TheThe PunPundit

your free,indep endent guide to the 2006 melbo urne internatio nal fi lm festival Welcome to The Pundit 1

A New Leaf Media Publishing Editor ...... Lefa Singleton Associate Publishing Editor ...... Tim Norton Surviving MIFF3

Editorial Editor in Chief ...... Tim Norton Film Index4 Sub-Editorial Manager ...... Jane Watkins Submissions Manager ...... Paul D’Agostino Contributing Editors ...... Lefa Singleton Critiquing the Critics5 Jane Watkins Paul D’Agostino Art Director ...... Tim Norton Farewell Mr Hewison7 Photography ...... Max Milne Hybrid Rooster ...... tin&ed design Zombie Melbourne8 Sub-Editors: Patricia Bieszk, Kate Blanch, Alice Gage, Ben Gook, Rachael Howlett, Alethea Kinsela, Irene Korsten, Melissa Krafchek, Andrea MacGlashan, Laura MacIntyre, Sarah Nichols, Jana Raus, Australian Showcase9 Jonathan Rivett, Varunika Ruwanpura, Janette Sato, Vivienne Scott, Michaela Skelly, Gillian Terzis International Showcase11 Contributors: Tim Adams, Tom Arup, Patricia Bieskz, Kate Blanch, Sarah Bones, James Brown, Tamara Caddy, Paul Callaghan, Karen Cudal, Mel Campbell, Queenie Chan, Emergence: New Women Filmmakers24 Lisa Dempster, Kim Edwards, Seb Fowler, Jess Friedmann, Alice Gage, Sophie Gaston, Ben Gook, Ewan Gordon, Jade Gulliver, Joel Guye, Glen Hancox, Rebecca Harkins- Return of the Vikings25 Cross, Richie Hebden, Rachael Howlett, Richard Ibrahim, Madeleine Jenkins, Melanie Joosten, Mike Katsieris, Alethea Kinsela, Irene Korsten, Kirsten Law, Germaine Danmark Nu26 Lim, Magenta Magenta, Kathryn Martin, Carla McConnell, Sarah Miller, Greg Ng, Claire O’Boyle, Anne-Marie Peard, Rees Quilford, Jana Raus, Varunika Ruwanpura, Animation Gallery28 Janette Sato, Maggie Scott, Anna Sutton, Gillian Terzis, Emma Watts, Richard Watts, Sam Wilson, May Yong

ISSN: 1833-7848 An Interview with Jafar Panahi29

Thanks: James Hewison, Louise, Asha, Penny, the board, guests & staff of MIFF, Dave & Andy @ Crumpler, Martin Jafar Panahi: Filmmaker In Focus30 @ The Big Issue, staff @ Greater Union, RMIT Capitol Theatre, the Regent Theatre, ACMI & the Forum, Ghita Loebenstein, Peter, Anne & Brendan @ Slingshot, Axle Hitting Home32 Glass, The Is Not Crew, Jim Schembri, Adrian Martin, Pauk, Megan Spencer, Erin Free, Thomas @ Fitzroy Shorts, Simon @ Realm of the Senses, Dante’s Restaurant, Homelands Now33 Lynette @ Loop, Caffe Centro Venti, Max Milne, Anne & Rode, Judy & Lawrence, tin&ed design, Cafe CoCo, Richard Watts, Major Tom, & cinefiles everywhere. Long Way from Asia35 The opinions expressed in The Pundit are the views of the authors alone. They do not necessarily represent Regional Focus36 the views of the editors or of A New Leaf Media – its management, staff, or sponsors. The Pundit aims its material to be accurate at the time of print but this is sometimes not always possible. The Pundit, all articles, Transcience: The Asian Metropolis38 interviews and reviews are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- No Derivs 2.1 Australia Licence. Brain Monkey Sushi40

Published by A New Leaf Media The Pundit Globalised41 PO Box 1426 Fitzroy North VIC 3068 (03) 8486 2154 www.thepundit.com.au Unholy Confessions42 Editor: [email protected] Submissions: [email protected] Design: [email protected] Documentaries43 The Pundit is produced with the support of The Foundation for Young Australians, Crumpler Bags, RMIT Trespass & Trickery in LA50 Union Arts & the Melbourne City Mission Slingshot Program. We gratefully acknowledge that we would be unable to produce this magazine without their assistance. Super SK8MM + Mixed Cheese Bits51 Printed by Multi Art Printing (03) 9329 3833

A New Leaf Media wish to acknowledge that we Film On Film52 are on Indigenous ground - this land is the spiritual and sacred place of the Wurrundjeri, Bunurong, Woiwurrung and Wathurong ancestors and continues Searching for a Backbeat Pulse53 to be a place of significance for all people of the Kullin nations. Further, we thank them for sharing this land with us and agree to respect their laws and lores. Backbeat: Music On Film54 3 Surviving MIFF: MIFF is upon us once more, ready to More than just allowing writers these ensnare the better part of Melbourne in opportunities, The Pundit offer a truly the allure of dark, comforting cinemas, independent voice. Whilst you may not bad popcorn and amazing cinematic always agree with the opinions of our your guide to experiences. In this, James Hewison’s final writers, you can take their advice in year as Executive Director, we see a truly whatever form it appears. The Pundit eclectic mix of films, combining to make a is free to any good home, and what whole far greater than the sum of its parts. better home than in your cold hands as From the ever-powerful documentary you wait in line for what I hope will be making the section, to the resurgence of Danish cinema, a rewarding experience. Our magazine right through to skateboarding movies is intended to give you a snapshot of an from the 1970s; MIFF 06 is everything to incredible film festival, written by the next anyone who calls Melbourne home. generation of journalists and critics. Richard Watts, Martin Hughes and most of your But who are we to tell you such things? Penny Modra deserve a special mention. We are an independent magazine, born Their advice enabled us to make the from the ashes of a dying breed of student right decisions with this magazine. I writers. Dying because our government give unmeasurable thanks to my partner is determined to do in student unions Lefa, without whom this project would festival with VSU legislation, cutting the lifeline not exist; editors Paul and Jane, who to student magazines and newspapers tirelessly work at making our publications that give young writers their first chance a reality; our many sub-editors and writers; at a writing career. Through the support and of course you, the loyal punter. Richard Watts offers advice on maximizing of The Foundation for Young Australians, your enjoyment at the festival Crumpler Bags and RMIT Union Arts, the Remember: no one person’s opinion opportunities available to young writers is worth the world. Pick a random film, Tackling a film festival of MIFF’s your ears and tune in to the conversations eye out for friends and acquaintances have increased with this magazine. It’s a take a punt and discover for yourself. I magnitude takes planning, courage and a around you: you might chance upon further up the line, and claiming that magazine for you, the public; you, the critic; hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised. degree of strategy that would not be out something special as a consequence. you need to use the toilets in the Capitol you, the cinema-goer; you, The Pundit. of place in a seasoned military campaign. foyer, or the upstairs candy bar at the Chief Editor Tim Norton Regardless of whether you’re a festival Make new friends Forum, and afterwards merging with novice or a seasoned trouper, here are a Introduce yourself to the person sitting the line as it begins to flow forward. A few suggestions that might help you get next to you. Ask them what they’ve seen, little cheating goes a long way when it the most out of your MIFF experience. what they recommend, and what films they ensures that you can grab a good seat. would avoid this year. Not only will this pass Research the time until the film starts, but it’s also Eating Every film in the program is written up in an excellent way of widening your radar to Plastic bags rustling noisily behind me in such glowing terms that it’s hard to know include some film choices you may not have the cinema are one of my pet hates, and I which of them are actually any good. If you considered. It might also encourage you to know I’m not alone in this. If you’re taking have limited time and money, you don’t cross a film off your list if your neighbour supplies of food and other substances to want to waste your Mini Pass selections describes it as ‘a cinematic abomination’ help sustain you through the Festival, then on a dud. This is where websites such or ‘the single worst film I’ve ever seen’. try to ensure that they’re not going to impact as the Internet Movie Database (www. on the crowd around you when you decide imdb.com), Senses of Cinema (www. Take some risks to have a nibble halfway through the film. senseofcinema.com) and even plain old Are you normally the sort of person who Nuts, dried fruit and other healthy snacks Google are invaluable. Finding a few avoids a particular genre of film the way are recommended, as is a thermos of good reviews of the films you’re interested in John Howard avoids apologies? Maybe this coffee or a revitalizing hipflask of scotch. from other festivals or overseas press year it’s time to let your hair down. Take in can go a long way towards helping you a documentary on a subject unknown to Documenting determine your final Festival selection. you, or submerse yourself in a short film If you’re seeing three or four films a day, package. If you adore Iranian cinema, take they’re going to start blurring together Eavesdrop the chance on a British horror film as well. after a while. A notebook is handy for Queues are a part of life at MIFF, and Think of the festival as a buffet—pile up jotting down comments on the films that while they may be annoying, they also your plate with a little bit of everything. you’ve seen, and will also proves useful provide an excellent means of discovering MIFF is a cinematic feast for all manner should you manage to score a date—or which films are the hot favourites of the of palates, and you shouldn’t be afraid at least the suggestion of a good film in Festival each year. Despite the fact that your to sample widely from the menu. the program that you’ve overlooked—in mother probably told you it was impolite to the queue for your next movie. listen in on other people’s conversations, Queue-jumping eavesdropping in a MIFF queue is a great This will be a point of contention with Richard Watts is the host of way of discovering what the people some people, but in the dead of winter, 3RRR’s flagship arts program, around you have seen and what they might do you really want to stand at the end of a SmartArts, which airs Thursdays recommend. So while you’re standing there, long queue in Russell Street? Handy tactics between 9am-midday on 102.7 FM. waiting to shuffle slowly forward, prick up to cut into the queue include keeping an So where the bloody hell is Critiquing the 5 Critics: deafness and blindness the Braille adaptation of the film he was given was FILMmy NAME SECTION filumPG FILM NAME SECTION then?PG FILM NAME SECTION PG written by Raymond Chandler from 1:1 Danmark Nu 26 Heading South Int. Panorama 15 Refugee All Stars, The Backbeat 55 beyond the grave, creating a masterpiece 4:30 Regional Focus 36 Heart, Beating in the Dark Brain Monkey Sushi 40 Return of the Poet Documentaries 47 a love of suspense not seen on the big screen; 9 Square Meters for Two Documentaries 43 Hero's Journey, A Documentaries 45 Rock the Bells Backbeat 56 c) The hallucinogen he took made him see things in the movie that simply weren’t Absolute Wilson Documentaries How to Fix the World Melbourne on Screen Sa-Kwa Regional Focus 43 34 37 there (Maybe he thought that Catwoman’s Accelerator Program 1 31 I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed Int. Panorama 15 Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic Documentaries 48 S&M outfit represents the tension felt in Accelerator Program 2 In the Pit Documentaries 46 Scanner Darkly, A Animation Gallery 28 letter to America in a post September 11 world?). Al Franken: God Spoke Documentaries 43 Inconvenient Truth, An Globalised 41 Sheitan Int. Panorama 18 In April this year, Jim Schembri (The Age) American Hardcore Backbeat 54 Invisible Waves Regional Focus 37 Sherrybaby Int. Panorama 18 wrote in his article ‘So you want to be a Animation Shorts Program 1 27 Iraq in Fragments Homelands Now 33 Shooting Dogs Int. Panorama 18 film critic?’ that he dislikes the title ‘film Aura, The Int. Panorama 11 Kilometer Zero Homelands Now 33 Short Films of Royston Tan, The Regional Focus 37 Adrian reviewer;’ rather, ‘I prefer “film warden.” Avida Int. Panorama 11 KZ Documentaries 46 Sketches of Frank Gehry Documentaries 48 This is how I see my job, running around with a whistle and a helmet with “W” Bamako Int. Panorama 11 La Sagrada Familia Int. Panorama 16 Slumming Int. Panorama 19 painted on it, telling people “all clear” or Barakat! Int. Panorama 12 Last Days of Yasser Arafat, The Australian Showcase 10 Soap, A Danmark Nu 27 “proceed with caution” or “duck and cover”.’ Betrayal, The Int. Panorama 12 Lenz Int. Panorama 16 Sonhos De Piexe Int. Panorama 19 Martin In his 2004 review of Pitof’s comic book Upon reflection, Schembri is still happy Beyond Beats and Rhymes Backbeat 54 Little Trip to Heaven, A Int. Panorama 16 Sticky Carpet Australian Showcase 10 adaptation Catwoman, The Age’s Adrian with this idea of himself. ‘The film warden thing, I am very, very happy with that, Black Gold Globalised 41 Looking For Cheyenne Emergence 24 Sud Express Int. Panorama 19 Martin gave the film four stars. Martin was adamant that the undertones of because it is like that. I will take the bullet Book of Revelation, The Australian Showcase Lost & Found Int. Panorama Summer 04 Int. Panorama 9 17 20 feminism, mixed with pleasing aesthetics for you [the audience] because in the times Boy Culture Int. Panorama 12 Loudquietloud: A Film About the Pixies Backbeat 54 Sun, The Int. Panorama 20 had constructed a ‘fine film’. He was we live in there is a lot of crap out there.’ Bubble Int. Panorama 13 Lovestruck: Wrestling's No.1 Fan Australian Showcase 9 Super SK8 Program 1 Super SK8 51 particularly impressed that the film Schembri argues that he acts like a

Cave of the Yellow Dog, The Int. Panorama 13 Luxury Car Transcience 39 Super SK8 Program 2 Super SK8 51 had serious feminist ideals while still poison taster for the audience. ‘At the being a huge Hollywood blockbuster. end of the day, it is 14 or 15 bucks for one Circle, The Jafar Panahi 31 Manslaughter Danmark Nu 26 Sympathy for the Devil Backbeat 56 The film was a critical and financial flop, ticket. If you are taking someone out, if it Crimson Gold Jafar Panahi 31 McDull, The Alumni Animation Gallery 28 Takeshis' Brain Monkey Sushi 40 even drawing ire from fans of the genre and is a night out, you’re talking double that. Darkon Documentaries 45 Metal: A Headbanger's Journey Backbeat 55 Taxidermia Int. Panorama 20 character. It won several Razzie Awards, If you are going to dinner, parking, if you

Deliver Us From Evil Documentaries 45 Midnight Movies Film on Film 52 Thank You For Smoking Int. Panorama 21 awards for the worst films of the year. are taking your family, you are talking Many have said that there is little narrative a chunk of change. Now I don’t want Descent, The Int. Panorama 13 New Orleans Music in Exile Backbeat 55 This Film Is Not Yet Rated Film on Film 52 or character development. Even to me the people wasting their time or money. East of Paradise Documentaries 45 Northern Light Int. Panorama 17 Through the Forest Int. Panorama 21 aesthetics seems forced and overdone. ‘There must also be balance for the reader; Election 2 Regional Focus 36 October 17, 1961 Int. Panorama 17 Tideland Int. Panorama 21 Martin is a well regarded film reviewer they might disagree with you, as they often

