khidki mein ek chand ka tukda rahta hai..". which roughly translates to "a beautiful girl lives next door" (I think an exact translation for this song would lessen the impact). The words for that song perfectly describe the story in Wrong Rosary as Musa, a muezzin, is smitten by his neighbour Clara. While the two belong to different religions, it is not religion that forms a barrier in their relationship but instead Musa's shyness gets in the way. Gradually, as he takes takes baby steps to edge towards Clara, we see his confidence grow. And just when things look like heading towards a happy sunset over the Bosphorus, a heart breaking conflict is thrown in the mix, ensuring some tears will take place.

Overall, Wrong Rosary is a wonderful crowd pleasing film. At times, the two characters of Musa and Clara look straight out of a Chaplin movie as both are outcasts in the beautiful city of Istanbul.

Note: Wrong Rosary continues the trend of fine Turkish films I have seen this year. And like most of those Turkish films, Wrong Rosary is expertly shot and allows one to completely soak in the atmosphere. The previous Turkish films that I saw this year will be outlined in a “Spotlight on Turkey” post shortly.

Day 8: Friday, Oct 2

Zero films seen!!

Despite my best intention of seeing a film on friday, a bizarre sequence of events (rain + car troubles) ensured that I once again failed to see a film on each of the 10 festival days.

Still, the rest was welcome as I was able to take in a record 7 films on saturday.

CIFF 2009 Diary, Days 2-5

Day 2: Saturday, Sept 26

Tetro (2009, USA, Francis Ford Coppola)

Family again. But this time the family does not deal with the mafia but instead with the arts -- music, theatre, opera, ballet and literature. A tale of 2 brothers forms the core but there is also a second rivalry of 2 brothers (the two brother’s father vs their uncle) around the nucleus. Women, the love interests, left standing by.

The Black and White gives La Boca a beautiful sensual feel. It starts with a blinding light and ends with a similar light. Flicker, flicker, off.

Houston, We have a problem (2008, USA, Nicole Torre)

Oil. Wars and boardroom deals. Politics and foreign policies, all about oil. The black gold has driven humanity forward and it may prove to be their downfall.

Good to see the ideas that one reads about in books and papers given coverage on film. It is essential that people watch this film but what good will come out of it? The film covers the emergence of alternative forms of energy in the latter half and that is where hope lies for humanity. Hopefully, the politicians get that message as well. Otherwise, the clock is ticking and more wars may await.

The White Ribbon (2009, co-production, Michael Haneke)

In The White Ribbon Haneke displays the same keen observation towards society and culture that was evident in Cache, although the methodology between the two films differs in terms of images vs words. In the absorbing Cache, it was solely the images that gave clues to the character’s true feelings and the audiences were required to derive their own conclusions. But in The White Ribbon, the character’s words clearly spell out the hatred and feelings of disgust. On some occasions, the images do convey the hatred & fear but words are the real weapon here.

The White Ribbon does take a while to catch fire though. The first hour appears to be devoid of much drama as we get a dry glimpse into the character’s daily lives and activities. But after the first signs of the horror and hatred in the village are revealed, then the purpose of those earlier scenes which depicted the mundane activities is made clear. After that point, the film is a riveting pulsating catalogue of the hatred and evil that would be unleashed beyond the borders of a single village and across the European landscape.

The use of a narrator to carry us through the small town tale in The White Ribbon feels a bit like Lars von Trier from Dogville and Manderlay. In fact, Dogville and The White Ribbon have quite a bit in common as both films use the story of a few selected characters to stand in for a nation -- in both cases, the directors are trying to depict their understanding of the psyche of a larger group of people by focussing on a selected few characters. While von Trier set his film on a stage set thereby eliminating any feelings for the character’s environment, Haneke uses a real environment to depict the character’s daily routines thereby making his film feel like a living breathing case study.

Day 3: Sunday, Sept 27

Crackie (2009, Canada, Sherry White)

Ah Newfoundland. Beautiful landscape but devoid of jobs. Not a stereotype but a reality as documented by the large number of people that leave the place to head west to look for jobs, especially in Alberta. Sherry White’s film also picks up on this aspect as the young Mitsy is abandoned by her mother who heads to Alberta to etch out a better living. Crackie is an engaging coming of age tale garnished with a mix of humour and drama. The humour is provided by Mary Walsh who plays the strong outspoken grandmother who looks after Mitsy.

