CUFF 2013

This past April marked the 10th anniversary of the Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF) and the festival celebrated it by having the strongest lineup in their history. The remarkable aspect about the selection was that it felt like someone read my mind in booking the films. 7 titles from my must-see list played at the festival. I had been eagerly waiting to see Berberian Sound Studio, Computer Chess, Frances Ha, Pieta, Sightseers, The Act of Killing and Upstream Color. So I was delighted CUFF booked them. Unfortunately in the end, I could only see 5 of those titles:

Berberian Sound Studio (2012, UK, Peter Strickland)
Upstream Color (2013, USA, Shane Carruth)
Pieta (2012, South Korea, Kim-ki Duk)
The Act of Killing (2012, USA, Joshua Oppenheimer)
Computer Chess(2013, USA, Andrew Bujalski)

I also missed out on Clip, Vanishing Waves, The Rambler and The Final Member, films that got really strong word of mouth buzz.

Here are some brief notes on the films, arranged in order of preference.

1) The Act of Killing

Even though the documentary is rooted in Indonesia, it is universal in depicting how men kill with the aid of media and politicians. The depiction of torture/killing could easily be set in Latin/South America/Africa while the media manipulation applies to most nations. But no individuals will ever admit their crime with such brutal honesty as those in The Act of Killing, making it a living digital document. The killers walk about the city freely, sometimes boasting about their murders. Such honesty ensures the film hits like a ton of bricks but it is one of the most essential and relevant docs ever made.

2) Computer Chess

A playful look at various computer programmer personalties, ranging from the very shy to those whose supreme confidence borders on arrogance. The black and white visuals coupled with the video footage give the film a 1980’s look and feel, at a time when computers were bulky machines that required some effort to transport from room to room. The humor is derived from the collection of eccentric personalities and as a result, the scenarios feel natural and not forced. As a bonus, the film also literally depicts HAL's birth.

3) Berberian Sound Studio

An eerie slow-burning film that smartly uses sound manipulation & cues to abstract a horror genre. As a result, one can appreciate the few elements that make a horror film nerve racking and terrifying. This aspect is reinforced by the decision to not show the film-within-film, thereby letting viewers fill in their own worst images.

4) Upstream Color

A multi-shaped puzzle that assembles the look and feel of a Lynchian nightmare with a Malickian landscape. The film manages to find a balance between sci-fi, horror and nature by rapid fire editing and a score that contrasts the mood of the images that the viewer is seeing. The film’s two editors, Shane Carruth and David Lowery, cover a lot of ground in the opening minutes. One can make 2-3 features from the opening 20 minutes of Upstream Color. After the fast paced opening, the film settles down a little, allowing viewers to get a brief footing before heading off in a different direction altogether.

Credit must be given to Andrew Sensenig whose wordless performance speaks volumes and lends the film a graceful covering. Also, Upstream Color also extends Godard's quote: "All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl" plus some pigs & worms.

5) Pieta

I believe Kim Ki-duk made this film on a bet. He must have wagered with friends that he could make a sloppy film in a few days and throw enough heavy references to fool critics into thinking the film meant something. And his ploy appears to have paid off with the top prize at Venice 2012, even though festival rules prevented The Master from getting that prize. Still, it is hard to imagine that jury, which consisted of Michael Mann, Matteo Garrone, Pablo Trapero, Marina Abramovic, Ursula Meier, Ari Folman, Peter Ho-Sun Chan, Laetitia Casta, Samantha Morton, could not have picked any other film if they could not select The Master. Maybe the jury picked Pieta to prove a point that if they could not pick the best film in the competition, they would pick the worst. But given the praise Pieta has gotten in some quarters, it does feel like maybe some in the jury gave the prize on merit.

The entire film feels like a joke on the audience. Pieta contains shocking scenes for no reason other than to get a reaction from people while the acting and editing give it a B-grade appearance. As painful as the experience proved to be, I managed to get through it. Thankfully, the many other stellar films at CUFF quickly washed away the experience of Pieta.

Festival Wrap Up

Well the festival is over. There were quite a few good movies that I saw and I even missed seeing some of the more popular festival movies. My overall pick for the favourite movie was Exiles by Tony Gatlif. But here is the summary of the final few days:

Day Seven: Thu, Sept 30

The Motocycle Diaries (directed by Walter Salles): Rating 8/10

If this movie did not have the name Che Guevera associated with it, then there would have hardly been any hype around it despite it being well acted and beautifully shot by Eric Gautier (truly deserving of his Cannes Award). The movie is NOT about Che but instead about two young men, Ernesto and Alberto, who plan a road trip through Latin America. The motorcycle trip comes with its problems and adventures, and is a life altering experience for both. There are no technical flaws with the movie, but the only thing that weighs the movie down is the hype.