Everlasting Regret Transcience 38 Once in a Lifetime Documentaries 47 Tokyo Express Animation Gallery 28 and author of several books on film and do...but the idea is to inform the reader culture. He sits highly in what is a well and not give some of these flaky, “Oh it Every Other Week Int. Panorama 14 Paper Dolls Homelands Now 33 Tough Enough Int. Panorama 22 populated community of Australian might be worth checking out”, you know Fallen Int. Panorama 14 Passabe Documentaries 46 TV Junkie Documentaries 48 reviewers, each with their own ideas I am really tired of these phrases. If it is Fearless Regional Focus 36 Perfect Day, A Homelands Now 34 Un Couple Parfait Int. Panorama 22 and approaches to rating the medium, worth seeing I’ll tell them; if it’s not I will Fiction Shorts Program 1 49 Pervert's Guide to Cinema, The Film on Film 52 United 93 Int. Panorama 22 but all facing the same pressures. say that too. I will put qualification in, like it might be a good Friday night movie.’ Funky Forest, The First Contact Brain Monkey Sushi 40 Pipeline Next Door, The Globalised 41 Way I Spent the End of the World, The Int. Panorama 23 I have come to my own personal conclusions as to how a film as critically Princess Danmark Nu We Jam Econo: Story of the Minutemen Backbeat Gabrielle Int. Panorama 14 26 56 panned as Pitof’s (Anybody with one This approach sees the movie-going Goddess, The Transcience 38 Pusher Danmark Nu 27 William Eggleston in the Real World Documentaries 49 name should automatically raise some audience as consumers, reading reviews Grbavica Emergence 23 Rampo Noir Brain Monkey Sushi 39 Willow Tree, The Homelands Now 34 suspicion.) could earn such a positive largely for the purpose of helping them make choices of ‘product’: particularly Great Happiness Space Documentaries 45 Raul the Terrible Australian Showcase 9 Wind That Shakes the Barley, The Int. Panorama 23 review from such a good reviewer. important with the ever increasing Hawk is Dying, The Int. Panorama 15 Real Dirt on Farmer John, The Documentaries 47 Zizek! Documentaries 49 These are the three options: presence of marketing. A reviewer, in a) He had had the best sex of his life in the this mindset, acts like a gatekeeper of cinema toilets 10 minutes before the movie, good and bad to the vulnerable public. leaving him in such a mood that anything Megan Spencer, reviewer for triple j and would have been the aesthetically pleasing, SBS, explains it like this: ‘From a purely feminist masterpiece he described it as; consumerist aspect of it, we are a navigation b) That having suffered short-term tool. We provide information about film, FILM INDEX 7 Farewell Mr Hewison

James Hewison’s departure from the helm of the Melbourne International Film Festival is already being lamented, and he hasn’t even left yet. Opening night, usually reserved for speeches of anticipation and hope for the few weeks ahead, heralded rounds of applause, thanks and praise context and opinion. And I think partly the audience will Cannes), favourable critical reviews are an imperative for for the departing Director. In a country with the have to trust you, get to know you...I don’t think we are distributors and studios, pushing their annual entries to the reputation of cutting down tall poppies, Hewison there to make people’s mind up for them, but I think we international festival and summer blockbuster audiences. has impressed a whole creative community. are there to provide a broad amount of information and In short, there is money, fame, and prestige involved here. Rather than revelling in his position at the top also critical opinion within the scheme of things, and the ‘I think it is important to be honest,’ says Spencer. of one of Australia’s favourite cultural events, scheme of things is cinema history and cinema culture.’ ‘I think this whole culture of consensus is bogus, and Hewison seems to have enjoyed exploring Schembri argues that his approach is journalistic, as trying to second-guess the audience is fatal. Writing communities. Rather than acting as gatekeeper opposed to that of a critic or cinephile. ‘At the end of the day a review because you think the audience might like it of the cultural elite, he has encouraged you have to address your responsibilities as a journalist. and you don’t want to be out of step with them, that’s audiences to step out a little further, ‘offering You are a journalist who works for the reader; it is your job not criticism, that is just buying into the commercial films, which explore, which challenge and ask in whatever capacity to keep the interests of the reader at imperative, and this consensus thing is just crap really.’ questions’. When he began, Hewison regarded heart.’ He is not the only reviewer to follow this tack and Adrian Martin goes further. ‘I think it’s imperative himself as ‘sorely lacking, completely out of my usually these critics cause the most public discussion, often for critics to try to shut out at least some of the depth in some areas; certainly in some of the tearing to shreds ‘important’ pictures, while sometimes “consensus opinion”, which is usually manufactured areas in which I am now proud have become championing films that are seen by more ‘sophisticated’ by the commercial industry and its powerful vested a focus for this Festival.’ His term at MIFF has types as ‘Hollywood pap’. Schembri earlier this year caused interests, and not true “popular opinion”—and to try allowed him to uncover new passions and to a stir with a negative review of Brokeback Mountain. to see a film fresh. After they have a feeling and an share these with Melbourne audiences. Spencer, however, insistently flags other roles for idea about the film, then they can deal with all the Travelling to festivals across the globe, Hewison reviewers and reviews. ‘Criticism is a critical discourse. I crap in the media about it, if they want or need to. takes in fare from the ‘frantic, crazy fishbowl’ think we are having a discussion with our audience, in the ‘I stand by this review [Catwoman] all the way, until the that is the showbiz of Cannes to Rotterdam, same way a film is having a discourse with its audience, end of time!’ says Martin. ‘I went to this film “direct”—not with its focus on ‘emerging work from directors and it up to us to work out what the discussion that the via the killing hype that turned everyone against this fine who are really covering new ground’. These are artist is trying to have with the audience might be.’ movie. I found it—and believe I argued this logically—a very the places where he meets with film-makers, Spencer comes to reviewing from a different background: intelligent as well as exciting and stylish movie. But it’s a convincing them that their films should be a part film-making. At this year’s Melbourne International Film modern feminist movie from Hollywood, and they are not of MIFF. Based on ticket sales, his balance of Festival, her documentary Lovestruck: Wrestling’s No.1 Fan such great box office at present... People should think for films that are widely popular (many going on to (a documentary about wrestling fanatic Sue Chuter) is on themselves about movies, not follow the industry gossip, be distributed in Australia afterwards) and the show. But Spencer is mindful to offset any perceived biases which is even more of a tidal wave in the internet age.’ niche discoveries, the tiny gems to be found and towards the film industry in her reviews. She contends shown to smaller audiences, have hit the mark. that her involvement aids her own reviewing. ‘What being When someone reads a review they should be reading If, as Hewison describes, Cannes is about the a film-maker does is it provides me with knowledge of an individual reaction to a film, devoid of hype and ‘big deals, big stars and big auters,’ Rotterdam the process that the film-maker went through... I think commercial influence. Erin Free reviewer for Filmink is about ‘emerging work which take risks, film- I provide a unique viewpoint to film criticism because puts it like this, ‘I think it’s impossible for a critic to be makers who are creating new perspectives and I make it, but also watching all these films I bring my impartial. You can’t really review a film solely on its challenging audiences,’ then what is Melbourne own understanding of film language to a review.’ technical merits or on how it “works”. Reviewing is about? To Hewison, our Festival is defined by its largely about the effect that a film has on your personally. audience. ‘The success of MIFF is purely in its The connection between the Australian film industry Your specific tastes will always come into it.’ audience, which is to say that it is supported and and reviewers has always been contentious. In August Spencer thinks that the audience should play favourites enjoyed by the community. It is their reception of 2002 famed Australian film critic Margaret Pomeranz said with reviewers. You should get to know a reviewer and the films, their continued patronage that drives it.’ that she had been gentle on Australian films in the past trust their tastes and judgment. And so here is why I trust While Hewison feels that the Festival has as, ‘I’ve always been quite open about the fact that I think Martin. I didn’t like Catwoman, but I liked his review. Martin pretty much reached its cap in terms of audience Australian films deserve a little bit more tenderness than says, ‘For me, quite simply, every film reviewer should growth, the reputation of MIFF has also grown the American films that are thrust down our throats.’ These strive to be a film critic—that is, someone who is erudite exponentially. This puts the Festival in great stead comments came at a time when the Australian film industry and intelligent, who writes well, who knows their subject. to build on its history of hosting high-profile was struggling, and some cultural commentators were Sometimes complex things can be condensed into a quite guests and films. In his last year, Hewison is as arguing that a stronger critical landscape was needed. short journalistic piece. That’s a challenge, not a limitation.’ buoyant as always about the offerings of the The reviews that critics produce are subject to pressure Maybe one day someone will adapt his Catwoman Festival. His ability to invigorate those around from film industry insiders and popular opinion. With review for the big screen and I will die a happy man. him about a film he is passionate about is one the ever increasing commercialisation of film festivals Tom Arup that will be hard for new Director Richard Moore (even the traditional ‘art’ festivals of Berlin, Venice and to match. Hewison imparts his own enthusiasm without sounding like he belongs is the polished film PR role he used to fill. With a genuine connection to the community he curates, he is well placed to take on his new role at the AFI. But will Hewison be able to relax and watch what somebody offers up onscreen for him this time next year? Ever optimistic...’I can only hope so.’ Lefa Singleton Australian Showcase Australian Showcase Book of It’s a shame George Romero isn’t in Family. Bar staff. The hapless MIFF workers town for the Festival, because Melbourne who book and take their tickets. They are has become a city of zombies. so zombified that they aren’t even troubled Revelation, In a way, it’s heartening that Melburnians that the DJ at the Coopers Festival Lounge throw themselves into cinema spectatorship has the absurd name of DJ Le Coq Funkee. The with such gusto. No casual ‘How It’s in this final stage of infection about a fillum tonight, dear?’ for us. that our loved ones grow hollow and 9 Ana Kokkinos is not a assumptions about sexual With the bursting of Oh no. We have MIFF schedules, and bleary-eyed, shambling from queue director who shies away assault, violence and desire. Argentina’s economic Raul the we plot them with the steely resolve to queue, stripped of all social skills from the complexities of Daniel’s body becomes bubble, millions were of battle-hardened army generals. beyond primitive mutterings about sexuality. Following on objectified and sexualised— plunged mercilessly into But some people take it too far. When genre, auteurism, mise en scène, woeful from Only the Brave (1994) he is abducted ‘because unemployment and poverty. Terrible the only topic of conversation is what miscasting and ‘was that just Spike Jonze and Head On (1998), The [he is] beautiful’, while Many live in appalling films we’re seeing, when birthdays are I think it was do you think he’s scouting Book of Revelation is a the women do so simply conditions and have no forgotten and dinner parties skipped, locations for Where the Wild Things Are? ’ Nevertheless, it is clear from confronting study of sexual ‘for [their] own pleasure’. money to feed their children, the beginning of the film when rent cannot be paid, when favourite While it’s impossible to stop this abuse, fantasy, desire, Scenes of his abuse are of which thousands die city haunts become crammed with film depressing escalation of zombie that not all support Castells’ and the sometimes hazy doggedly visceral (One from malnutrition every revolution. Although not buffs—that’s when the horror begins. behaviour once it takes hold, it is distinctions between them. viewer ran out of the theatre year. Raul Castells is the The first sign of impending zombification is preventable. Here are my tips: averse to their cause, many At the height of his career, crying.), and Kokkinos fully charismatic leader of the believe that Castells and his the Festival Guide. It appeared mysteriously One Film a Day. Surely you will enjoy your dancer Daniel (Tom Long) explores both their erotic picquetero movement that some weeks ago, and now dog-eared cinematic experience more if you make members are disruptive. is ambushed, drugged and and horrifying implications. vows to enfranchise the As Argentina’s Robin copies litter cafes across town and can be it about the film rather than the Schedule. abducted by three cloaked Although the film drags dislocated and demands spotted peeping from people’s bags. MIFF Rather than hurrying off to the next Hood, Castells’ actions women. Twelve days later he slightly towards the end, effective responses from create mixed feelings—is zombies in the early stages of infection screening, take time to ponder what you’ve is dumped beside a railway Long offers an unflinching a government they believe can be found leafing painstakingly through seen in a bar or over a meal. But for the sake he brash or is his seeming track and left to re-assemble performance as Daniel (a far is corrupt. He terrorises wilfulness necessary his life amidst the shame and cry from his role as Angus the dwellings of the rich to get the job done? trauma of his experience. in TV’s ‘Seachange’). The and plunders their wealth The documentary’s pace is Set in Melbourne, the supporting cast—featuring for the benefit of the poor. at times frustrating, although film’s mysterious, dreamlike Greta Scacchi, Colin Friels, Raul the Terrible intimately arguably augmenting the narrative unfolds within an and Deborah Mailman—are follows Castells’ passion audience’s grasp of the eerily familiar streetscape. equally impressive. for his people and trails waiting game between Kokkinos re-imagines the Ana Kokkinos isn’t afraid his often dangerous route Castells and the government city as a site of danger and to tackle the darker side to a revolutionary revolt. in which responses WARNING! claustrophobic spaces. Here of human behaviour and Academy Award nominee are rare and scheduled WARNING! Daniel’s obsessive search for sexuality. While some David Bradbury pulls no meetings are stood up. truth and revenge blurs the viewers may find this punches as he epitomises Bradbury’s message boundaries between reality, audacity too confronting, the discrepancies between is clear; Argentina is memory and fantasy, as well The Book of Revelation is the poor and the privileged. in urgent need of an as the distinction between nonetheless representative economic and political Too Many Movies Will victim and perpetrator. of exciting new directions reformation to alleviate By reversing gender roles in Australian cinema. the dire circumstances of to make man the prey and Rebecca Harkins-Cross its poor and unemployed. woman the aggressor, The However, the film inevitably Book of Revelation forces the questions the effectiveness Rot Your Braiiiiiiiiiiiins!!!! viewer to confront their own of such revolutionaries as Castells and their success. With the exception of some agonisingly long WARNING! scenes, the documentary WARNING! provides a frightening insight into the politics of it, looking confused. In restaurants, they of your fellow Melburnians, do it quietly. A decade in the making, poverty and a man whose shovel food absently and ignore dining Be More Spontaneous. Don’t agonise Lovestruck: Wrestling’s driving force remains the companions as they ponder What to See. over what to watch, or let yourself be No. 1 Fan documents hardships of his comrades. And once the spectatorship escalates, so paralysed by choice. MIFF doesn’t have to Sue Chuter’s life. A self- Germaine Lim does the zombification. The second stage be about research and meticulous planning. confessed wrestling of infection is the Mass Email of Doom—an Why not check out a movie on impulse, addict, the film follows obnoxious form of correspondence that is or open this magazine to a random page her over two continents to Lovestruck is the brainchild screened footage of the sent to all the sufferer’s friends, peppered and read what someone else thought? give a first hand account of film critic Megan Spencer, wrestling heyday, this film with self-deprecating jokes about square Do Other Things Too. Why not catch of her obsession. who has graced both the is a wrestling fan’s dream. Lovestruck: eyes, caves and the need for coffee. But a play or a band, see an art exhibition, Being a wrestling fan airwaves and the small It features some of the the basic message is always the same: ‘Hi hang out with friends, cook a meal, or myself, I was intrigued as to screen. When Spencer wrestling greats, including Wrestling’s No. 1 Fan everyone! Here’s my MIFF schedule. If you read a good book in the crisp winter what level of fandom Chuter introduced the film, she Shawn Michaels, brothers want to see me in the next two weeks, you’ll sunshine? Don’t neglect the people had attainted in order to be spoke of Chuter’s life, and Bret and Owen Hart, and the have to come to one of these films.’ One in your life for the sake of the people crowned ‘Wrestling’s No. 1 A Few Old Blokes (Short) the heartbreak and joy that infamous Jerry ‘The King’ A short in which several of my more sadly afflicted friends even onscreen. And rather than watching the Fan’. The film answers this came from making the film. Lawler. But don’t fret; it’s proposed a ‘palate cleansing’ expedition world mediated through celluloid, take question with a quick sweep elderly men are questioned One thing that surprised not all about spandex-clad about their lives, from their to IMAX between MIFF sessions. time to appreciate your own world. of her home, revealing over me about Lovestruck is guys who roam around and The Mass Email is terrifying proof that Melbourne is a lovely place. Please 3000 photos and posters everyday routines to their the fact that it doesn’t pull hit each other. In fact, if passions. These men have MIFF zombies have lost all interest in any don’t turn it into Zombieville. that consume the walls. And any punches—unlike some that’s your reason for seeing social plans that don’t involve seeing films. Mel Campbell that’s before you see the tales to tell, and the film wrestling superstars. Chuter this movie, you will be captures them with humour, Indeed, just as regular zombies feed on the numerous collectables— bravely lays her life out on disappointed. This is a film brains and flesh of the living, MIFF zombies including a ‘Slammy’—she zeal and compassion. the screen for all to see, and well worth watching, and Ewan Gordon assume that everyone else in Melbourne acquired while pursuing the result is very endearing. will entertain both wrestling is there to feed their obsession. Friends. her greatest passion. With never-before- virgins and aficionados alike. Australian Showcase International Panorama