Revache (2008, Austria, Goetz Spielmann)

I had been looking forward towards this movie since it made the cut for Cannes back in 2008. And I was not disappointed as this beautiful bank heist + moral tale certainly delivers. Also like in Spielmann’s previous film Antares, steamy sex is thrown in for good measure. Having now seen two movies each by the Austrian film-makers Goetz Spielmann and Ulrich Seidl, there are overlapping similarities in both film-makers style, especially considering both film-makers start their recent films in sex centers before expanding to a larger canvas.

Police, Adjective (2009, Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu)

Serious conversations between characters regarding the meaning of words and grammar forms a rich cinematic experience. Things are presented in a simple easy to absorb manner with long takes mixed with precious moments of humour. The film builds up on Corneliu Porumboiu’s previous film 12:08 East of Bucharest and also has a nod towards The Death of Mr. Lazarescu as it depicts another example of the bureaucratic circle of paperwork hell.

Day 4: Monday, Sept 28

The Happiest Girl in the World (2009, Romania co-production, Radu Jude)

Winning a free car was supposed to usher in new freedom for Delia Fratila. All she had to do was act in a 35 second car commercial and drive away with her new car. But things don’t turn out to be that simple. Her parents want to exchange the car for money to finance a better future and the commercial shoot turns out to be an artistic and physical challenge. Funny and engaging. Another vintage film from Romania.

Day 5: Tuesday, Sept 29

The Last Lullaby (2008, USA, Jeffrey Goodman)

This was a real discovered gem of the festival. Originally there was only a single screening of this film (Sunday 7:15 pm) which I had intended on seeing but unfortunately missed. Scott, a true film buff, raved about this film later on and I wondered when I would get to see it. But thankfully a second screening was added on Tuesday and true to Scott’s words, The Last Lullaby is indeed a treat.

Price (Tom Sizemore), a retired assassin for hire, rescues a girl from a bunch of kidnappers and demands a ransom from the father for his opportunistic rescue effort. Price disappears after he collects the money but things get interesting when the girl’s father tracks him down and offers a hit job with a lot of money. On paper, it looks to be easy money. But in the tradition of film noir, it turns out to be anything but. Stylistically shot and nicely acted (Sasha Alexander looks immensely charming), The Last Lullaby is easily superior to a majority of what Hollywood has to offer. So you can be sure that this film won’t play in a multiplex any time soon, but it is one that has to be seen.

St. Nick (2009, USA, David Lowery)

The last few years have seen a richer and different America depicted on screen thanks to film-makers such as Ramin Bahrani’s (Man Push Cart & Chop Shop) and Kelly Reichardt (Wendy and Lucy). Now, David Lowery’s name can be included in that list as his St. Nick is a beautiful addition to the new American cinema that is emerging despite the dominating presence of the mostly suffocating one-dimensional Hollywood cinema on the North American screens.

While the main story of St. Nick is about two young run away kids, the film also highlights the current America where empty abandoned houses reflect the tough economic times. At the film’s start, the young boy examines one such abandoned house and gets about making it habitable both for himself and his younger sister. While it is engaging to watch such a young boy go about fixing the house, it is also heart breaking to see these two kids skip past childhood and head straight into the struggles of adulthood. Since the two have no money, they have to resort to stealing to feed themselves. In this aspect, the film is related to Wendy and Lucy as both films examine the young character’s struggle to make ends meet while on the road.

St. Nick is also another shining example of a film that does not need to drown the screen with dialogue and instead lets the powerful visual language of the camera convey its thoughtful story.

CIFF 2009, wrap-up

The 10th edition of CIFF ended up being the best programmed year in the festival’s history. I managed to catch 22 films over 9 days as I missed one day of film viewing. In fact, it has been a few years since I have managed to watch a film on each of the 10 days. My overall total number was less than I had hoped for but in the end, even getting to this total took a lot of effort. But I managed to do something that I have longed for a long time now -- watching 7 films in one day. A few years ago some festival programmers mentioned how they watched 7 films in a single day at TIFF. For me getting to that number appeared to be impossible as the maximum number of films that anyone could watch at CIFF and VIFF was 6 (I managed 6 at VIFF in 2007). This year, when the print of Cyborg She didn’t arrive on time for the wednesday night (Sept 30) screening, CIFF added a screening for that film at 10:45 am on saturday. I was already planning on watching 6 films that saturday and this additional screening gave me the perfect chance to hit 7. In the end, it was close as the 7th film was sold out and I just managed to snag one of the last few spots in the theater.

