Diamond Island is a newly developed piece of reclaimed land, separated from Phnom Penh by bridges, and the place where urban locals go for fresh air and entertainment. The construction sites of the many luxury condominiums being built also provide opportunities for work for Cambodians and this beautiful and sobering film starts with Bora leaving his rural village to find work there. Continue reading
Category Archives: MIFF
Mahana (The Patriarch) (2016)
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Lee Tamahori, who directed Once Were Warriors, brings Temuera Morrison back to the screen, this time in a family-friendly poignant tale of patriarchy, set in 1950s rural New Zealand and based on a novel by Whale Rider author, Witi Ihimaera. The warm tones, beautiful rendering of the rural life of the time and great characters make this an enjoyable and thought-provoking tale. Continue reading
Being 17 (Quand on a 17 ans) (2016)
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A MIFF lesson – if you’ve booked a film, give it a go. I thought of staying in bed this morning and missing My Life as a Courgette and this French coming of age drama. I’m so glad I didn’t. They were both wonderful, sad, poignant and heartwarming. Tales of the value of the friendships we make, the pain of making ourselves vulnerable and the way this opens us up to the love of others. Continue reading
Lily Lane (2016)
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Expectations again. This Hungarian film was described as a horror, well actually “somewhere between Terrence Malick, Andrei Tarkovsky and a horror film.” It wasn’t a horror. It was a dark tale to be sure but slow to get to its point. That would have been the Tarkovsky bit. Continue reading
Ma (2015)
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I knew this film was going to be different. The story of the Virgin Mary, without dialogue, as a choreographic piece and framed as a southern US road movie. And different it was. Writer, director, choreographer and star, Celia Rowlson-Hall attended a Q&A afterward which helped me understand this surreal, movement-based story. Though I’m still not sure why the members of the Village People were carrying motel room furniture across the desert. Continue reading
My Life as a Courgette (2016)
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What a lovely antidote to the yuckiness of The Neon Demon. My Life as a Courgette is a French stop-motion animation about a little boy, Icare but Courgette to his deadbeat mother. When she dies, he is sent to an orphanage where he must contend with Simon, the resident bully. Continue reading
Miff 2016 – days two and three
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If you’ve ever lived in a city, I’m sure you will have experienced the person walking the streets shouting his or her anger to the world. There was a man walking a few paces behind me on the way to the Forum, striding in his work boots, duffle bag across his shoulder, beanie pulled down tight against the cold, spitting out expletives and racist words. As I slowed, he kept striding past, his momentum and his anger keeping him going. It happened again in Bourke St, another man angry at the arrogance of someone’s parking, needing to tell the world. Continue reading
The Salesman (2016)
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Having expectations is always a risk. This is the drama from Iranian director Asghar Farhadi and I loved his last two features – A Separation and The Past. He builds a great story, showing us contemporary Iranian life through the eyes of engaging and totally believable characters. Continue reading
The Neon Demon (2016)
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Ah no. Don’t see this film. If you do and you find something to like about it, some hidden profundity, please let me know. Its directed by Nicolas Winding Refn who directed Drive, a film I really liked. The Neon Demon seems to be about the fashion industry and, more specifically, the obsession with female beauty. Every character is unlikeable, the men are all voyeurs or predators, the women are all narcissistic and monstrous. Continue reading
Evolution (2015)
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This is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Its colour palette, location and aesthetic are exquisite. It is also enigmatic, to the point of being unsatisfying. We see a small, austere, island community of women and boys. The women are pale eyebrowed, dressed in colours of skin and earth. The boys are prepubescent, unsmiling. They live in bare, white houses amongst black sand, rock and crashing waves. There is little dialogue and no context for this odd world. Continue reading