In his opening speech, way too long and the editing questions asked of the The Aura is an excellently Mark Butcher looked out refl ects a newcomer going interviewees inspire executed piece of cinema, from under his cap into a crazy overlapping images impassioned responses Aura, TheThe merging intriguing character darkened ACMI auditorium and changing focus. and cover issues about work with a masterful Sticky Carpet fi lled with an exceptionally Strings of Melbourne going mainstream, losing plot. Directed by Fabián MIFF-esque crowd, and landscapes are included, creative control, the Bielinsky and featuring told us the reason this but put together without insincerity of popular Ricardo Darín, the fi lm tells 11 are well acted, but seem fi lm existed was because much thought for their music; the debate the story of Espinosa, an almost unneeded. Darín’s Melbourne desperately relationship to the music about what constitutes introverted taxidermist performs well as Espinosa, needed a rockumentary. scene. I appreciated a ‘real’ punk ethos; with a brilliantly analytical with his introverted and And because of this glaring the archival images of the problems women Bamako mind, who dreams of pulling usually silent nature evident need, Mark was encouraged Melbourne artists leaving face in the industry; off the perfect crime. in every movement and by the music industry, formality behind—there’s and touring insights. One day while hunting deer facial expression. The ‘auras’ bands and radio crews. Fred Negro from I Spit On Sticky Carpet is rough Abderrahmane Sissako’s in an Argentinian forest, Bamako is one of those themselves are especially Mark Butcher is a fi rst Your Gravy rooting a BBQ and wearing on the he fi nds his dream a reality interesting. With everything time fi lm-maker with no chicken on stage, The Sailors patience in parts, but you rare fi lmgoing experiences when he becomes heir to a that educates, challenges seeming to freeze, quiet previous experience and it announcing in singalong will probably never see plot to rob a nearby casino. noises are suddenly shows. The only tangible fashion that they’re gonna such a unique combination preconceived notions, Espinosa is an epileptic, and simultaneously amplifi ed and Espinosa structure in Sticky Carpet is a ‘punch your arse with the of Melbourne’s live music and just before an attack he cannot move. These chronology of comments the fi st of my cock’, and Rod images anywhere else. manages to express the feels a moment of stillness, culture, the feelings and moments are paralleled interviewees give a hidden Cooper demonstrating his Maggie Scott where time seems to stop in the dead animals that interviewer. The fi lm is intriguing, otherworldly the plight of the people on and sound fi lls his head whose behalf it speaks. Espinosa initially works on haphazardly shot in parts— homemade instruments. that is described as an aura. as a taxidermist. Animal some gig footage goes on On the fl ip side, the Using the conventions of As the fi lm progresses, he courtroom drama, we are emotion is a strong key in must outwit both the police the fi lm, particularly in one presented with a faux trial and his accomplices to western depicting a morality wolf-like dog that seems of the World Bank and the pull off his master plan. tale ‘African style’. to know and understand International Monetary An excellently captivating Despite Bamako’s political Espinosa’s every move. It Fund, and their ruthless debt watch, the fi lm is complex seriousness Sissako avoids is also very entertaining policies in Bamako, Mali. and intelligently written. Last Days of Yasser Arafat, The outright didacticism, opting watching Espinosa bluffi ng Various representatives As the story unfolds, an air of the community, from for articulate and passionate his way into his accomplice’s of tension is never lost, so confi dence, using the plans It turns out to be the last in a fatherly embrace and Arafat says reclaiming intellectuals to peasants, are engagement and well- much so that the audience he found in possession by the Fatah leader gives. plants kisses on their faces. the city is a Muslim AND called in as witnesses. Each rounded relaying of the is enthralled and the the former plot-mastermind. The fi lm isn’t overly During the interview, all Christian responsibility. provides crushing evidence problems instead. A must connection to the onscreen The Aura is a must- political or depressing. Salama’s questions are Two weeks later, Arafat of injustice, inhumanity see for anyone wishing to character is palpable. see—captivating, intriguing You forget about suicide translated into Arabic. becomes ill and is fl own and demonstrates the expand their understanding The supporting characters and above all entertaining. bombers and the Israeli It’s annoying and you to France for treatment. sheer impossibility of of contemporary Africa a dignifi ed life in this and the consequences of Richard Ibrahim When Palestinian- army because they’re know Arafat can manage But before he gets into the vicious circle of poverty. globalisation. The effect Australian fi lmmaker Sherine not mentioned. Instead, alone. With a noticeable helicopter, he musters up In the background, life in of the peasant’s (Zegue Salama learnt of Yasser Salama shows us a little- lip quiver, Arafat speaks the strength to give one last Bamako continues in its Bamba) poetic, languorous Arafat’s perilous situation, known side of Arafat. His (somewhat) openly in wave goodbye. The media easy sun-bathed rhythm, singsong lament lingers on she travelled to his besieged eyes twinkle, he grins English. The rapport frenzy in the compound is illustrating the complexities the surrounding viewer’s Ramallah compound with and constantly makes the between the leader and phenomenal: ‘He’s dead, and the absurdities of issues faces and in our ears long her handheld camera in tow. peace sign with his fi ngers. fi lmmaker is unmistakable. right?’ ‘Bush gives his discussed in the trial as they after the fi lm is over. of grotesque imagery, scene in colour redeems After months of friendly It’s hard not to like him. Arafat asks about Salama’s condolences’ Arafat dies affect people’s daily lives. Patricia Bieskz Avida will divide and the entire fi lm. Coupled banter with Arafat’s guards Whenever someone breaks family in Australia, but in hospital. His body is The astounding landscapes perplex audiences. with the Chief Seattle and pleading with his aids through the stronghold not before he makes clear fl own back to Ramallah to and beautiful people clash Opening with a suicidal quote bewailing the similar to give her access, Salama of guards to touch Arafat, his dream to reclaim be with his people, who with the extreme hardship picador (Fernando Arrabal) condition of animals and gets her interview. he envelops the straggler Jerusalem. Interestingly, poignantly swarm the helicopter on its return. of life surrounding the morosely spearing a rhino humans, the ending draws Janette Sato makeshift court, as a couple and then himself, a indistinct disparate threads and marries, families struggle plot emerges when, in lends a vague structure to to survive at the cost of a wonderfully executed the madness. It certainly their own integrity, and a sequence, a scraggly deaf- explains the presence sick man patiently awaits mute dog handler (co- of a hallmark of the fi lm; his death as he cannot Avida director Gustave Kervern) numerous shots of humans afford treatment. All this inadvertently kills his and animals freakishly taken With its ensemble of heartbreak is interspersed paranoid employer (Jean- out of context to elaborate idiosyncratic characters with fl ashes of music and Claude Garrière). Meeting their linked weirdness. including an odd humour—Danny Glover, his new co-workers, the Avida will send those taxidermist, a stressed one of the fi lm’s producers, dog handler is lured into seeking lucid plots, bodyguard and a wardrobe appears in a mock-spaghetti a harebrained scheme to traditional humour or a dwelling tribe, Avida is a ransom the dog of Avida ‘real’ point, hurtling to gently amusing, at times (Velvet). Chaos ensures the exits. By suspending bewildering fi lm that when the dog falls foul logic and believability, revels in its own absurdity. of a lion’s pit, whereupon however, Avida amuses (at Gleefully incoherent, the dog-nappers have it the very least for its fi rst directors Gustave Kervern stuffed in a gruesome scene. half) and is a genuinely and Benoît Delépine’s Ludicrously, this leads to the unique addition to cinema. off-kilter Tati-esque world culprits becoming entangled Karen Cudal gradually veers off into in Avida’s death wish to be a more surrealist milieu. carried up a mountain. Exquisitely shot in black and At this point, Avida’s plot white (by cinematographer looses stream. A homage to Hugues Poulain) yet full Salvador Dali and the only International Panorama International Panorama

epic journey leads them survive through adversity. to another who is on a Algerian director Djamila Barakat! similar quest, and new Sahraoui depicted similar Cave of the relationships are forged. themes of frustration, rage The sound of an eerie and discrimination in her Bubble Yellow Dog, The strumming accompanying last fi lm, And The Tree their journey lays bare the Grows in Kabylie (2003). 13 and the dangers of crossing This is low-budget fi lm- The Cave of the Yellow the border are great. uncertainty of whether ‘I did not want to show making at its best. Steven Dog is no longer as fi rmly Amel, a doctor, and her the strangers the women imprisoned, subservient Soderburgh directs and entrenched in the realm aging friend Khadidja, a meet will befriend them or women, as one sees so often Coleman Hough writes. of magical realism as its nurse in the same hospital, betray them, and masterful in Algerian fi lms,’ Sahraoui Martha (Debbie predecessor, The Story are liberal and confi dent close-ups proclaim the stated of her recent fi lm, Doerbereiner), a middle- of the Weeping Camel anguish and devastation of ‘nor unrealistic heroines women who disdain to aged woman who lives with is particularly good, her was. If comparisons are puppy for friendship and, wear the traditional Islamic the two heroines. Eloquent who deny themselves in the her ageing father, goes off unavoidable, Cave holds silences comprise some of name of history. I wanted to surprising innocence and good fortune, as it turns out. coverings and who clash to work everyday in a doll acquiescence a strong focus its own as a worthwhile However the plot is just a with conservative Algerian the most telling moments, portray women who are in factory and sews dolls’ fi lm-going experience. and echo the repression of motion–and of course this for the camera throughout. layer above an underlying society. When Amel’s clothes at night. The only The setting is superb, It is a heartwarming and theme of nostalgic longing husband disappears, Algerian women. Rachida motion infl uenced the fi lm’s other signifi cant person in intimate portrayal of Brakni is intense as Amel, form. These women make with a sense of decay and for a way of life at the presumably kidnapped by her life is co-worker Kyle a feeling of little or no the Batchuluun family brink of extinction. Plastic Set amidst the political Islamic fundamentalists, the and Fettouma Boumari their way in life without (Dustin Ashley), a much and their everyday life unrest that is Algeria in the as Khadidja is hilarious ever pitying themselves infrastructure. Nor is there utensils and toys seem two women begin a search younger man, who lives with anything to compensate in on green Mongolian incompatible with this 1990s, Djamila Sahraoui’s that leads them to a lonely at times, but both are or arousing the audience’s his mother. They are the pastures, reminiscent of Barakat! is a tale of superb in their depiction pity. They move forward the surrounding countryside, environment and its values, mountaintop, where they working poor of America. which is fl at and sparse. Nikita Mikhalkov’s Urga. yet capitalism is bound quests–quests for peace, discover the lengths of their of strong women who despite all obstacles.’ Along comes Rose (Misty Brilliantly observed and acceptance, and love. The Jana Raus The doll factory is also to invade and ultimately own endurance. The friends Wilkins), a young woman used to great effect. beautifully captured, conquer it. Because of the opening scene sets up fi nd themselves in many hired by the doll factory director Byambasuren the shocking reality of the There is a sense of deep family’s happiness, their instances of danger, and to help with extra orders. repression and tedium in Davaa‘s world consists constant struggle to make time,time, wwhenhen iitt iiss perilousperilous their battle against gender Energetic and talkative, of small details revealing forfor a femalefemale andand malemale toto much of the fi lm, which is ends meet remains hidden discrimination is constant she plans to get out of the very real, but threatened to a richness of cultural in the background, but travelingtraveling ttogetherogether atat nightnight and great. Eventually their dying mid-western town heritage and admiration withoutwithout marriagemarriage papers,papers, become a little boring. Just many villagers have already Boy Culture they live in. Her presence when I felt my concentration of the simplicity of the left and the Batchuluuns not only shakes up the nomadic existence. The Gay fi lm is sometimes slipping, though, the story are considering moving status quo, but also brings Batchuluuns have a a bit dull. Queer as Folk turned unexpectedly. to the city. An election the possibility of dating lot of respect for each has packaged the gay This is well worth seeing. truck crossing the steppe into Kyle’s world, which has other, their work and experience into a sleazy, The cinema was packed to coax people to vote so far been non-existent. surroundings. The parents yet clean and successful and the vibe was good. appears to have materialised However, not everyone likes adore their children Betrayal, The lifestyle; all gay men are Bubble screens with Red, a from another dimension, the status quo shifting. immensely. The kids are incredibly good looking, French-Canadian short fi lm rendering the nomad position of authority, and None of the people charming, especially wealthy and fun loving. directed by Maxime Giroux. paradise almost absurd in when he is ordered to take appearing in this fi lm are the little bundle of There’s nothing wrong Probably the most succinct the contemporary world. action against the men professional actors, but they trouble Babbayar, who with it, but it escapes the and to-the-point portrayal There is not one false or suspected of being double are realer than real. Debbie appears to have more reality of persecution, of alcoholism, alienation staged note throughout agents, his personal struggle Doerbereiner as Martha personality than his dangerous drugs and and depression that you are this fi lm, which leaves and guilt is portrayed in small frame can safely that whole problem likely to get in 16-minutes. you wishing you could all its raw and gritty truth. hold. His oldest sister SetSet dduringuring tthehe 11960960 with God. Of course the possibility of giving it up Irene Korsten beam yourself to Mongolia The desolate landscape and our heroine Nansal AlgerianAlgerian civilcivil wwar,ar, LieutenantLieutenant occasionally someone for love is tearing him apart. to experience it before refl ects the utter isolation has astuteness and wit Roque (Vincent Martinez) will decide to shake it up There are some hilarious it disappears like an of the soldiers and the to boot, adopting a stray is weary of the tedious and show the opposite side characters in this implausible fata morgana. despondency of the locals confl icts and longs for the end of the spectrum— fi lm, including ‘Blowey’ Patricia Bieszk as they trudge through their fi ghting to end. A general everyone dies of aids, Joey, a cute effeminate daily lives, surviving on the feeling of unease permeates gets gay-bashed or turns 18-year-old who plays little hope that remains. Thinking of becoming psychological warfare Roque’s unit, and there straight. Boy Culture son to X and Andrew’s The Betrayal is a quiet a vegetarian? This might between the two leads is are frequent displays of does neither, and it’s up tumultuous relationship. fi lm, with many of the cast just push you over the Descent, intriguingly understated guarded and open racism there with the greats. The lines are quick, slightly communicating in whispers edge! Imagine Wolf and gets unleashed in directed towards the four Narrated by the star, corny but right on queue and glances. The smattering Creek and Resident Evil, The typical horror fashion harkis (French soldiers of ‘X’—a high-class rent and well delivered. The of violence is neither graphic minus the camp, and on the monsters, whose North African decent). To the boy with emotional photography is amazingly nor horrifi c, but this does the gloom dial maxed. horror fl ick, so most just evolutionary characteristics locals, the harkis are traitors, engagement issues—Boy sharp and fun (Whilst not not detract from the harsh Six rather comely lasses kick over. Let’s just say that are lapse-prone and and to their comrades, Culture follows his surprising in queer cinema, reality of the wartime venture on a caving the slime in the cave isn’t require considerable they are fi lth. The harkis’ attempts at love with it’s not always a certainty.). setting. As a thriller, there is trip, which slowly and of purely mineral origin. suspension of belief�in ability and willingness fl atmate Andrew, a CK-hot However, the shining point an undercurrent of violence relentlessly turns into Impressively gory visuals good genre tradition. to communicate with the black guy. At the same has to be the dialogue that will keep audiences on a nightmare, not unlike escalate like an unstoppable However the admirably locals fuels the suspicion time he is taking on a between X and the ageing the edge of their seats—the Dante’s hell, which seems violent avalanche�blood consistent cynicism, which and distrust amongst the new client, Gregory—an Gregory, as the differences and has multiple awards imminent threat of treachery never to run out of extra lake included. permeates the tone of other French soldiers. When 80-something professor and similarities between to prove it. Despite the fact is what drives this subtle circles here. The adventure Plot similarities to The The Descent, might be a treacherous but ambiguous eager to touch love one differing generations of that he hammers home and understated fi lm. is the idea of brunette Cave (2005) are striking, bitter pill to swallow for evidence in a notebook is last time. The problem is queers are allowed to his point about how easily The Betrayal explores the ego-tripper Juno (Natalie but the latter is a breezy some�the only glimmer of presented to Roque, his X has been doing tricks bleed to the surface. the human race releases fragility of loyalty, trust and Mendoza), seeking to ride by comparison. humour being the nervous faith in his men is severely for so long, he has lost the Tim Norton monstrosity and depravity, friendship, and the tension rekindle her friendship with The performances are giggles of the audience. tested as he is forced to ability to have sex without in the end the fi lm’s builds steadily towards meek blonde Sarah (Shauna compelling, genre clichés The director Neil Marshall question their characters. money being involved. conclusion is somehow the fi nal act of betrayal. Macdonald). Their four refreshingly stretched (Dog Soldiers, 2002) has Martinez gives a brilliant His well defi ned list of 12 satisfying; although I was Alethea Kinsela friends join in for a girl- and then subverted, carved a cosy (if rather dark) performance as Roque. An clients (or ‘disciples’) have defi nitely glad it was over. power expedition, and some and the punches just niche for himself as the new amiable character, Roque allowed him to afford the Patricia Bieszk do kick ass, but hey—it’s a keep on coming. The British indie horror guru is uncomfortable with his lifestyle he likes, and now International Panorama International Panorama