Best Films -- Canada, South Korea, Romania and France

Romania had a very strong showing at the festival with three excellent films. Police, Adjective is simply outstanding. Corneliu Porumboiu brings the same style of humour that he used in 12:08 East of Bucharest. In both films, the funniest moments arise while watching characters engaged in serious discussion; what is serious chatter for the characters is rich comedy for the audience. The Happiest Girl in the World is another interesting dry humour product from Romania. The entire film is essentially about a 35 second commercial but there is plenty of drama around filming that commercial such as the lead girl’s tussle with her parents, the production crew’s silliness, producer interference and the director’s struggle to maintain his view. Katalin Varga rounded out the trio of Romania’s strong candidates.

The Prophet is engaging and a delight to watch. The Korean film Breathless is easily one of the best films I have seen this year. The film manages to draw a direct line from domestic abuse to gangster violence. It is not an easy film to watch but it is also powerful, raw and just damn brilliant.

But...the best film of the festival for me was the Quebecois film I Killed my Mother. It is hard to believe that the director, Xavier Dolan, wrote this film when he was 17 and directed this at the age of 19. The topic of a teenager’s tussle with their mother is universal but Dolan shows plenty of maturity and intelligence in this outstanding debut feature.

22 precious films

All the films deserve a proper write-up but I am taking the easy way out and lining up the films in order of preference. The ratings are somewhat fluid as most films are quite good.

I Killed My Mother (2009, Canada, Xavier Dolan): 10/10
Breathless (2009, South Korea, Yang Ik-June): 10/10
Police, Adjective (2009, Romania, Corneliu Porumboiu): 10/10
The Prophet (2009, France, Jacques Audiard): 10/10
Katalin Varga (2009, Romania co-production, Peter Strickland): 9/10
Revache (2008, Austria, Goetz Spielmann): 9/10
The Happiest Girl in the World (2009, Romania co-production, Radu Jude): 9/10
Wrong Rosary (2009, Turkey, Mahmut Fazil Coskun): 9/10
Cooking History (2008, co-production, Peter Kerekes): 8.5/10
The White Ribbon (2009, co-production, Michael Haneke): 8.5/10
The Last Lullaby (2008, USA, Jeffrey Goodman): 8.5/10
Tetro (2009, USA, Francis Ford Coppola): 8/10
St. Nick (2009, USA, David Lowery): 8/10
White Night Wedding (2009, Iceland, Baltasar Kormákur): 7.5/10
Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009, USA, Damien Chazelle): 7.5/10
Houston, We have a problem (2008, USA, Nicole Torre): 7.5/10
Crackie (2009, Canada, Sherry White): 7.5/10
Juntos (2009, Canada/Mexico, Nicolás Pereda): 7/10
Gigantic (2008, USA, Matt Aselton): 7/10
Daybreakers (2009, Australia, the Spierig brothers): 7/10
Cyborg, She (2008, Japan, Jae-young Kwak): 6/10
Seven Minutes in Heaven (2008, Israel, Omri Givon): 5/10

Festival Diary/Notes

Opening Day

Days 2-5

Days 6-8

Days 9-10

Venues

CIFF 2009, Venues

The festival is over and my slow return to normality can begin. Unlike previous years, I was unable to maintain a daily log of films that I saw but I still plan to do a recap soon. In the meantime, I wanted to talk about the venues, something I have not done before.












When CIFF first started 10 years ago, it was based around the city's three art-house theaters -- Globe Cinema, The Plaza & The Uptown. In the last few years, CIFF expanded to include more locations (at one point as many as 6 venues including Eau Claire Cineplex cinemas) but this year it was back to basics and only three locations -- the Uptown dropped out leaving Eau Claire to take its place.

