

Yes, the synopsis for this debut film by Yusuke Iwasaki film in the festival program said it was a darkly comedic horror but for some reason that hadn’t really sunk in.
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Yes, the synopsis for this debut film by Yusuke Iwasaki film in the festival program said it was a darkly comedic horror but for some reason that hadn’t really sunk in.
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This is one of those gentle Kore-eda films, evoking existential thought as well as whimsy.
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I am finding two themes at this year‘s Melbourne Film Festival – people dislocated from their land and people abusing the power they have been given.
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Is this the best use of Ravel’s Bolero in a movie? You can just imagine the discordant crash of the ending.
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By the 14th or so day of a film festival after four films a day, it gets to a point where you are hoping your 9.30pm film will have a little bit of pace and drama and action to keep you awake.
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Cinema Nova is showing restored Akira Kurosawa films and there are many that I haven’t seen. This one just happened to fit into my schedule and with a 9:15 pm screening in one of the small basement cinemas, I was kept company by a ragtag assortment of film nerds.
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A ad for an anniversary screening of Wim Wenders’ Paris Texas played before the session of his latest film Perfect Days. I lived in London for a few years in my early 20s and it’s where I discovered non-mainstream films. I would go to art house cinemas, particularly one in Soho, and watch films on my own. This is where I discovered films like Paris Texas, Diva, Betty Blue, Down by Law, I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing and The Kiss of the Spiderwoman. I fell in love with cinema.
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Perhaps my emotional engagement, or struggle with it, with this film about a young girl coming to terms with her parents divorce says something about the distance I have from childhood compared to motherhood.
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