who during a counselling Paul Giamatti once again beginning with a climactic actors. Giamatti depicts session with his wife, proves how underrated scene before returning to George with a sardonic Every Other Tessan, day dreams a Matrix Hawk an actor he is in Julian George’s earlier, unhappy unhappiness, with the only like hallucination, where he Goldberger’s The Hawk is and almost misanthropic thing he cares for being Week must decide whether to take is Dying. Based on the 1973 lifestyle. As George moves his hawks and his nephew. the blue pill and return to Harry Crews novel, Giamatti through these stages, Giamatti’s co-actors perform his marriage or the red and is George Gattling, a middle- dealing with the death with similar believability:15 Every Other Week is a Matiss Zelcs (Egons Dying, on carrying the hawk on fi lm that is essentially fall into the great unknown. Dombrovskis) lives a routine aged auto-upholsterer who of his nephew and the Betty, the young stoner his arm everywhere. The a celebration of the The fi lm is footnoted and lonely life in a bleak city. lives with his sister and her stoned indifference of who is not only George’s fi lm’s emotional depth complicated nature of by several of Pontus’s One night he comes across The mentally-challenged son. Betty (the only girl in his occasional lover but his only is also heightened by its relationships. The fi lm opens divorce market focused a woman on the edge of a Fallen George’s only passion in life), he discovers that real emotional outlet; Fred, variety of themes: devotion, with a Chicken Tonight- ads all are highly satirical bridge, poised to jump. They life is catching and training training this particular bird his nephew, whose raw parental responsibilities, and incredibly funny. hawks. This passion becomes synonymous with and innocent experiences esque advertisement that exchange a look but Matiss recrimination. While the fi lm love and relationships are turns out to be a pitch Every Other Week is a walks on without a word. It is intensifi es when he catches accepting his place in life of life (and love) provide all explored with stark humorous and entertaining has a mystery at its core, it a magnifi cent red-tailed and fi nding true meaning. some of the fi lm’s most by director Pontus to the only when he hears a splash is really an exploration of realism. The camerawork is advertising agency he look at relationships and that he returns to help but hawk which he becomes Goldberger extracts moving moments; and often handheld—somewhat the irrational and complex guilt, despair, disconnection intent on breaking. strongly convincing even the bird, who seems works for, as the perfect the woman has disappeared. and the consequences reminiscent of amateur commercial for a product emotions that go along After fi nding her handbag he The fi lm runs in retrospect, performances from his to understand its owner’s fi lm-making—but beautiful with them. It is an excellent of our actions. feelings and ‘see into his with a focus on the begins to piece together her Nothing moves quickly in imagery, performances and divorce market. Divorced fi lm with an appeal to a life in his attempt to alleviate heart’, as George says. an uplifting ending give this universal audience with this fi lm, including Matiss. While the fi lm seems to himself, Pontus and his his guilt and assign blame. His movements are shown fi lm a depth that makes it ex-wife Maria raise their plenty of laugh-out-loud Shot in black and white, drag early on, the characters defi nitely worth the watch. moments, it’s defi nitely in painstaking detail and Heading are captivating, particularly daughter together and Fallen has the look and the camera lingers after Richard Ibrahim even plan to have a baby. a Festival highlight. feel of an old thriller. Bird George with his insistence Jade Gulliver he has gone. Director Fred South Pontus’s brother Jens, a calls provide an eerie Kelemen uses lengthy doctor who is married with soundtrack. The gloomy shots throughout and the Heading South opens with supposedly propelling the three children, is kicked out mood and drabness of repetitive style becomes the premise that everyone action just seems to drag. of the house by his wife who the city set the tone of the tedious and had me wears a mask. As the fi lm It’s a pity, because the suspects him of having an fi lm, and the focus shifts wishing that Matiss would follows the emotional central set-up is a good one. affair with Johanna. Jens to Matiss’s journey as he quicken his pace. Fallen journey of a small group of Georges (Charles Berling) is insists they are only friends. walks the lonely streets will test the impatient and western female sex tourists given an ‘import-export’ job, To add fuel to the fi re Jens in search of the woman’s frustrate those who enjoy in 1970s Haiti, a number of and charged with writing a and Johanna’s friendship past. Matiss appears to character development events occur that lead the screenplay with Duras about began after they were both be fuelled as much by and interaction. protagonists to question I Saw Ben Barka Get decolonisation. The fi lm abandoned by Pontus. curiosity and a desire for The performances are what they really know will screen at a Third World One of the funniest scenes something unordinary in his truthful and Vigo Roga was about each other’s lives. summit in Cuba, presided in the fi lm belongs to Jens, dull life as he is by guilt and particularly good as the The story’s narrative shifts Killed over by Mehdi Ben Barka, jaded Inspector who voices several times, allowing a Moroccan revolutionary and his pessimistic views on number of perspectives potential political leader. Ben a society gone wrong. to emerge. Although the Barka will be the historical Despite the downbeat island is initially hailed as advisor for the fi lm, leading nature the fi lm, it doesn’t ‘paradise’ by its visitors, to his journeying to France leave us without hope. It will they are soon exposed to its with little security for a certainly make you embrace less pleasant realities. The meeting with Georges. light and colour in a world individual frailties of the though never less than The job, for Georges, is so often cast in shadows. women and their genuine captivating. The wide shots supposed to end there—but, Glen Hancox capacity for pain and guilt of the ocean and the gentle of course, it doesn’t. emerge as they are pushed musical score seem well- Much could be mined from Gabrielle towards self-analysis both suited during the fi rst part this premise, but I saw Ben by each other and the of the fi lm. By the end, the Barka Get Killed never rises events of the summer. above the expected. On the Gabrielle centres on a beautiful vistas and beaches I saw Ben Barka get killed Both the script and upside, the cinematography bourgeois married couple, seem cruelly ironic given the is a fairly uninspired crime the cast performances is wonderful, with a colour Jean and Gabrielle Hervey. events that unfold on them. fl ick masquerading as a contribute to the creation of palette straight from French The story follows their lives Director Laurent Cantet’s postmodern genre piece. intriguing multi-dimensional fi lms of the ‘60s. There’s also through the superfi cialities fi lm slowly draws the viewer It gets off to a promising characters, from the visiting the occasional burst of smart of a society dinner party in and asks them to examine start with a neat parody women to the highly- and witty dialogue, although to the soulless void that their own preconceptions of ‘40s noir, with petty composed entirely of the possession, the violin coveted young male Legba the subtitling doesn’t always is their love life. Adapted about power, sex and love. crim Georges Figon couple engaging in trite solos reach tremendous (Ménothy Cesar). The most gives an accurate sense of from the beautifully written The fi lm’s main theme is narrating the discovery arguments about love, volumes and become likeable and sympathetic the wordplay involved. short story, ‘The Return’ by that you can never truly of his own dead body by identity and infi delity. These increasingly overbearing. female character, Brenda Ultimately, Ben Barka Joseph Conrad, this weighty know another person. hard bitten detectives in conversations, through French Director Patrice (Karen Young), reluctantly collapses under the weight chamber piece draws us Fittingly, there is much left a smoky, moonlit room. which we learn the fl aws Chereau has made Gabrielle confronts her own of its own aspirations. Had in to Jean and Gabrielle’s unsaid at the end of the Unfortunately, most of of their troubled marriage, in the theatrical tradition, but motivations and reveals it stuck to a less convoluted marital crisis while acting and lighting is rich and story, and what remains is a its conceits fall fl at. The are made even more the drama is sapped from hidden determination. The format, it might have been as a critique of class. brooding–cinematographer poignant, thoughtful fi lm. clever-clever touches, such laboured and repetitive by this one. The characters comparatively harsher an enjoyable and sharply It soon becomes apparent Eric Gautier contrasts golden Kate Blanch as having writer Marguerite the accompanying close- are stony and humourless. Ellen (Charlotte Rampling) political romp. As it is, trying that the characters’ light shadow to create a Duras (a brilliant Josiane up shots that dwell on the The surrounding demonstrates a frankness to follow the story is not privileged lifestyles claustrophobic, stifl ing Balasko) occasionally characters’ faces. Jean’s characters—those of and capacity to acknowledge really worth the effort. veil yearnings borne of world that the characters address the camera, are occasional voice-over the housemaids and the her vulnerability, which Jess Friedmann dispassion and sexual inhabit. However the distracting and don’t narration provides some frequent dinner guests—are gives her character depth in frustration. Following the soundtrack is oppressive. really add much to the relief—it’s lyrical and poetic. lacking in individuality and a situation where she could revelation of an affair, the As the tension between the story. They also interrupt Gabrielle’s redeeming warmth. Overall, this is an have merely been portrayed fi lm quickly sinks beneath couple grows to hysterical the pace of the fi lm, so feature is that it is visually overwrought, self-indulgent as a jealous older woman. long, drawn out scenes levels and Jean realises that the kidnapping plot sublime. The staging Gabrielle is no longer his and above all tedious fi lm. The fi lm’s pace is slow, Anna Sutton International Panorama International Panorama