1) Eau Claire Cinemas -- Previously, CIFF only used a solitary screen (the IMAX). This year the festival used two regular screens and that was quite convenient as both halls were almost across from each other. The Cineplex at Eau Claire is not your average multiplex. Each week, one can find an independent/foreign film playing alongside the newest Hollywood flick. If most multiplexes around the country were programmed like the Eau Claire, I would have fewer complaints.


















2) The Globe -- The two cinemas at this venue have been showing great indie/foreign films for years. And the manager, Dan Silver, is quite supportive of local film festivals as he was very helpful when we booked the theater for our Pan-Asian film festival a few years ago.
















3) The Plaza -- The best programmed cinema in the city and probably one of the top cinemas in this country!! On each night, one can find multiple movies playing in the single hall. And those movies range the entire cinematic spectrum -- old silent & foreign classics, new indie/world cinema, hollywood, midnight/cult and genre films. The Calgary Cinematheque uses the Plaza as its regular spot and virtually every film festival in the city shows all their movies here. One can even find the odd Ethiopian or Tamil movie playing here. And until a few years ago, the Plaza used to regularly show Bollywood movies. In fact, the first movie that I saw in the Plaza was a Bollywood film almost 12 years ago. And I also saw my first ever foreign film (the Japanese film Shall we Dance) at this same theater.













And the Plaza's location is great too. The Plaza is surrounded by a wine bar and a bookshop on either end. Plus there are plenty of good restaurants, cafes and pubs within walking distance. So there is enough opportunity to be properly nourished in between movies.

CIFF 2009: Kick-off

Day One, Friday Sept 25

There are plenty of titles that hover in the big world of film festivals. But it often seems that only a few films are ever talked about. What about the rest? Why is no one talking about them? Is anyone talking about Katalin Varga? I have not heard any noise about this film, so let me start the sound waves rolling.

Katalin Varga, the Film: Devastating cinema. Simple but extraordinary.
Katalin Varga, the Character: Hilda Péter puts in a mesmerizing and incredible performance. I could have watched her character all day long.

The film does not waste any time. Within a few minutes, Katalin’s husband kicks her out of her home along with her son. She has nowhere to go. A journey begins. But the music points to a dark past and even a darker future. Yes, there is some darkness, for this is a revenge tale. But it is unlike any other revenge movie. In fact, it carves out its own rules for vengeance. That means no dramatic dialogues but instead we are treated to beautiful images and haunting music, music which conveys the hovering tension in the air.

After such a beautiful and powerful film, something light was required. And the fun Icelandic feature White Night Wedding more than provided for that. There are plenty of laughs in White Night Wedding which feature unique and interesting characters/scenarios. The film also balances its funny side with some dramatic scenes of a strained relationship and question of death.

Overall, an excellent start for the opening day.

Ratings:

Katalin Varga (2009, Romania/Hungary/UK, Peter Strickland): 9/10










White Night Wedding (2009, Iceland, Baltasar Kormákur): 7.5/10

Venice & the film festival experience

The 2 day stay in Venice and attending the film festival became a microcosm of life in general, a life which consists of many events working beautifully together to lead towards an end goal. Or put simply, it confirmed that everything happens for a reason. Well almost everything.


Once Upon a time in Canada...a vacation was planned

It was simply really. A family vacation in Paris and Italy. Having been to Paris and Italy previously, I figured dropping Venice out of the Italian leg of the journey was an easy decision. Pigeons, tourists and canals. That was all Venice was, right? But my father politely queried about going to Venice. I could not turn him down, so I decided ok, Venice was in. After the flights were booked, I learned that we were going to be in Venice during the film festival.

Massive screams of joy!!!!!!

After I calmed down a bit, I was still in disbelief. What was that saying about parents knowing best? :)

The next question was how many films I could squeeze in? The festival was held on the separate island of Lido, so it would not be that simple to go back and forth. I decided on the safe bet of booking tickets for one film on day one and seeing how things turned out on the second day.



Day One -- The Plan

I had a look at the schedule and figured an early evening show would be best for me. So I set my sights on the 5:15 pm show of the Brazilian film, Insolação. This is how things were supposed to turn out on Day 1:

Sunday, Sept 6, 8:20 am flight from Paris to Venice.
Arrive in Venice by 10 am.
15-30 minutes to collect luggage.
30 min to reach the island from airport by bus at terminal Piazzale Roma.
A further 30 min by vaporetto (water bus) to get to the San Toma Stop.
A 10-15 min walk to the apartment.

