Category Archives: MIFF

Tales of the Grim Sleeper (2014)

Standard

Should you blog angry? Probably not. I hated this film. When I read the synopsis, I saw that it was directed by the same guy who made Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer in 1992. In fact that screened at MIFF in 1992 and that’s probably where I saw it. I remember being fascinated with Aileen Wuornos and having arguments in the uni cafe about her with fellow students. What I had unfortunately forgotten was that I really disliked the filmmaker and his approach to documentary and his subject. It was only as the lights dimmed in the Comedy Theatre and he appeared on screen that I thought, “Shut the front door, it’s Nick Broomfield, I can’t stand Nick Broomfield.” Continue reading →

Documentary Shorts

Standard

I added a shorts package to my repertoire to broaden my horizons. Shorts packages are a bit of a lucky dip. I didn’t read up on what they were, preferring to be surprised. It was an 11am session on a Sunday and today’s a four film day so I knew it was going to be a full day. And I didn’t get time to grab a coffee beforehand. Can you see where I’m going with this? Continue reading →

Sworn Virgin (Vergine giurata) (2015)

Standard

Sworn Virgin is another of those multinational coproductions but I’m going to call it an Albanian film. The thread of the story is about gender roles in rural Albania, and although it is set equally in Italy, it is Albanian life and culture that we experience. The story is set in two time periods, we see Mark traveling from Albania to Italy and reuniting with his sister and her family after 14 years. We can tell that Mark is actually a woman and we know that Lila, his sister, knows but everyone else is oblivious. We then flash back to Lila and Mark’s teenage years in Albania and we discover the story. Continue reading →

The Ground We Won (2015)

Standard

I admit that I booked this film because it was filmed in black and white and from New Zealand. I knew it was about rugby in a rural town but that was about all. When it began I thought, “Oh Lordy, what have I done. I’m watching a film about sport.” I’m so glad I booked it. Continue reading →

Day eight – I cheated on MIFF

Standard

Okay, I’ll admit it right now, today I saw a film at a cinema and it wasn’t a MIFF film. It was an unashamedly mainstream comedy, I was with a friend, we bought glasses of wine and chips and we sailed past the queues of earnest MIFF goers at the Kino into our film. It was great. You can read my reviews of the said film, Trainwreck, and the much more worthy (though no more enjoyable) Vietnamese film Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere. Continue reading →

Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere (Dap cánh giua không trung) (2014)

Standard

This quiet Vietnamese film tells the story of Huyen, a young girl, maybe 17 years old, who is pregnant and living alone in a small apartment in Hanoi. She can’t tell her parents, her boyfriend is a bit of an idiot, and she doesn’t have the money for an abortion. She’s afraid – of the pain of labour, of dying whilst pregnant, of the pain of an abortion, of telling her parents. She drifts from day to day, knowing she must make a decision but seemingly paralyzed in her doubt and immaturity. Her boyfriend’s idea of helping her is to fight his rooster in cock fights run by thugs and so win the money they need. This doesn’t go so well and he runs out on her. Continue reading →

Day seven – things I like about Melbourne

Standard

I saw a film today that has stayed with me and I would recommend it – Being 14, a French drama about the ups and downs of being a teenager. I was disappointed by Margot Nash’s memoir The Silences and you can read my overly long rumination on horror films in my review of the US film The Witch.

I feel like I am getting to know Melbourne again. Most days I have time between films to walk the streets, explore shops and find interesting food. Melbourne has changed. There are a lot more shops – big shopping centre-like places that believe in the Gruen transfer*, overheated, over-privileged. There are a lot more restaurants and cafes, particularly asian ones – hot pot, Pho, dumplings, barbecue, sushi, tea, ramen. I like that. So here are some things I like about Melbourne:
Continue reading →

The Witch (2015)

Standard

I didn’t really like this film but I was with some people who did so it has made me ruminate on horror films and why this one didn’t work for me. I don’t mind a horror film every now and then. I prefer them to be suspenseful, to imply rather than to show, to build tension and have me hiding my head behind a pillow when it gets really scary. There still needs to be a believable story and good characters that you care about. And when the violence comes, ideally it shouldn’t make you laugh. Continue reading →

The Silences (2015)

Standard

Oh, Margot, I so wanted to like this documentary. I like Margot Nash. She’s a Melbourne filmmaker who was a bolshie anarchist feminist in the 70s and has made or written several films, such as Vacant Possession in the 90s, which I remember enjoying. Continue reading →