A collection of six short party in the yard of a experiences of living in films from young Eastern farmhouse. The meticulous the Eastern and Western La Sagrada European directors, Lost preparations of this parts of Mostart. and Found explores ceremony— recognised the Shortlasting Silence Familia the intermingled ideas world over—are captured (Kornél Mundruczó, of generations and with respect not sentiment. Hungary) is a gothic relationships. An air of In the touching film Turkey tale of family love and 17 The moment she lets Sofia then sets to work on when she asks her fiancé, herself in, an air of seducing Marco’s father. dread and anxiety pervades Girl (Cristian Mungiu, responsibility. The tension ‘Will you love me forever discomfort surrounds Sofia’s Her destructive behaviour each of the films though Romania), Tatiana ventures builds when an estranged after this wedding day?’ arrival into the family home alters Marco’s friends and the tension is relieved by to Bucharest to visit her man returns home upon When he answers with for Easter weekend. La family in ways that will segments of the animated mother in hospital and the death of his mother. an emphatic nod, she Lenz Sagrada Familia is set within leave lingering scars. film Gene + Ratio by to ply the doctor with A discontented woman teases, ‘Is that a French the context of a comfortable La Sagrada Familia is Estonian artist Mait Laas that gifts to encourage him to takes control in Fabulous Yes or a Bulgarian No?’ Set in a snowbound bookend each of the films. operate a second time. Vera (Stefan Arsenijevic, Swiss alpine resort, Lenz seaside Chilean home, a shot in a non-glossy, Melanie Joosten serene environment where documentary style, which Lost & In The Ritual (Nadejda Birthday, a documentary- Serbia-Montenegro), the is the story of a tortured Koseva, Bulgaria) a woman like film directed by final and most uplifting artist attempting to regain Sofia will toy with all things is achieved by handheld holy to this family by being cameras and the grey skies races the clock to organise Jasmila Zbanic of Bosnia- film in Lost and Found. the affection of his son, Found an elaborate wedding Herzegovina captures the Lost and Found offers Noah and ex-wife, Natalie. intensely controversial and crashing ocean make and antagonistic. for a fitting setting. While peculiarities of generations. a satisfying and emotive It’s loosely based on the Two 13-year-old girls who insight into the ambiguities novella written by writer Young and impressionable, the story is eye-opening Marco has fallen hard for the and perhaps designed don’t know what war is of relationships across October 17, Georg Buchner on eccentric and why the divisions of generations and cultures, German poet, J. M.R Lenz. charms of the wild Sofia. The to shock, it is plausibly architecture student invites delivered. It moves along their parent’s generation encapsulated by the In the film, Lenz is an still stand compare their bride-to-be in The Ritual 1961 eccentric film-maker Sofia to meet his traditional in a linear fashion, easing searching for a purer form parents. Some of Marco’s the audience into the of expressing his craft. He friends are also visiting the course of events. The film clambers madly over the neighborhood: law students is intimate and at times alpine landscape to see Aldo and Pedro are down a little cold in its realistic his son, Noah. Though for a weekend of study, and observations, and features estranged from his family he the beautiful but silent Rita uncomfortably extreme remains deeply attached to has decided to spend her close-ups, examining rather days there alone. Sofia not than offering comment. them and this seems to be and egoistic. The film I chose this film to educate hard-working Algerian men. only brings tense moments While La Sagrada Familia the root cause of his ravings. has moments of great myself on the background French Ministers made and awkward questions, is disquieting, it would When reunited briefly drama and humour but it of Michael Haneke’s 1995 big decisions about small she also comes armed have been more poignant with Noah and Natalie, fails to gel together as a film Hidden. I won’t go into people from their opulent with drugs to help chase if the characters had Lenz is euphoric, and the whole. I suspect that this details about that, but there offices; their smirking away inhibitions. It works been further developed family spends an idyllic disjointedness is intentional is a history to the suffering faces contrasting with the - following scenes of dazed in order to elicit audience holiday together. But the as part of the portrayal of its characters, and that grief-ridden expressions happiness and frolicking empathy and establish a atmosphere of domestic of Lenz’s increasing is October 17, 1961. of Algerians in slums. around on the floor, Marco more in-depth insight. bliss is fraught with hysteria. The film ends This French-Arabic film Social realism is a and his friends go places Tamara Caddy underlying tension. Lenz in a kind of limbo leaving is constructed in the spirit powerful genre and can be sexually that they might not dithers between acting the audience to draw of social realism, in an dangerous because it tries have otherwise explored. like the caring husband their own conclusions. attempt to bring to light a to be absolutely truthful. and father and suddenly Varunika Ruwanpura violent political event that But of course, it is just a behaving in the most Northern Light, drops has been supposedly swept construction of events as peculiar fashion. During us straight into the life of under the carpet by France. someone imagines them, these episodes he runs semi- Lucien (Raymond Thiry) and Northern It chronologically depicts whatever the political naked through the snow and his late-teens son, Mitchell the events leading up to the intention might be. sleeps outside in an igloo! Little Trip to Heaven, A (Dai Carter). It has been Light killing and disappearances of With this in mind, October two-years since the death of Essentially this film deals quietly threatening as Fred. peaceful Algerian protesters. 17, 1961 has been made Lucien’s wife and daughter with the fine line between Tightly directed by where the story takes place, Comparisons to the Coen the gritty Northern suburbs. Watching this, I became using a doco-fiction style (and of course Mitchell’s artistic genius and sheer Baltasar Kormákur, A and the enduring theme brothers’ Fargo are well- Not a ‘big’ movie with infuriated by the French of handheld camera mother and sister). It is clear madness. Lenz’s longing to Little Trip to Heaven is an of an insurance company founded, from the black a ‘big’ story, it is a very cops with their Hitler-esque technique, news items and that Lucien is not coping and be reunited with his family intriguing mystery full of with questionable ethics. humour, desperation and intimate portrayal of people moustaches, relishing their reconstructed archival lives only for his work— and his inability to bridge suspense. While carrying The film might have been harsh environment, down (Perhaps I should say batons, and intimidating footage. I believe it sets teaching boxing to local kids. this gap is at times heart out his investigations in more powerful if set in to the accent Whitaker men.) dealing with and not out to convince me that He seems to have no time wrenching to watch. The the desolate town of North the present, but plot wise employs as the affable Abe. dealing with, overwhelming someone else was to blame for his surviving son, and film constantly zooms out Hastings, insurance agent it would have been able Fans of black comedy, a emotions. The intimacy is for the French-Algerian when he does he is angry from the intense portrayal Abe (Forest Whitaker) to get away with less. good thriller, or Film Noir very intense. In fact there civil warfare in France. and negative towards him. of Lenz’s agony to images gets to know the sole While A Little Trip To should leave satisfied. is one sex scene that is so There isn’t much time to At a family gathering there of the sweeping winter claimant Isold (Julia Heaven is well written The preceding short, emotionally difficult for get to know characters, is a ghastly scene between landscape. This image of Stiles) and her son Thor with strong characters and The Last Farm (directed one of the characters that but there is a political father and son, which brings great cold and isolation is (Alfred Harmsworth). touches of humour, certain by Runar Runarsson) is a I felt intrusive and quite complexity depicted in the situation to a head, and a key element in the story. The desolate, grimy plot elements don’t add up. beautiful, dark film about uncomfortable—but that’s looking for the Hollywood the dealings of the people from then on we follow Somehow it’s difficult landscape is captured Some great performances an elderly farmer who is what film festivals are for! ending—tears, hugs and involved in the conflict. their respective journeys. to sympathise with Lenz beautifully. Filmed in Iceland assist in outweighing facing the retirement home Very close shots with a ‘I love you dad’�then Rather than just blaming, the This is a slow-burner of perhaps because his but set in Northern USA, the such discrepancies. Forest and dealing with his wife handheld camera pervade this one’s for you. film seems to be arguing for a film with a fairly sparse character is so bizarre harsh, bleak environment Whitaker gives a lovely and and family. Magnificent the film, which, though This screens with a redress of French history. script that leaves room has its part to play in subtle performance. Despite Icelandic scenery, helping to convey the Norwegian short film, This film is worth for much well acted, well proceedings. Although the ruthless nature of his job, meticulous direction and themes, I found personally Sniffer, winner of the Palme the watch. directed subtext. The two set in the 1980s, this film he manages to bring warmth a grim plot made this a a bit annoying—not a fan d’Or (shorts) at Cannes Maggie Scott male leads are very strong could easily have taken to the role. Julia Stiles fitting companion piece to of the handheld. However, this year. Beautifully and real, as is the setting— place in the present, given is strong as the troubled A Little Trip to Heaven. If you like quietly intense executed, imaginative not the Amsterdam many of the backwards rural town Isold, and Jeremy Renner is Seb Fowler movies and you’re not and just a bit dark. us would recognise, this is Irene Korsten International Panorama International Panorama

at STYXX Nightclub in Paris. masses, Sebastian and Alex Sonhos de Peixe (Dreams They head for Eve’s parents’ engage in the practice of of Fish) follows 17-year- country house, arriving ‘slumming’, which sees them old Jusce as he scrapes soon after dawn. In a green Slumming frequenting seedy bars, together a living by fi shing and idyllic rural setting, the dirty arcades and internet stingrays and illegally Sheitan Michael Glawogger’s group meet the demented meet-up cafes. However diving for lobsters. He is Slumming is a fi lm of caretaker, Joseph, who there is little philanthropic besotted by the tall and19 ‘If you like magic contrasts, whose themes demonstrates the milking motivation in the activity, long-legged Ana, and lives mushrooms or LSD, are carried through the of a goat by getting it to which allows Sebastian to to be close to her, however Sonhos De you’re going to love my rich diversity of characters. spray all over Eve’s face. covertly photograph the indifferent she may seem. movie,’ says Director Kim The fi lm tells the story The setting is a derelict underwear of women he Although Jusce’s village Chapiron of fi lm Sheitan. of homeless street poet Piexe but grand old mansion meets. One such woman live on meagre means, This is a highly original Kallmann, who unwittingly fi lled with dislocated dolls’ is the restless Pia, who the households habitually horror fi lm that depicts an becomes the butt of a joke legs and heads without captures Sebastian’s congregate in front of the him further as the plot ungovernable and surreal by rich Viennese yuppies eyes. Joseph’s wife, Mary, attention through her television, obsessively takes a perplexing turn. world of madness. In this Shooting Alex and Sebastian. is pregnant and unseen. feisty vulnerability. Upon satisfying their soap opera Jusce impulsively sells world, people act out taboo While Kallmann comes Instead, we are introduced learning of her lover’s role addiction. The glamour his house and heads into urges with terrifying results. to exemplify a sense of to an extended family of Dogs in Kallmann’s dislocation, and glitz of the shows the city on a mission to The oscillating sound and displacement, Sebastian disturbed fruitcakes (with she sets out to fi nd to fi nd couldn’t seem further away buy the biggest television mostly handheld camera and Alex, through their stellar performances by the homeless man, who from the sedate fi shing on offer for his Ana. work create our sense of Shooting Dogs grips are much more real than meddling in the lives of the supporting cast). by now is involved in a town with its dirt road Russian-born director, trembling mayhem—the LSD your heart and mind in you ever want to see. others, attempt to order Bart and Thai are blinded seemingly insurmountable and lack of trappings, yet Kirill Mikhanovsky, drew effect. As macabre horror the opening scenes and The fi lm traces the horrifi c and compartmentalise by the boring but ravishing journey of his own. the villagers, particularly inspiration from his unfolds, the possibility does not let go until the story of genocide from the the world around them. Eve, who is one hell of a With a list of characters Ana, are transfi xed by fascination with the lives of fl eshly delights is a closing credits. The story ‘outsider’ perspectives of Whilst the fi lm is certainly temptress. In the meantime that encapsulate many of the melodrama. of the fi shermen of Baia hilarious play on the focuses on two English Joe and Christopher. This dark, with a stream of grisly Ladj tries to dumbly seduce the worst aspects of human When Jusce’s cocky and Formosa, a small coastal traditional teen horror fl ick men living in Rwanda approach could have made and wet cinematography, Yasmine while giving his nature, Slumming can hardly adventurous friend, Rogerio, village in Brazil’s north-east. and its hapless victims. and their struggle to the story oddly emotionless, the dialogue provides a girlfriend phoney ‘I miss be described as a celebration returns from the big city to It is a landscape and way It’s Christmas Eve and survive the tragically yet the opposite occurs relief from the drudgery, you’s’ on his mobile. Joseph, of humanity. Nonetheless, operate dune buggy rides of life that he has captured three lustful guys pick up the brutal acts of genocide in as the audience is made with an emphasis on fast presiding over a Christmas Glawogger has skilfully along the coast, Jusce must with charm. Aiding its beautiful Eve and Yasmine 1994. Christopher (John to watch the horrifi c paced comic banter. While dinner of roast goat, warns crafted a fi lm which depicts vie for Ana’s attention. authenticity and naturalism Hurt) is a priest who runs events with a sense of some of the characters in his guests that there is a a broad range of characters Ana starts to dream of is the fi lm’s casting of real- a local school in Kigali. white Western guilt. the fi lm represent those lesson for those that are who, although feeling as experiencing different things life fi shermen and non-actor Joe (Hugh Dancy) is a Hurt’s scenes towards marginalised by society, fearless and don’t believe though they exist on the and exploring the world, residents of Baia Formosa. passionate, young teacher the end are nothing short such as Kallmann and his in ‘Sheitan’, or Satan. outer of the human race, yet Jusce is content in his With accomplished who is desperate to make of greatness and he is similarly inebriated clan of Some of the grotesque have their own stories to tell. birthplace doing what his cinematography, Sonhos a difference. The two well-supported by Dancy. women, they are presented moments that follow are Sophie Gaston father did. His love pushes de Peixe is a scenically and men share a bond that Both actors are superbly alongside characters such so hideous that they are sonically beautiful fi lm, proves to be a godsend supported by an under- as Sebastian and Alex laugh-out-loud funny. perhapsperhaps moremore vvisuallyisually in the harrowing situation stated script written who, despite (or perhaps At a time when society enticingenticing tthanhan intellectually.intellectually. they are thrown into. by David Wolstencroft because of) their wealth seems straighter than TamaraTamara CaddyCaddy When Hutu militias begin and directed by Michael and opportunity feel utterly ever, it is refreshing to slaughtering thousands Caton-Jones in an urgent disconnected from society. see an anarchic fi lm that of Tutsi, many fl ee to the documentary style. In order to mingle with the truly breaks social and safety of Christopher’s Shooting Dogs shares a aesthetic boundaries. school. The disturbing similar story to that of Hotel Anna Sutton sense of menace grows as Rwanda, yet in my mind it is crowds of voracious Hutus a much edgier and truthful gather outside the school experience. The climactic fences, and the shocking scenes in the school yard Sherrybaby scenes of slaughter as Joe and Christopher Sud Express are forced to confront the Sherry is a reformed drug decision of whether to leave Lyrically languid, Sud further threads delve into alwaysalways thethe outsider,outsider, offeredoffered addict, recently released are extreme and harrowing. Express is a compassionate the issue of immigration, onlyonly ffragmentaryragmentary gglimpseslimpses from prison, who struggles Nonetheless the story is and heartfelt drama while the fi nal two stories ofof thethe characters’characters’ lives.lives. to reconnect with a world ultimately about hope. depicting the universal are set in Salamanca. DialogueDialogue isis usedused toto greatgreat that has moved on without This fi lm is an absolute loneliness and futility of Frequently desolate and effect;effect; atat timestimes witty,witty, inin her. Freedom involves must-see and it is fair to life; its bleakness tempered mildly bleached of colour, otherother instancesinstances inadequateinadequate choices, and Sherry must debut, and Collyer must state that the audience with subtle stirrings of the characters refl ect the to express the intricacies choose whether or not have got down on her knees members were unanimously hope. Deftly using the gorgeously lit aesthetic of human emotion or to return to heroin, the and thanked the casting affected by this story. famous Lisbon to Paris of the industrialised carrying the unmistakable love of her life. Life on the gods when Gyllenhaal Kathryn Martin train to link six interrelated wasteland as well as whiff of ulterior subtext. outside is tough, and Sherry accepted the role. While stories, the fi lm focuses the rural landscape. Ignoring grand narrative, constantly battles between the remaining cast makes on the experiences of In many ways, Sud Express Sud Express quietly what she needs and what a laudable attempt to bring ordinary people living in displays the sensibilities of chugs along, resulting she wants. Sherry is a disrupts the family with unimportant when you its surrounds. Enacted in with his brother Joao a documentary. Its cast is in a deeply nuanced and her return, and although it reality to their characters, realise that the battle will (Fernando Tavares) and his diffi cult character to like, they are hindered by the lack fi ve languages, the fi lm largely non-professional, heartrending fi lm. A yet you fi nd that you can is easy to sympathise with never end. The key is that gently probes the politics life of quiet desperation diegetic sounds dominate resonant fi nal shot enforces Sherry’s need to rekindle of narrative development. she is trying, and indeed, her in Santana, Portugal, to forgive her for many things. The fi lm’s subplots and of difference, visually and jar, and rough the fi lm’s underlying theme; Redemption is offered her relationship with her self-absorbed quest to be commenting on the future seek old fl ame Lucia (Lidia camerawork lends an that through changing daughter, you can’t help supporting characters are a good mother may be the Pinville). Meanwhile in through her daughter, unfulfi lling and fl ounder in of a borderless Europe, authentic realism. Through ingrained and restrictive Alexis. In Sherry’s absence, but wonder if she will only thing that saves her. its cohesiveness currently Paris, Lucia’s husband, all the scenes are shown attitudes, social unity and help or destroy Alexis. comparison to Gyllenhaal’s Carla McConnell bigoted taxi driver Samuel her brother and his wife consuming presence. more superfi cial than real. chronologically, sharp a bright future for Europe care for Alexis, providing Maggie Gyllenhaal is In a poignant tale, Tino (Gerald Morales in a superb editing and quick cutting of is infi nitely possible. superb in her portrayal of the The question of whether performance) alienates her with a stable and Sherry will win her struggle (Tino Guimaraes) leaves sequences breaks continuity, Karen Cudal loving home. Sherry fl awed Sherry. Sherrybaby behind his squabble his acquaintances with his meaning that the audience is is Laurie Collyer’s directorial with addiction becomes blatantly racist remarks. Two International Panorama International Panorama