So it seemed reasonable to reach the apartment by 11:30-12 atleast. Then some time for lunch & wandering around Venice with the family before taking the boat to Lido around 3:30 pm. That would have gotten me to Lido by 4 pm and allowed me to wander the festival ground for a bit before taking in the 5:15 pm show.

So how did things go?

Plan, meet window

The flight was on time. Check.
Missed the 10:20 shuttle bus. In fact, the bus was leaving as we arrived on the stop. Next bus was at 10:50.
Got to the Venice bus terminal by 11:25 am.
And then the chaos started.

I could not get a hold of the person who rented the apartment out. And this is exactly what I had feared. Something about the apartment booking had always bothered me. The Art Blue bed and breakfast was located in Campo s. Stefano but the apartment we were staying was around Scuola di San Rocco, which was on the other side of the Grand Canal. Even though we had booked for a spot at the B&B, it seemed we would be staying in an apartment away from the B&B, so was my concern was if the apartment was someone’s private residence or another B&B? We were never given a fixed address but simply asked to get off at the San Toma vaporetto stop and give the owner a phone call just before we got to the stop. Someone would meet us at the stop with the key in 10 minutes. I would have liked to use the phone number as a backup and would have preferred a fixed address. Anyway, I went along with the plan and got my cell phone changed to have roaming allowed for Europe.

Since the owner was still not picking up his phone, I decided to get boat tickets. The lineup to get tickets was atleast 30 min. Sunday = busy tourist day. Duh.

We finally reached the San Toma stop around 12:30 and the owner was still not picking up his phone. Stress. 4 adults, one infant, luggage and no where to go.

So made the quick decision to leave my parents with the luggage and the three of us (my lovely wife and clearly tired daughter) would cross the canal on foot and find the B&B reception. The heat was unbearable and we were all thirsty and getting tired now. I had only gotten 2-3 hours sleep the previous night in Paris, so my body was starting to show signs of fatigue.

After getting lost once, we were helped by 2 ladies who showed us the path to the Accademia bridge, one of 4 bridges that can be used to cross the Grand Canal, and the last major bridge in order to get to St Mark’s square. More chaos when we reached the B&B. There is an Art Blue Cafe & Restaurant at the bottom of the Art Blue Bed and Breakfast but the two are separate. This fact was made clear by an arrogant, angry restaurant owner who shouted at us for the sole reason that we inquired where the entrance to the B&B was. He told us to go around the corner and hit the buzzer for apartment #3. We did that, and the call went through to the same phone number I was trying. Once again, no answer. So we had to go back to the restaurant to ask if there was any other way to contact the B&B owner. We learned that was a reception to the B&B a block away, but not before we were dished out more shouting. Ofcourse, it appeared that the entire episode was our fault. In Canada, hotels/B&B’s have clear signs showing where the reception or entrance is. But silly us. We were ofcourse not in Canada, a fact made apparent by the shouting restaurant owner. He said he would help us but that would be all. Good, that’s all we wanted. Frustrated, tired and with a baby who was clearly getting unhappy, we were not impressed. But we listened to Mr. arrogant as he thankfully pointed us the way.

The reception was indeed a block away but still over a bridge, ofcourse. We were glad to reach the reception but the girl at the front desk surprized us by saying that the apartment was not supposed to be ready until 2 pm. What? Frustration increased. She finally managed to put us through to the owner. He explained he never got my call but assured as another person would give us the key at the San Toma stop by 2 pm.

Was it my fault that the call didn’t get through? Maybe. My cell phone was automatically supposed to switch to the Italian network but maybe for some reason the call didn’t get through. But the owner had not answered when we rang the buzzer for the apartment as well. Whatever. The long walk back again began. I met the guy at the vaporetto stop and we finally checked in just after 2 pm.

The heat had me drained. Being awake since 4 am didn’t help either. But I still decided to leave just after 3 pm for my film. All I had to do was take the vaporetto from San Toma and 25 minutes later, I would be in Lido. I left my map and cell phone as I thought my family would need that more. There was only one set of keys to the apartment so I had to leave the keys and agreed on a meeting time and point (the buzzer to the apartment was not labelled either).