Kopps (directed by Josef Fares): Rating 10/10

A hilarious movie set in a small crime free Swedish town. Since the crime rate is non-existent, the local police station is about to be shut down. Facing the prospect of losing their jobs, the Kopps decide to boost the crime rate themselves. Interesting characters all around – well acted and just plain fun.

Slim Sussie (directed by Ulf Malmros): Rating 8/10

Another movie set in a small Swedish town. A brother, Erik, returns to his hometown to find his sister, Sussie. It has been a few years since Erik left the town to head to the city and soon learns that things changed quite a bit for Sussie. Each person has a different version of what happened to Sussie and trying to piece everything together becomes a problem for Erik. The movie is jam packed with references to Hollywood movies (Usual Suspects, Clockwork Orange, etc) and contains some memorable characters. When the pace of the movie slows down, a few songs help pick up the slack.

Day 8: Friday, Oct 1

Facing Windows (directed by Ferzan Ozpetek):

I was late for this movie and since the show was sold out, I was turned away with quite a few other people.

Primer (directed by Shane Carruth): Rating 8/10

A classic festival movie -- small budget ($7000 dollars) & a great idea! Four young engineers work in a garage (outside of their regular 50 hour a week jobs) to come up with the next big thing. What the big thing is supposed to be, none of them knows; they just go with the flow. The start of the movie is impossible to comprehend as technical terms are thrown around, but it is clear it has something to do with freezing temperatures. Two of the men stumble onto something and decide to keep it from the other two. This is where the movie goes off on a different tangent (sci-fi) – the two men find a way to create their very own time machine. It is an interesting watch, even though hard to understand everything. Each person will take something different from this movie.

Day 9: Sat, Oct 2

Exiles (directed by Tony Gatlif): Rating 11/10

The best movie for me at the festival! It stood head and shoulders above everything else. That being said, the movie might be a hit or miss for others. The story is simple as can be – Zano and Naima decide to leave Paris and head to Algeria to find their roots. Their parents were from Algeria and they are keen to return to a land they have only heard about (they don’t even speak Arabic). Their journey consists of heading through Spain and finally sneaking into Algeria (the Algerian border is closed). Since this is a Tony Gatlif movie, the traditional flamenco musical sequences are present. And an additional bonus is the presence of Rai music (not truly Rai but shades of it). A movie with a simple story but brilliant direction (Gatlif rightly deserved the best director award at Cannes). At no point in the movie does anything seem fake – this is a movie made by a person who cares to make a movie, who has a story to tell, who has something to convey. This is not a movie made for money but out of love. A classic!!!!

Lost Embrace (directed by Daniel Burman): Rating 5/10

A disappointing movie! For some reason this movie bagged a couple of awards at the Berlin film festival.

Red Cockroaches (directed by Miguel Coyula): Rating 4/10


A movie made on a shoe string budget, apparently $2000 dollars. The movie is shot entirely on dv camera and was edited by Coyula on his computer. There are some neat aspects in the movie but overall it is hugely disappointing. The movie is set in the future where DNA manipulation can bring back dead people. Acid Rain causes mutations and red cockroaches are the carriers of this mutation disease. Adam immediately takes to a woman he sees in a subway station. But she disappears and all he finds is a tooth. A few scenes later, Adam discovers the woman, Lily, is his long lost sister who Adam and his mother had thought to be dead. Adam and Lily engage in sexual union and once the incest starts, the sci-fi angle is thrown out of the window.

One can say that given the small budget, this is a significant effort. But there are too many loop holes in this one. Now, with a bigger budget, something could be made from this story.

Day 10: Sun, Oct 3

Memron (directed by Nancy Hower): Rating 7/10

A mocumentary completely in the style of Christopher Guest! Memron was once the biggest company on the planet but due to some book-keeping errors (err, stealing money), the company is facing bankruptcy and are forced to lay off more than thousands of employees. The movie shows the plight of the employees and takes a jab at the CEO’s who still continue to be given VIP treatment despite being crooks.

First five Festival days can be found here.