summer, it initially raises no disarray by the seemingly and lifestyle of the family, eyebrows. However when innocent young Livia’s visit. with the beautiful seaside Livia begins brazenly flirting Gedeck plays this role with yachting scenes leaving a with an older man named a fine gusto and brilliantly taste of salt on your lips. Summer 04 Bill, Miriam feels obliged portrays a woman whose Summer ‘04 starts off to intervene. The result is principals are challenged, slowly and lulls you into a unexpected, with a sudden as intense passion hits her relaxed summertime story 21 Set on the idyllic German ground, taking potshots Baltic Coast, Summer ‘04 is tragedy throwing all the when she least expects it. of love, jealousy, passion Thank You For at all involved from the a complex story of manners, relationships astray before Directed by Stefan and rejection; yet the film do-gooders to the corrupt morals and emotions. neatly wrapping them up Krohmer and written by delivers its punches when big businesses, yet never Miriam (Martina Gedeck) with a surprising revelation Daniel Knocke, Summer you least expect them. The Smoking really taking a stance. It and her husband Andre at the end. The level of Bill’s ‘04 conveys potentially story doesn’t judge the fails to persuade us in its are spending the summer integrity is never certain, contentious subject matter characters, allowing you to convictions because, well, and the scenes between him and turns it into an uneasy, make your own decisions A dreamlike portrait of One of the higher profile in their tranquil seaside grief and love, Through films of MIFF this year, it doesn’t seem to have any. cottage. When their teenage and Miriam involve fantastic, yet interesting cinema and judgements at the end— If you go after a topic as revealing dialogue that is experience. The small- perceptions which would The Forest’s 10 long, certain for a healthy son Nils brings his sexually intimate takes chart a young Through the release in cinemas soon, hot as the corruption of the precocious 12-year-old at times quite comedic. town, seaside location surely have changed several ‘evil’ tobacco giants, make All of the performances perfectly captures the times throughout the film. woman’s struggle to deal is Thank You For Smoking. girlfriend Livia to stay for the with the death of her lover. Forest A killer soundtrack, strong sure you use it as more than are excellent, with each summertime atmosphere Kathryn Martin a standard sticky plot. character baring their Convinced that he returns performances and a to her each night only to patchy, yet often funny That aside, the film own idiosyncrasies. It manages to keep its is especially hard not to disappear in an instant, film, first time feature Armelle’s world is washed director Jason Reitman has audience engaged and like the wayward Miriam entertained. Keen to offend whose life is thrown into in tears to the point where created entertaining fare. Sun, The neither she, nor we, can Based on the Christopher no-one, but amuse all, it discern the line between Buckley graphic novel delivers some genuinely At the end of World War fantasy and reality. (Aren’t they all these days?), funny moments and plods II, the Emperor of Japan Through The Forest is very Thank You For Smoking an interesting narrative sent thousands of Japanese French, and its soft lighting, takes a satirical look at the throughout. It aims for soldiers to their death, pretty girls with nice hair world of big tobacco and slick, which is well met, even with American troops and 35 day lovemaking one of their slickest spin but doesn’t rise above virtually standing in his rose sessions certainly caused doctors. With standout to really satisfy as a film offering just a little more garden. He did this without ungrateful and obese father a few pangs in this lonely young Bruno and his older, performances from Rob than average. Good to flinching; as a descendant and his gigantic cats, which young writer. But it was looser friend Pierre stand Lowe and William H. Macey, entertain, but frustrating of the Sun Goddess, he breeds for competition. worth it. I really loved this by the window of Bruno’s alongside a cast list that for unrealised potential. he was a living God. This movie was a treat film, its naturalism and bachelor pad, awaiting his reads as a who’s who of indy Lefa Singleton But Alexandr Sokurov’s to watch visually, with sense of floating through lover Rosette, Bruno decries and large films alike, there third film about totalitarian techniques reminiscent of emotional density strikes her continual lateness. But is some good material here. leaders doesn’t depict me as the kind of thing It is disappointed however, the man, the Emperor and Jean Pierre-Jeunet’s films this time he has given her anything that closely many Australian films by a less than original take the God�than one would (Delicatessen, Amelie) and an ultimatum: if she is more resembles the events try at and fail, but for the on what could have been read in any textbook or David Cronenberg’s body- than 45-minutes late, it’s leading up to Emperor French it seems effortless. quite edgy material. watch in any documentary. horror works (eXistenZ, The over. Pierre’s stance is, of Hirohito’s decision to There is really little to be The film seems to sit The Sun is really an artistic Fly). One scene starts with course, ‘...how unFrench, to renounce his divinity, after commented upon in Through comfortably in the middle film piece that is much more Taxidermia an embryo of a baby inside complain about a woman’s surrendering to Allied The Forest, as the overall like a still but gently moving its mother’s stomach before lateness. What sort of Forces. Nor does it depict The Hungarian film dreamy effect outweighs Alice in Wonderland. portrait of Emperor Hirohito the camera pulls back and woman is not late, some the human trauma or morals Taxidermia delves into the any detail. The acting is With nods to other and Japanese culture itself. reveals who the mother is. kind of sexless monster...’ involved. In fact, there is no morose, the experimental barely noticeable for its children’s texts like the It reveals the very nature of Be warned though, this is not Richie Hebden real story here and at the and the flat-out bizarre. It’s naturalism, the music is Narnia Chronicles and The rituals, beliefs and customs a film for the faint-hearted. It end of the movie you know a story about three family contains scenes of bestiality, subtle but very effective in Secret Garden, Tideland as much about the Japanese and highlights the isolation generations, told in three creates a child’s reality so explicit masturbation, sexual heightening the sense of Ferland) is a little girl involvement in World War that all of this creates. separate parts. The first mad and disturbing that it’s intercourse and paedophilic tension and grief as Armelle living with junkie parents II as you did at the start. If you’re not a fan of Gus revolves around Vendel, a little wonder Jeliza-Rose themes, not to mention sinks deeper into the hole, (Jeff Bridges and Jennifer The film is extremely slow Van Sant’s Gerry, you’re somewhat simple farmhand thinks everyone is just a five-minute graphic and the camera work is Tilly) who alternatively moving and self-reflective. unlikely to enjoy this one. who seems obsessed with playing her games. There sequence showing the simple and elegant. In fact, coddle and abuse her, For most of the film Emperor It’s an acquired taste and sex. The farm owner’s two is so much possibility for self-evisceration of a man. a sense of elegance is the depending on their current Hirohito is silent, and the should come with a warning daughters are his objects of Tideland horrors that never quite That scene in particular was common factor throughout. drug intake. Jeliza-Rose, silences are drawn out. for those who want to avoid desire; however, he has an It’s beautiful and terrible. eventuate, for dangers the the only time the audience The film opened with a however, remains in blissful There is little character a night of masochism. It’s affair with his employer’s I’m so glad I saw it—and child is skirting and never remained silent. One woman short by Francois Ozon, A and callous ignorance interaction, no heroes, no only if you can appreciate wife, who gives birth to his I don’t think I’ll ever want sees. I smiled and even in fact left the cinema! Curtain Raiser, a wonderful of her plight, even when villains, no drama, and the meaning behind these son, Kalman. The second to watch it again. laughed at her naïve and I liked this movie for all its meditation on principles her hallucinating father pretty much no outside life. film techniques that The segment follows Kalman as Tideland is the latest matter-of-fact reactions to strange plot twists and left and compromise in a takes her to the squalid And all of this combined Sun can be enjoyed. an adult, who has grown up addition to cult director poverty, drug use, sex, and of centre characters, but relationship. As uptight and deserted family says more about Hirohito— Magenta Magenta to become one of Hungary’s Terry Gilliam’s fascinating even death; but the charm for the average moviegoer farmhouse in the middle of foremost competitors in oeuvre, and like many of his and humour is addled it might be too much. It nowhere, and she meets speed-eating. At a contest movies such as Brazil, 12 always by the black comedy definitely left a unique her terrifying American for this sport, he spies Gizi Monkeys and the ill-fated of wide-eyed innocence impression and should Gothic neighbours. and resolves to win her and incomplete The Man coping determinedly with be on the discernable Accompanied by her hand. After much eating Who Killed Don Quixote, the most revolting and movie viewer’s list of macabre fingerpuppet doll against the competitors it is thematically and disturbing sides of life. films to see this year. heads, she turns the eerie, from Russia and Norway, stylistically obsessed with Grotesque in the Tim Adams neglected and horrendous he succeeds and they divisions between reality extreme, this is a beautiful world in which she lives into have a son together called and fiction, madness and nightmarish journey a charming and delightful Lajos. Lajos grows up to reason, horror and humour. down the rabbit hole— fantasy land, straight from be a taxidermist and helps Jeliza-Rose (played by and what a trip it is. the pages of her favourite to look after his incredibly extraordinary Jodelle Kim Edwards International Panorama International Panorama

in a rundown area of inner gang leaders to lift his child’s others, like when he saunters Way I Spent Lalalilu decides he will Wind That Berlin. Within hours of pram up the steps of the down the street, proud assassinate Ceausescu at starting school, Michael U-Bahn. This image shows owner of new Nikes and a public ceremony so that (David Kross) becomes the how violence has become an ipod, he is undoubtedly the End of the Eva can stay in Romania. Shakes the target of malicious violence a parallel life, removed a child, oblivious to the Mitulescu has produced Tough Enough that goes well beyond from the reality of day- peril of the situation. World, The a charming story that does Barley, The schoolyard bullying. to-day living in a country Buck’s portrayal of its best to capture everyday 23 Set in 1989, Catalin ‘And so I said, “The Michael inhabits a world of high unemployment his characters and their Mitulescu’s The Way I Spent life under trying conditions. mountain glen I’ll seek where gangs demand and sometimes limited relationships captures a the End of the World is the However, the fi lm’s ‘life goes at morning early and money from mothers opportunities. The ready wider, troubled Berlin. story of Eva, a pert 17-year- on’ mentality means there’s join the bold United with prams, and violence acceptance of this duality, Melanie Joosten old struggling with the a bit too much fl uffi ng about Men” while soft winds occurs in crowded streets both by Michael and usual trials of adolescence to allow a really satisfying shook the barley.’ in broad daylight. After the people around him, during the last days of engagement with the main In early 20th century his fi rst beating, Michael somehow makes this culture Romania’s oppressive plot. Dorotheea Petre’s Eva Ireland, rural workers ally seems broken, unable to of violence dangerously Communist regime. When is incredibly interesting, to form volunteer freedom comprehend the blood resilient to change. Eva and her boyfriend but Mitulescu isn’t fully fi ghter armies to take on that covers his face and Young actor David Kross accidentally break a statue committed to Eva’s story the brutal British ‘Black drips onto his shirt. He captures Michael’s dilemma of the dictator Ceausescu, because there are too many and Tan’ squads. Brothers only seems to realise the perfectly. Despite his she is sent to reform school interruptions by the adorable Damien and Teddy form Director Detlev Buck holds awful reality of his situation youthful face, he possesses and meets the rebellious Lalalilu. The fi lm’s beautiful a resistance unit in their of grace and levity. his audience in a headlock when a classmate, noticing a maturity beyond his years. Andrei. Together they hatch cinematography and sterling dangerous and violent The song’s rustic lyrics throughout his compelling Michael’s shoes have been At times Michael seems an a plan to fl ee Romania performances are worthy fi ght for liberation, and are also visually replicated fi lm, Tough Enough, which stolen, starts to tease him old man, resigned to a life of by swimming across the of praise, but the movie use increasingly daring by the camerawork of explores unfl inchingly, about his childish socks. extortion and beatings. At Danube. Meanwhile Lalalilu, is hampered by a ‘try to tactics. When the 1922 Barry Ackroyd. The and without sentiment, The fi lm’s strength is Eva’s seven-year-old brother please everyone’ approach. Partition divides Ireland accelerating bloody events the seedy side of Berlin. the way it incorporates who has a near-romantic With backing from Martin into two politically are sharply juxtaposed When 15-year-old Michael’s moments of gentleness, devotion to his sister, is Scorsese and Wim Wenders, opposed states, the Black with the Cork countryside mother is dumped by her which contrast starkly with devastated at the thought The Way I Spent the End of and Tans march north and in all its soft, lush beauty. doctor boyfriend, the pair the otherwise relentless of being without her. With the World is one of a spate a violent civil war erupts, Similar references are fi nd themselves confi ned brutality. In one scene two pint-sized companions, of big budget ‘independent’ fracturing families. made throughout the fi lm to a boxy apartment, living Michael helps one of the United 93 fi lms that straddle the line In The Wind, fi lm-maker to the momentous song, between a challenging Ken Loach presents a which mourns severed Screened in the spacious, communication is scattered depiction of life under close-knit community relationships and ‘the shame ornamental Regent like Chinese whispers diffi cult circumstances and a in County Cork. This of foreign chains around us.’ Theatre, United 93 is a between the agencies. straight-up feel good drama. localised story tells of The fi lm delivers an fi lm you already know The cast is free from any Even though this aspect ordinary men and women uncertain emotional the conclusion to. ‘name’ actors, which works will perhaps strengthen who fi ght for their ideals journey. The ideological The fi lm is told in ‘real to the fi lm’s advantage. As its box offi ce impact, it’s and resist occupation. rupture between the time’, recreating from the an audience, we are drawn not innovative cinema. In Like the titular song, brothers seems lengthy beginning the hijackers’ into believing that this is not short, The Way I Spent the The Wind addresses the and overtly contrived, start to the day, arrival at a glamorous re-enactment Un Couple End of the World is a nice personal sacrifi ces of while characters bitterly the airport, the take off, of the events of September fi lm to see with your mum. war, of careers lost and of despair their country’s post- the nervous take over 11. Instead, the fi lm chooses Kirsten Law relationships destroyed. occupation fragmentation. Parfait of the plane, through to to present the material in a However, while it is The conclusion, in typical the fi nal upheaval at the documentary-like manner. Loach style, is shocking Considered a model friends, their feelings and steeped in melancholy, hands of the passengers. Obviously there is a large to the core. Yet when both couple by their friends, fears are evident. Much Loach’s characteristic Cut in between the part of the fi lm based on the young and old echo the Nicholas (Bruno Todeschini) of the battle is waged humour—doubly scenes on United 93 are small pieces of information same words at the end of the and Marie (Valéria Bruni- internally and portrayed in entertaining in the brilliant scenes from Boston, New that is known about United journey, you will no doubt Tedeschi) return to Paris for body language. Marie seeks Irish accent—introduces York and US air traffi c 93. As the only plane that be astounded to fi nd that a wedding and smilingly solace in a museum and wonderful moments headquarters, and even did not reach its target it you have come a full circle. announce their separation Nicholas in a late night cafe. NORAD (North American has long been told that the Set in present day Claire O’Boyle at the pre-wedding dinner. Both meet single people Aerospace Defence passengers fought back. Sarajevo, Grbavica is a From that moment, the and get a glimpse into life Command). These scenes United 93 creates the tender and compelling impending split becomes after marriage, but these are generally chaotic, and feeling of being on that fi lm about the need for reality and the couple begin scenes do not develop. show bureaucracy at work; plane so well that I even lies in order to survive Grbavica to ponder the signifi cance Un Couple Parfait is found myself beginning to atrocity. From 1992 to of their decision. not so much a story as a get anxious as I always do 1995, Sarajevo was the This fi lm is slow, painfully naturalistic observation of a when fl ying. It is ultimately location of massacres slow. A number of people couple’s failing relationship. a thought-provoking and the systematic rape left the theatre before We get the point early on fi lm. Writer and Director of Muslim women. the end and there was an and then it just becomes Paul Greengrass (Bourne The fi lm follows the audible sigh of relief when laboured. The couple don’t Supremacy) has been complicated relationship the fi lm fi nished. The scenes talk about their issues incredibly careful with between teenage Sara and are long and punctuated by and problems or what led Tedeschi give convincing the sensitive material and her mother Esma. At fi rst, is among the thousands reveal their stories through Grbavica offers hope, lengthy silences. Camera them to their decision to performances. Most of created a fi lm that aims to the presentation of their in mass graves. Director their actions and the fi lm but does not promise shots are static and the separate. In fact, they hardly the focus is on Marie, fi nd some hope from the daily life and interactions Jasmila Zbanic never allows is just as powerful without happy endings. Zbanic’s lighting is dim, casting the talk at all. There is a sense whose pain generates tragic events of September seems banal and even us that hope. It is clear knowing the city’s history. beloved city of Sarajevo actors in shadow. Often they of the emotion simmering anger, regret and sadness 11, by using the passengers irrelevant, but it is from that Esma was a victim of Mirjana Karanovic is must continue to rebuild are not even in shot. At one beneath the initial veneer and she goads Nicholas, of United 93 as a means of this telling that the truth sexual violence, a single stunning as Esma, showing its identity, as children point we watch a closed of normality, but it lacks looking for answers. From conveying bravery amidst of their lives unfolds. parent to a 12-year-old. the almost unimaginable born from rape are now door as Marie carries out the substance and layers of him we mostly get a sullen a situation of terror. Sara believes her father Zbanic’s strength is simple complexity of her love for old enough to learn a one-way conversation. The Squid and the Whale or silence—that’s when Jade Gulliver was a shaheed, a holy war storytelling. Some plot Sara. Esma is presented as their own truth. Although the couple try Hidden. Ultimately, you feel you can see him at all. martyr. You want to believe devices are contrived, but neither a victim nor saint. Anne-Marie Peard to trivialise the separation, nothing for the characters. Glen Hancox with Sara and hope that he this is a story about people, Other performances are to themselves and to their Todeschini and Bruni- not plot. The characters uneven, but believable. Emergence: New Women Filmmakers 25 Looking for Cheyenne