After a quick 10 minute walk from the apartment, I found the San Toma stop closed. Horror. The police man explained that there was a gondola competition and as a result, the Grand Canal was closed to all water taxis and buses. What!!!! The only alternative I could think of was catching a vaporetto from St. Mark’s square. The officer explained that might not be possible as all boats might be stopped there as well. But I had to try.

2 hour journey begins...

There are 4 bridges that go across the Grand Canal. Two of them didn’t matter to me as they led to the bus stop (Piazzale Roma) and the train station away from the island of Venice. The 3rd was the Rialto and that would be a bit further off from St. Mark’s square. So the only choice was to take the Academia bridge, the same one I had crossed a few hours earlier. I rushed off, thinking I had a chance.

But I wasn’t the only one stuck. When I was in Venice 10 years ago, I had taken a day long tour. The tours had dropped & picked us at St. Mark’s square. Now, as I was walking towards the Accademia, I noticed groups of tourists. By the thousands it seemed. They were getting on private boats just before the Accademia bridge. This fact seemed to indicate that maybe no boats were leaving St. Mark’s square, so all of them seemed to be headed away from St. Mark’s square.

So I walked faster. And then the Accademia bridge appeared. I wish I had taken a picture of the bridge but I didn’t want to waste any more time. The bridge was packed completely, with a seemingly endless chain of people getting off and on. There was no room to put my foot anywhere on the wooden steps so I did what everyone else was and pushed for a spot. Someone pushed me from behind and I in turn fell forward and pushed the person ahead. The young Italian ahead of me didn’t like getting pushed but I told him that the same had happened to me. He took off his ipod headphones and started shouting. He didn’t understand any English it seemed. Whatever. The young Italian raced ahead. After I reached the Art Blue B&B, I had to navigate blindly without a map. I did the natural thing and followed the crowd. The lanes got even narrower and the crowds appeared to increase even more. Those Venetian streets were more crowded than anything I had experienced previously and that includes the crowded streets of New Delhi or Bombay. Once again, I wish I had taken pictures but I was on a mission. Along the way, I saw tourists trying to carry their suitcases across the bridges while throngs of people pushed them aside. I felt sorry for those tourists having gone through a similar luggage dragging episode a few hours ago.

A short while later, I caught up with the young Italian guy. This time around, I moved ahead of him. But our game of running into each other continued until we finally reached St Mark’s square around 4:10 pm. The entire square is a sight to behold but having seen the place 10 years ago and being pressed for time, I could not stop. As expected, all the boat stops were closed. I crossed bridge after bridge, with the same result. No boats (public or private) were arriving or leaving St. Mark’s square. All the ticket information offices were closed as well and the earliest boat appeared to be leaving past 7 pm. But I kept walking.

The heat was getting unbearable. All around me people were cooling off with gelato or icy drinks. But I could not think of stopping. Thankfully I spotted one woman still working on shift at a ticket office. The woman informed me that the only way to get to Lido was taking the boats from St. Helena, a stop 20 minutes from our current location. So a dozen (or 100) bridges later, I was on the edge of the island, where the first sight of grass appeared.

And this is where I met Pedro....

The journey still continues...

I saw a man carrying a Venice film festival bag, so I naturally assumed he was going to Lido as well. I approached him and he confirmed my belief. A few queries back and forth and it turned out we were both going to the same movie. Pedro asked how I was interested in Brazilian film and I likewise asked the same. It turned out Pedro Freire was a Brazilian film-maker whose newest short film O Teu Sorriso was playing in competition. Pedro also had a map and he figured we were another 15 min away from St. Helena. He thought our best bet would be to catch the #20 vaporetto at 4:45 pm otherwise, we would have no hope. It was around 4:37 pm when Pedro mentioned that we were nearing St. Helena and we saw a boat appear at the stop. Was this the #20? As soon as Pedro said “I think we have to run”, he was off. I ran on the grass unlike Pedro who bravely ran on the edge of the pathway overlooking the water (no railing, one slip and a person would be in the water). But no, it was not the #20.

