Tag Archives: 4 stars

Melbourne (2014)

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I think this is my favourite Iranian film of the Festival. I have seen three – Tales, Tehran Taxi and this. Tales had some good moments but Melbourne is a nicely constructed debut feature film that keeps you considerably uncomfortable throughout. Continue reading →

Don’t Tell Me the Boy Was Mad (Une histoire de fou) (2015)

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A somewhat trivial title for a film grounded in long-held sorrow. The original title, Une Histoire de Fou gives perhaps a more meaningful name – A History of Madness. This is a French film but it is about Armenia and the repercussions of the massacre of more than one million Armenians by the Ottoman government during and after the first World War. You may be like me and several French characters in the movie to say, “Where’s Armenia?”. How could I not know about this part of history? Continue reading →

Wonderful World End (2015)

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What a kooky and delightful film. I knew it would be different. The synopsis said it was about a 17-year-old Gothic-Lolita cosplaying model who twitcasts for her fans. This one is part of the Next Gen program, I’ve seen a few – Being 14, My Skinny Sister, Gayby Baby, Me Romantic Romani – not by design so much as being interested in adolescence and female identity. I have had a glimpse of life for teens in France, Sweden, Australia, Italy and now Japan. The thread that has run through just about all of them is that adolescence is hard and parents don’t listen. Continue reading →

The Club (2015)

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The lights went up at the end of this black Chilean drama and Alex said, “That’s my film of the festival, I loved it!” and I said, “That was crap. What on earth was that film about?” It just shows you, doesn’t it? No, not that Alex has bad taste in films (although it is possible…) but that our film experiences are as much about ourselves as the film. Okay. so maybe I didn’t think it was crap, but I didn’t get what it was trying to say. It was a bleak film, and although there were small moments of warmth and humanity, the topic perhaps ensures that these were overwhelmed by darkness. Continue reading →

Body (2015)

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Hmm. I quite liked this quirky Polish drama. Actually I liked it a lot up until the end. Of course I can’t tell you what happens at the end but I’m wondering if my disappointment was because a fellow MIFF-goer had recommended it, saying, “You don’t know where it’s going but it’s all brought together beautifully at the end.” The danger of having expectations. It is a nice ending but overstated, I think. For such a subtle film, it deserved better. Continue reading →

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

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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 →

Trainwreck (2015)

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Trainwreck screening at MIFF? Surely not. Doesn’t it feature that loud, gauche comedienne Amy Schumer? Isn’t it true that the hardest thing in Hollywood is to find a beautiful, funny women (so said former Disney CEO Michael Eisner)? The fun fact to learn from this, gentle readers, is that Michael Eisner, other than being a bit of an idiot, obviously doesn’t get out much. There are mainstream movies at MIFF, with well-known, funny, beautiful bankable stars, some with vaginas, and destined to be appearing at a cinema near you (well, not near me but I live in the country). I just haven’t booked many of them. Sleeping with Other People is mainstream. I saw that. Results is mainstream, it stars Guy Pearce after all, and that is the very movie that I blew off in order to go see Trainwreck with my dear friend Jo. Continue reading →

Speed Sisters (2015)

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At last a good documentary. And about women. I really enjoyed this Palestinian film. It follows five young, Palestinian women who compete in the male-dominated car racing scene. We meet Marah, Betty, Marsoon, Noor and Mona as they compete in a series of races to be the fastest women champion and also the chance to compete in Jordan. Although all five are competitive, it is Marah and Betty who are the key protagonists. They are the fastest two and winning the championship, we can see, means more than being in a team together. Continue reading →

Red Amnesia (2014)

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It’s only at the end of this slow, quiet Chinese drama that you realise the significance of the title. I won’t explain it here, it’s something worth finding out for yourself. It takes a while for this film to reveal itself. You follow an older widow, Deng, as she leads a solitary life in urban Beijing. She turns up at her sons’ houses unannounced to cook them food, much to their annoyance and the chagrin of one daughter-in-law. She visits her aged mother in a nursing home. The sense is that she is pragmatic, maybe something of a martyr. She talks to her dead husband. Sometimes we see him there too, listening in silence. There is a thread here about generations and the obligations of child to parent, so intrinsic once but now changing.  Continue reading →