entirely and live as a in the face of adversity. characters that should be gleaner, as best she can, Valerie Minetto adroitly separated by walls are in the French countryside. crafts an ambience of permitted right of reply. It is winter. Sonia briefl y suspense that carried me Short: Sexy Thing by Denie dallies with Beatrice, a to the end. A vibrating Pentecost is a sweltering B-movie horror fan with string or plucked high fi lm about a young girl Looking For Cheyenne is a leopard print sheets. She notes accompanies the fi nding connection with a tale of tender connections also beds a charming action. This audio texture luminous performance given in an unimaginative idealist whom we shall call mirrors a scene when by Hana Mangan-Lawrence. political time. ‘Leafl et Man’. However it is Sonia demonstrates to her Claire O’Boyle Sonia works at a high Cheyenne that Sonia loves earnest and attentive class school on the industrial and she must fi nd her. how sound waves work. outskirts of Paris. Her lover, This fi lm is full of Cheyenne’s hard but a talented journalist, has grace and humanity and pure existence in the been unable to fi nd work absurdist triumphs. Its countryside reminded in over a year. Penniless central message celebrates me of Agnes Varda’s ‘The intuitive acts, living, loving Gleaners’. There are some The and principled, Cheyenne decides to leave the system and fi nding your own way Woody Allen touches when Return of the Vikings Danish cinema has never been at the forefront of international fi lm-making, through no fault of its own. Those Danes make a good fi lm, but nothing groundbreaking that warranted worldwide attention. That is until Thomas Vineberg’s came crashing onto the scene with Fasten in 1998, setting fi re to the phenomena that became Dogme95. Although it set out to break the conventions of mainstream cinema, the Dogme95 movement began with its own set of rules. The Vow of Chastity written in 1995 by Lars Von Trier and Vineberg listed 10 commandments that any Dogma fi lm had to stick to: ‘A Dogma fi lm couldn’t use any props or sets, fi xed cameras (only handheld camera), special effects (whether audio or visual), and, above all else, couldn’t conform to any existing fi lm genre.’ A movement more akin to the historical signifi cance of Film Noir, in that there are a specifi c few fi lms allowed to be classifi ed as Dogme95. The whole thing was over before it started, and the world calmed down. Now we all have a reason to get excited again about the Scandinavian country renown for legalised drugs, schnapps and the second largest rock concert in the world. This year’s Denmark Nu section gives us the latest work from Nicolas Winding Rein, whose unashamed Pusher I, II & III trilogy is only upstaged by the documentary on his painful journey to produce the Pusher sequels. Country specifi c cinema can sometimes go awry, creating stereotypes diffi cult to avoid, but the latest offerings coming out of Denmark are making waves. Denmark Nu is the new Denmark, and it’s worth a long look. Tim Norton Danmark Nu Danmark Nu

Soap, A 1:1 It’s said that life imitates 2727 A young Dane, Per, is art and though I don’t is both wistfully funny and assaulted on a housing know if you can call Animation Shorts moving. Kallincos’ The estate. His sister, Mie, has a television Soap Operas Luminary closed the session Palestinian boyfriend, Shadi, art, A Soap is a fi lm that with aplomb—a quirky who on the night of the Princess can be said to closely Program 1 bitter-sweet stop-motion beating discovers that his imitate life. A Soap follows about a light-bulb-headed elder brother and his friend Both Mie and Shadi are The Danish animated one in direct contrast to the lives of two people Kooky, poignant, violent, bug collector who falls in have been in a fi ght. Shadi unable to communicate fi lm Princess is led by a the next, they also manage who lead different lives hilarious—there’s always love with a moth-lady. fi nds himself in a dilemma with their families and each revenge plot that follows to blend quite beautifully, yet share a common bond. something for all tastes in A favourite was Tartes Des over his brother’s believed other until it is too late. a priest on his vendetta bringing forth both aesthetic Charlotte is the manager MIFF’s animation program, Pommes where an apple involvement, while Mie One weak aspect of against the porn industry. and visceral responses. of a beauty salon, who as refl ected by the large pie launches unexpected and her mother are forced the fi lm, apart from the Between the parameters of Princess also drives recently separated from and diverse afternoon events, and the whimsical the cinema. The naturalistic to confront the bigotry of occasionally shoddy the fi lm’s simple storyline, at recreating styles and her boyfriend and moved audience that attended. stick-fi gure world belies lighting and handheld friends and relatives, and camerawork, is Ole, a the director manages to techniques from other fi lm into an apartment above The dozen shorts the ruthless humour. I was camera style add an element Mie begins to suspect that lonely character who fi nds bring a fresh perspective genres. The violent action Veronica. Veronica, included crazy Japanese likewise enchanted with of realism to this movie: Shadi knows more than the unconscious Per and on revenge and, indeed, scenes draw heavily from who is actually a Funny Pets in seizure- Fumi and the Bad Luck Foot, the fi rst feature length he is willing to divulge. who seems to have been questions his audience Japanese Anime, whilst transsexual named inducing Technicolour; which played charming fi lm by director Pernille 1:1 is loaded with stylistic clumsily inserted for the about whether or not the the explosions seem to be Ulrike, leads a reclusive pretty but hollow The child-like animation against Fischer Christensen. expectations that, thankfully, purposes of tying the main morals associated with a an homage to gangster life watching television Footsteps of Water, Mr perversely black comedy Though A Soap has are not fulfi lled by director characters together. As vendetta are comparable to fi lms of fi lm-makers such Soap Operas, lavishing Schwartz, Mr Hazen & (The credits state it is based many heart-wrenching Annette K. Olsen. The a result, he is given far those of the porn industry. as Martin Scorsese. This, attention on her dog and Mr Horlocker where on real life.). Then there moments, there are Danish housing estates are too much screen time. The animation used however, does not taint being a dominatrix. the butterfl y effect has was the understated and numerous instances where clean and spacious, with 1:1 is an unexpectedly in Princess is a blend of these scenes or diminish A Soap touches on some hilarious results; and touching claymation, The it’s laugh-out-loud funny, lawn dividing the low and beautiful fi lm that tackles anime, CGI and handheld their impact on the audience very sensitive material, the wistful Portuguese Wraith of Cobble Hill, where which gives the fi lm a high rise sections. This well-worn yet important footage. These techniques as they are visually which allows us to be fairytale Tragic Story a boy’s morals are tested in a nice balance between two sparseness becomes a subject matter. Its slow are juxtaposed, further encapsulating. This is drawn into the lives of with Happy Ending. tale of neglect and survival— extremes. There are some potent symbol of the division pace allows the audience to questioning morality and partially due to the cutting- each character. Though at Crowd favourite was the the underlying tragedy who might be turned off between the two families. concentrate on characters the essence of ‘realism’. edge animation techniques, times I felt the fi lm pulled hysterically kinky Carnival is balanced beautifully this fi lm due to the fact that The soundtrack is engaging and it implies rather than Whilst the use of different but more so because of the some of its punches. The of the Animals, with nudes against what is left unsaid. all the dialogue is in Danish and uses effects such as exposes the complexities of visual forms places each director’s shot selection result is a fi lm that strums cavorting in cheerful Pick of the fl icks was Bill but they are missing out on the cascading of bottles racism in the 21st century. and composition, which the heartstrings rather erotica with anyone Plympton’s side splitting something tremendous. A or the steady, invasive The ending is inevitable draws the audience into than plucks them. Though and anything, including Guide Dog. The small Soap portrays the lives of rhythm of Per’s respirator. but not as devastating his characters without it has a large feminine happy blue rabbits. colourful protagonist two people, both at odds The bare landscape and as that which has come excessive dialogue or slant, guys shouldn’t be Australian fi lm-makers who is all eyes, mouth with life, who are also simplicity of sound work before, and denotes explanation. The distinct discouraged. There are Dave Jones (previous and bounce is wildly suffering identity crises with with the characters, whose a greater tragedy that lack of dialogue focuses the plenty of moments to Festival winner) and enthusiastic about his new regard to their place in this silence is compelling. extends beyond the fi lm’s audience on the stunning stop you nodding off in Nicholas Kallincos spoke job, but his clients keep world. This fi lm won a Silver narrative—the inevitable visual artistry of the director. briefl y about their work. succumbing to bizarre fates. Bear Award for Best Debut weakness of human nature. Joel Guye Jones’ Yallourn Story, All in all, it was a wonderful Film at the 2006 Berlin Film Sam Wilson featuring interviews selection of this year’s best Festival. It’s easy to see why. with town residents short animations, which Ewan Gordon illustrated by local was warmly received by primary school students, the Festival crowd. Manslaughter . Kim Edwards Manslaughter, directed beautiful, intelligent, fi ery by Danish fi lm-maker Per and intense. She causes him Fly, tells the story of high to question his comfortable, school teacher, Carsten middle-class life where Pusher (Jesper Christensen). In his politics is only part of dinner 50s, married with grown party talk and never backed children, he is having an by action. However, as I must admit, I was taken by know what it wanted to be. its characters—a scene with affair with former student, the investigation into the the notion of the supposedly I can’t help but think Frank’s mother, and another Pil (Beate Bille). Pil is a left policeman’s death drags edgy, unfl inching portrait that Danish director with the only other female wing activist who joins on Carsten’s life gets more of Copenhagen’s ‘seedy Nicholas Winding Refn character in the movie were two others on a politically and more complicated. Not underbelly’ that Pusher made a tactical error by exceptions. But I wasn’t motivated raid, during only with his own family, purports to be. I’m a sucker adorning protagonist touched enough to care. employed with style, class which a policeman is killed. but the dead policeman had like that—I’ll usually go Frank’s bedroom mirror Hardly compelling, it the general soundscape. Although in the end, if there or intelligence. Pusher had The investigation leads a wife and child, a wife who to see a fi lm based on with picture-postcards resorted to the use of Though the fi lm focuses is a message, it’s a very none of these virtues. to Carsten, exposing his is now devastated by her such a description. But of gangster movies. Al handheld camera, squalls of on Carsten, both men and mixed one—do you fi ght It’s an unoriginal story affair and forcing him to loss and wants answers. I’m thinking that maybe Pacino in Scarface jumps thrash music and thumping women can relate. I’m the good fi ght or chase that does nothing for its choose between his wife The acting in Manslaughter those days are over. out immediately, and trance-techno to stimulate loath to say it will appeal your dreams at the expense characters or its subject and Pil, who is now in is superb, particularly Pusher was a cliché invites comparisons. the audience’s adrenaline to people of ‘a certain age’ of family? An excellent, matter. Come to think of it, serious trouble. Carsten Jesper Christensen as riddled nothing. There were Pusher compares glands. But it never seduced, because we can question provocative drama. I don’t know what that was. decides to stand by Pil. Carsten who’s mid-life moments of humour—I had rather unfavourably. nor did it shock. It tried to be our existence at any time of Irene Korsten Drugs? Crime? Betrayal? His devotion to Pil is crisis affair seems to be a few chuckles—but they Its depiction of street level punk—messy, shaky, jump life. But as someone who Hopelessness? Violence? understandable, he has inherently destructive. The were infrequent enough drug dealers in Copenhagen cutting. The emptiest fi lm shows signs of slipping Sex? It could have done with felt ‘dead’ for quite some original music by Halfdan to make the fi lm seem was lifeless. Barely a touch can at least get by using into contented middle-age, a hell of a lot more of that. time and she is extremely E is very effective as is confused, as though it didn’t of humanity was evoked in these techniques if they’re I must say it struck a cord. Greg Ng Animation Gallery