4:45 pm. Still no sign of the #20. Just then, a ship cruiser tried to dock at the stop. But the captain could not align the boat with the landing and quite a few tourists waited to board their cruise vessel. By now, we could see the #20 waiting but it could not arrive until this cruise boat had left. 5 painfully long minutes went by before the cruise boat gave up and headed off allowing the #20 to dock. Joy, joy. Only 4 of us got on the boat with the rest waiting for their cruise boat. The #20 driver said we would be Lido in 10 minutes.

Venezia Film Festival, I am here

The driver’s 10 minutes were in fact 16-17 minutes but we made it to the movie village around 5:10 pm. Once again, I kept the camera in the bag. A quick dash from the boat stop as Pedro guided me to Sala Darsena via 2-3 checkpoints of well suited (ofcourse) Italian festival staff. All around, people had their film festival passes around their necks but my electronic ticket was enough.

5:13 pm. Pedro pointed out that the directors of Insolação were getting their pictures taken on the red carpet, so we had just made it. As soon as we entered the cinema hall, the directors/producers and cast of the film entered. Everyone stood up and applauded as the light shone brightly on the film personnel. As the film personnel sat down right in the middle of the theater, a voice introduced each person (actors, producers and directors in the end), applause followed. And then, lights out.

This is not that Brazilian film

Running into Pedro was the perfect tonic for my tired mind. It was fun chatting about Brazilian cinema with someone who was aware of all the titles I had seen. And when Pedro mentioned about Marcelo Gomes and Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures, I almost gasped in delight as that was one of my favorite films of 2005. I had finally found someone who had seen this movie. It turned out that Marcelo Gomes’s newest film (which he co-directed with Karim Ainouz) was playing at Venice this year. During our talk, I mentioned to Pedro that I had never seen a bad Brazilian film or any film that didn’t have merit. Maybe that was because I had only seen Brazilian films sent to film festivals? Just before our boat arrived at Lido, Pedro warned me not to have high expectations from Insolação, especially if this would be the only film I saw at Venice. I told him not to worry.

Ha.

All good things must come to an end. And so it was with my run of seeing only quality Brazilian films. The first few minutes of Insolação seemed promising. A ground work was laid out and I expected the canvas to split open and the film to take on wings. The first walkout came around the 10 minute mark. I dismissed that as a bathroom break because I had never seen a walkout that early on in a film. A few minutes later, another walkout. Then a steady stream. Seats around me emptied out, giving me some extra leg room. I stretched out and began my battle to stay awake. For me, my extra long day was finally catching up. Little sleep, long walks in the hot sun, hunger and thirst. I didn’t have enough time to get some water before the film started and now that was looking like a bad idea.

The most walkouts took place around the 45 minute mark. Two people made sure they walked out right in front of the directors and film crew. My head started to drop and I found myself in a semi-dazed state. I opened my eyes hoping to find something different yet nothing had changed. The film appeared to be stuck in an endless cycle, something that was apparent early on in the film. Coming of age, love, loss. More loss. The narrator sheds tears, looks at the audiences and naturally it rains on him. No one left the movie after the hour mark. The entire experience still felt like a dream when the film ended. Applause greeted the work and the directors looked pleased, as they were smiling. For me, the film was painful viewing and I am certain my long day had nothing to do with it. Insolação didn't look and feel like any Brazilian film that I had seen before. The film's music and tone made it feel more like an American indie but the film appeared to be aware of itself at every point. Every scene appeared to be forced and had enough dramatic pause that appeared to be screaming "look at me, for I am high art". But once the layers were peeled away, there was nothing.

I briefly caught up with Pedro before I rushed out. It was close to 7 pm and I had to meet my family by 8 pm. I had time to grab a bottle of water just as a vaporetto pulled up. It was an express vaporetto which would go close to St. Mark’s square, so I got on. I would have loved to wander around the movie village and I really wanted to buy a program guide but I didn’t want to be late as I didn’t have keys to the apartment and had no phone either.

The crowds were still there as the sun set across the Venetian lagoon and a majority of them were in awe of a huge cruise liner just leaving Venice.































I reached the meeting point at 8:03 pm, almost on time. The rest of the night was lovely as we went back to St. Mark’s square for an amazing dinner and....some delicious gelato, finally.

Day 2 -- another film, but a surprize

I really wanted to watch 1-2 movies on Monday, especially the 5 pm shorts selection which featured Edmund Yeo’s newest film. Then there was a Peruvian film at 7:30 pm that I was interested in. But I decided to put family first. The plan was to visit the nearby islands of Murano and Burano and go from there.

I had been to Burano 10 years ago and it was interesting to head back and see how some things were still the same and how there were some changes.



We spent almost the entire day at both islands and it was just after 7 pm when we reached back to Venice. Our original idea was to get off at the San Toma stop but my mother wanted to stop at the Rialto bridge for a wander, so we got off there.

We had a map but I decided to head back without looking at the map as I didn’t expect us to take too long to reach the apartment. Alleys led into other alleys. I followed a simple rule. Whenever faced with two paths, I took the one which was lit more. And sometimes, I took the path where more voices or footsteps could be heard. After crossing a few bridges, we reached an open square.

There was a tower on one end and across from it, there appeared to be a large screen. Now, all those signs of "public screenings" for the Venice film festival made sense. And once we went around the corner, sure enough, there was indeed a large screen slated to show Claire Denis’ White Material at 9 pm. The French film only had Italian subtitles but the experience seemed tempting. Since we were hungry and I didn’t want to leave my family stranded, I decided against seeing the movie. But my better half insisted that I had to see the film as the experience would be worth it. I confessed that this was a movie I had wanted to see anyhow. So it was settled -- I bought the ticket and decided to rush back and leave everyone at the apartment and then find my way back.

It was 8:25 pm and it turned out that the apartment was only 15 minutes away. I had enough time to grab a calzone and coffee slush drink before I reached the square around 8:50 pm. The screen had a beautiful feel to it. Houses on all sides, a tower behind the screen and a restaurant on the other end. The square was lively and the restaurant was packed. A few kids were playing with a whistle and I expected some mischief from them during the movie.

The audience was mostly Italian with some festival pass carrying people. Copies of Variety and other film magazines were visible. I decided to take the last row, near the centre. There were just other two men in the last row, both a few chairs down on either end, one of them had a dog on his lap. Once the film started, the dog was awake and busy watching the movie. I could hear the noise of forks and plates from the restaurant behind me and halfway through the movie, when a lady opened the window of her house, the creaking noise made quite a few people look in her direction. She quickly closed the window. 30 minutes into the movie, those kids with the whistle made their presence heard. They ran to 2-3 different spots outside the curtains, blew their whistle, laughed and ran off. After an hour, when two dogs started fighting outside, the man to my right tried to ensure his dog was calm. I could hear his dog starting to breathe heavily but the man made sure his dog would not bark as he calmly petted him. But the dog did bark, about 15 minutes from the film’s end, probably out of fatigue as he (or she) wanted to go home.

Even though the film had no english subtitles, White Material was a good choice because the camera’s language was beautiful, easy to follow and allowed one to soak in the African surroundings. Plus, the open air theater made the whole experience more alive and breathable than watching something in a closed setting. The cool air and starry sky made it the best cinematic experience I have ever had. In fact, the experience was more memorable than the film itself. White Material was not bad, but given the cinematic images that have been portrayed about Africa, I didn’t find anything ground breaking about the work. A different pace and some beautiful moments were what I liked best.

And in closing...

The experiences of reaching and viewing at both venues were more memorable than the actual films itself. As I have mentioned the San Polo open air cinema experience to friends, they have mentioned Cinema Paradiso. I had not thought of that and in a way, it was like that. Quite simply beautiful.

Lots of amazing things came together for me to reach my film screening on time. If we didn’t have to cross the Accademia bridge to go to the B&B, then I might not have been so confident in leaving without a map and trying to take that route later on in the day. And then that long walk to St. Helena and running into Pedro. Ofcourse, I had to talk to Pedro first. There were two stops at St. Helena so if it were not for Pedro, I might have stood at the second stop and missed the boat altogether. The only thing that I can’t find a place for is being shouted at by the Art Blue Cafe & Restaurant owner (or manager, whatever he was). Was there a lesson to be learned there? I am sure there is although I don’t want to spend another minute trying to think about it. Out damn shouting image of arrogant owner, I erase thee.

Ciao Venice.