McDull,The Alumni is cinematography is good, kind of person, and in my the latest in the McDull and the music occasionally entire life I have only walked McDull, The animation series from Hong foot-tapping, it doesn’t make out of one film. However, Kong. This film presupposes up for the headache you McDull, The Alumni very Alumni a prior knowledge of the will get from attempting nearly became the second. series, and will make little to follow this movie. This film is infantile, and sense to those who have not While the movie is billed if it weren’t for the gun- 29 viewed its predecessors. as being both comic and wielding kidnappers, or Iran’s Jafar Panahi It attempts to satirically absurd, there was only one the sexual references, I portray what life would occasion when I laughed would say that it would be like when the McDull out loud. The majority of the make a great film for kids. cartoon characters grow jokes are either incredibly Ewan Gordon up and get adult jobs. juvenile or so obviously and the other Unfortunately, this telegraphed that the humour movie is very difficult to is lost by the time the ‘We were naïve of the fact that any follow, with poor scene punchline comes around. revolution in the world that is ideology- connectivity and little overall I consider myself a rather based can lead to tyranny and dictatorship.’ direction. Although the easygoing and tolerant 85 per cent You went through the revolution With the election of President Khatami in people who think of peace, like the girl (from in 1979. You must have seen a lot of 1997 there was a lot of talk of supposed Offside) who says that ‘I had to be born changes in Iranian society then. For ‘reform’. Now Iran is largely a young in Japan so that I could go to the stadium such a sensitive observer, that must society—there are more young people to watch the game.’ The young want the have had a great impact on you. than there are old people. There’s a new rights that are enjoyed by the rest of the generation who have a different relation world. Of course, everywhere in the world, At the time of the revolution I was 18- to what came before the revolution. Two all societies have problems of their own. years-old. I was one of those who came characters in Crimson Gold come to mind Some Iranians were born outside of Iran and to the streets and participated in the as examples—the 15-year-old soldier who raised up outside, and they endeavour to Scanner demonstrations that would lead the schools has an unrealistic sense of what life was do something to contribute to their society. to closure. We thought then that we were like before; and the bachelor, who is just But they are in doubt as to which direction Darkly, A achieving a great goal. We were naïve of as alienated as Hussein. The bachelor to choose—they are at a crossroad. the fact that any revolution in the world has been in America and on his return, Unfortunately Khatami’s promise of reform Richard Linklater’s is, it suffers from a couple that is ideology-based can lead to tyranny finds he can no longer relate to the Iran remained merely a slogan. His government adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s of issues. Firstly, as is the and dictatorship. Such a revolution won’t he left behind. Can you talk to that? was saying good things—at the level of novel A Scanner Darkly case with most adaptations, tolerate dissent, or alternative thoughts superficial reform—but Khatami didn’t manages to entertain the we have the problem of and ideas—and this impacts on all issues— As you stated, Iranian society is a want to go deeper into real reform for Iran. audience for the two or so how the author intended social, economic, political and the rest. young society. The young have difficulty Superficial reforms may produce effects but hours that it lasts. Set in for his work to be read in adjusting to what is going on around the effects are transient and momentary. the near future, a narcotics versus the interpretation Your films have made me think about them. They have a more modern outlook; What you see of Iran in the media around agent, Rob Arctor, is working of the screenwriter. As a contemporary Iranian society as they are however, their fate is in the hands of the world is a portrayal of the 15 per cent undercover to discover result of this, it’s possible one of the only windows I have into your 15 per cent of the population who are of the population with power. However, the the source of the latest to suggest that Linklater country—apart from news media. They talk traditionalists—those who have no regard ordinary people of Iran are the ones that drug epidemic, the drug has divided his audience. about children and women, and society. for their aspirations. The young are the you see in my films. And they are the ones known as ‘Substance D’. Those familiar with the novel A Scanner Darkly is, may be disappointed with continued pg 30 Tokyo Express 06 is a simply put, eye-gasmic. If the adaptation yet those showcase of four different there is one reason to see unfamiliar with the novel series of Madman’s this film, it is to embrace will probably enjoy the film. upcoming anime releases. Tokyo Express the immense quality of the Secondly, as fantastic Eureka 7 is another in a artistic style represented as the animation is, after long-standing tradition of onscreen. Linklater’s use of watching an hour and a half Japanese animation that plays out like Film Noir. It’s rotoscoping has effectively of the same thing the impact involves a 14-year-old and the story of a man trying managed to further blur it has severely wears off. a giant robot. This series to uncover a conspiracy, the line between whether Thematically, the film sees teenager Renton who has the strange ability or not the audience is appropriately deals with living in an isolated city, to make things explode witnessing life imitating drug addiction and the wishing he’s somewhere once he has photographed art or art imitating life. implication that should a else. Once Eureka and her them. It is definitely aimed As entertaining as the film social stratosphere allow a trusty robot arrive the show at an older audience as it drug addict to exist, that a takes it up a notch. It might includes all sorts of adult causal relationship exists be a little too heavy on the themes. I personally thought between the institution philosophical meanderings, this was one of the better and the individual. but once put out for general offerings from Madman Ultimately, the individual consumption the kids are this year. Be warned is the only victim. going to eat this up. however, that the animation to be. It’s very light on The characters are well Basilisk is about two sometimes isn’t the best. plot with crude animation portrayed; in fact, the waring clans of ninjas and Naruto is a basic story and backgrounds looking support cast steals most how two people on opposite about a young orphaned like they were cast-offs of the limelight, providing sides have fallen in love. boy at ninja school with from an eighties cartoon. us with a number of Part Romeo and Juliet, part a mysterious past. He’s a However this was only the genuinely funny moments Ninja Scroll, this one is for prankster with a good heart, first episode and further throughout the film. lovers of the more classic and once he is told some episodes may see the series Overall, A Scanner Darkly and adult style of anime. of what his past involves evolve into something felt like it was building Speed Grapher, very he steps up to the plate better than a ninja version to something, but just different from the other and becomes the scholar of Dragon Ball Z. didn’t quite get there. three episodes on offer, and ninja that he was born Tim Adams Paul D’Agostino Jafar Panahi: Jafar Panahi: Filmmaker in Focus Filmmaker in Focus form of infl icted cruelty. clad in dour black garments However, the mother’s and we gradually understand circumscribed world is that they have recently immediately apparent—the been in prison. Constantly Circle, The hospital seems unusually ducking and hiding from the restricted and an elderly police, their vitality and life woman, waiting outside is kept in check at every turn. 31 Film-maker Jafar Panahi’s prisoners alike, which is The Circle is a bleak but the door, is dismayed to The circle becomes a managed with apparent beautifully rendered account learn that the newborn is metaphor for the female minimalism. The Circle of life for a group of women a girl. She fl ees quickly Iranian mode of life. The is a wonderful example in Tehran. Beginning in before having to confront women exist within the of the possibility of continued from pg 27 darkness, the audience the husband’s family closed loop afforded by making comment without hears the agonised sounds with the bad news. Iran’s government and resorting to haranguing who would like to remove the boundaries From here we follow the their essentially unjust placed around them. But in doing so, they of a woman in some or judgmental polemics kind of distress. It is only paths of several women, and hypocritical society. and is a testament to a don’t want to harm anybody. They even beginning with the young, Always present, however, want to make friends with their guards (if when we hear the cry of praise-worthy fi lm-maker. a newborn that it’s clear idealistic Nargess, who is Panahi’s concern to Greg Ng they are prisoners), because the guard sports a black eye, and her preserve the subject’s is one of them, not someone different. her wails have emanated from childbirth, not some older friend Arezou. They are humanity, jailers and Your fi lms seem to convey a particular humanity about Iranian society. In the West, it’s a lot about difference and opposition. But as you say in your fi lms, the guards and the police are not good or bad, they’re just people. There’s a degree of solidarity—would you say that? perspective on life-after- death. Claudia was bravely Militaristic fi lms always portray soldiers brought to life by Clare as someone to be afraid of and there are Redenbach, who ran around always some bad people that have to naked for the duration of the be annihilated. However, the prevalent Crimson Gold short. The production design thinking among the intellectuals and Iranian director Jafar beautifully complemented people in our society is far from that. Panahi’s 2003 follow up an inventive idea. They are equally upset about what is to The Circle is another Three Asian women mix happening in Lebanon as much as what exploration of the pressures friendship and gambling happened in 2001 in America, and what and limitations that come in The Last Chip. When is happening now in Iraq. They always to bear upon individuals their lives collide with a have a global message. If they are talking in modern society. disillusioned croupier, about nationalism, they never mean it to Panahi’s recurring motif hilarity ensures. A be regarded as chauvinistic ideology. of the circle—that which Accelerator beautifully shot, well They are talking about a renaissance—a circumscribes, limits and edited, humorous fi lm resurgence of the civilisation that is deep- defi nes—is once again by Heng Tang. rooted within Iran. They want to revive that applied in a poetic depiction Programme 1 Denie Pentecost’s Sexy glamour. It is like what happened during the of life for ordinary Iranians. Thing provided a shift time the Church ruled in the Middle Ages The opening scene is takes over Hussein. Accelerator is a in pace with the story and the way the Europeans looked at their dramatic and tense, made Crimson Gold is Melbourne International of 12-year-old Georgie. past to get out of that era. The song that all the more so for Panahi’s reminiscent of Taxi Driver—a Film Festival initiative When things become Offside ends with has the same message. clever visual constructs—we depiction of the breakdown that invites Australian and diffi cult, Georgie slips into In this new national song, there is no are treated to frames within of an individual unable to New Zealand fi lm-makers an imagined underwater mention of the regime or of the government. frames, often bearing relate, constantly frustrated to network through a haven to escape dealing Rather it talks about the purity and the witness to multiple points and deeply alienated within series of presentations, with things like periods and goodwill of the Iranian nation. It talks of view, both foregrounded a modern metropolis. workshops and meetings. sexual abuse. With a good about Iranian art, without dependence on and backgrounded, adding Abbas Kiarostami’s script Accelerator Programme use of special effects, anything else around the world. All of the complexity and subtlety paints a complex and 1 showcased fi ve shorts Sexy Thing gained words are Persian, not even Arabic. The to his depictions. nuanced picture, and with by these up-and-coming offi cial selection at Cannes song conveys a message of peace. It says The central characters Panahi’s direction the and talented auteurs. Film Festival and it’s that we are a nation that is very much alive are Hussein, a downcast result is heartbreaking. The Commencing with not hard to see why. and wants to live in peace with others. pizza deliveryman, his fi lm portrays experiences Checkpoint, written and Accelerator concluded Greg Ng friend and collaborator common for many in directed by Australian Ben with New Zealand short Ali, and Ali’s sister, whom modern societies— Phelps, Accelerator got off The Speaker. The story Hussein is engaged to. miscommunication, to a fl ying start. With an follows the struggle of Hussein is overweight disorientation, enviable cast of Australian young Maori taggers in a and comes across as disconnection and talent including Kate Raison rough neighbourhood, their dim-witted, an effect of humiliation—and the tragedy and Alex Dimitriades, sensitive natures contrasting medication prescribed since that occurs when they Checkpoint cleverly played with their environment. an undisclosed accident overwhelm the individual. on the current world The Speaker is a provoking or injury. Throughout the Greg Ng fear of military control insight into cultural fi lm, the limits placed on and terrorism. Although issues in New Zealand. Hussein by virtue of his class it was well written and Congratulations to the and physical appearance nicely acted, the handheld fi lm-makers who used multiply. They gradually camera movement and a sometimes forgotten effect his disposition until constant in-and-out medium to take us into we feel him sinking into focus was distracting. a variety of complex despair, and helplessly The Cat and Claudia by and diverse worlds. watch as a kind of catatonia Lily Coates offered a new Carla McConnell Homelands Now

formform a friendshipfriendship wwithith twotwo silly taunting on the basis of otherother men,men, makingmaking thethe warwar their different backgrounds. Kilometer seemseem eevenven mmoreore ssenseless.enseless. The fi lm ends in France A comrade tells Ako that it just over a decade after Zero was better to lose a leg for the Iraq–Iran war, where Kurdistan that a head for Ako and his wife are now Iraq, and there is an eerie living. They rejoice when 33 There are moments in the cinema where you warmth to be felt when they hear on the radio that want to laugh but feel Ako sticks his leg up while Hussein’s regime has fallen. like it’s inappropriate. lying in the trenches. Kilometer Zero is a This is especially true for Ako’s determination turns heartfelt story of one Kilometer Zero, a dark into fortune when he is sent family’s encounter with comedy set in Iraq during to deliver a martyr’s corpse war. It is neither prejudiced, the Iraq–Iran war in 1988. back to his family. The nor hate-fi lled, but rather Director Hiner Saleem Kurd-hating driver fi nally shows the senselessness pays tribute to his dumps Ako in the desert of hatred that is imbued in homeland Kurdistan near an evacuated town, as society by totalitarian rule. Hitting Home in this compassionate the mutual tolerance they Sarah Bones retrospective look into started out with turns to At the time of writing, the Lebanese the cruel persecution of villagers of Qana are mourning their the Kurds at the hands of dead—more than half of them children. Sadaam Hussein’s army. In one stroke, Israel’s armed forces have Amusing in moments of destroyed almost as many Lebanese lives despair, the young Kurd Ako as the total number of Israeli lives lost since wishes his deaf and senile the confl ict began nearly three weeks ago. bed-ridden father-in-law Israeli forces have declared a ceasefi re would die so that the family for 48 hours with the expressed hope can fl ee Iraq. Instead he is that UN forces can evacuate civilians. pressured to fi ght for Iraq, What’s the truth behind the headlines? the regime that he despises. Want to know more about the It is touching to see Ako challenges facing the Middle East? The Homelands Now category was fi rst Tomer Heymann, who came introduced at the Melbourne International across the amateur cabaret Film Festival in 2003, when Iranian fi lm- Paper Dolls troupe The Paper Dolls in maker Abbas Kiarostami was invited to an alley after one of their showcase his fi lms. As MIFF programmer shows. He then went on Nick Feik recalls, Kiarostami was astonished a mission, fi lming issues at being so well received by audiences Or, ‘Did you know not easily spoken about, when his fi lms, like this year’s Filmmaker in that there are drag and cultural gulfs diffi cult Focus Jafar Panahi’s, are extremely diffi cult queens in Israel?’ to imagine how to cross. to screen in their home country of Iran. The ‘Paper Dolls’ are gay, What makes this fi lm so ‘It was a socio-cultural thing. There Filipino expats deemed compelling is his contagious were so many exciting fi lm-makers ‘half women half men’. fascination and emerging coming out of the Middle East—so Marginal amongst society’s genuine friendships with many with aesthetic genius.’ margins, their complex his subjects he even gets During the Talking Pictures sessions, lives are open-heartedly them an audition and talks Panahi described the diffi culty of clearing revealed to us. Working his bewildered mum into approval with the authorities in order as caretakers in Tel Aviv allowing the troupe to to shoot his fi lm. He spends seventy for the elderly in Orthodox practice at her house! percent of his time negotiating with Jewish communities, their The sheer spirit of the authorities for permission to fi lm. In temporary visas expire the Paper Dolls and their order to gain approval for Offside, Panahi moment they lose their continuous drive toward submitted a script that was different jobs. As a result they are self-expression against to the one that was eventually used. constantly hiding from all odds does not fail to Nick Feik enthuses, ‘Offside is sold offi cials eager to deport impress. The unlikely out. It was interesting to listen to the them. After work they bonds they manage to audience reaction—there was a moment of get dismissed by prettier, forge with each other, with overwhelming hope at the end, an off beat more mainstream drag Tomer, and especially with moment, but nevertheless a positive note.’ queens, who regard them their elderly employers As for a pick of this year’s collection, as amateurs, and by club in such a hostile climate Nick said he has been most astounded owners, who fi nd new send a message of hope by Iraq In Fragments. ‘I don’t know how ways to humiliate and and affi rmation to fl aming the fi lm-maker made Iraq In Fragments. exploit them. Homophobia creatures everywhere. It’s got an amazing style. How did he is expected in this This documentary offers survive the making of it? He really gets environment so any sign of valuable insight into into the Shi-ite neighbourhoods and interest and acceptance is extreme cultural clashes talks to Al Saji and his brigade.’ treated as a wonderful gift, and a social cross-section For an alternative look at the issues rewarded with unfailing of a part of the world rarely facing the Middle East, check out one of devotion and care. seen on the screen. the 10 fi lms on offer as part of Homelands Despite the general stance Patricia Bieszk Now—you won’t be disappointed. of spirited naïveté this Claire O’Boyle documentary enthuses, it stumbles on uncharted territory, much like director Homelands Now

Screening as part off stopped due to the discovery traffi c and billboards. The MIFF’s Homelands Now of a corpse. Here the ghosts city is dynamic and appears program A Perfect Day takes of the past are not only unstoppable. These shots, the viewer on a 24-hour haunting Beirut’s people, but along with the minimal Perfect Day, A journey through modern- the city’s landscape as well. editing, give A Perfect Day a day Beirut�seen through the There are numerous hypnotic, rhythmic quality. eyes of Malek, a young man scenes of Claudia in her The fi lm’s one major fl aw 35 There was a time when I looked as mainstream Australian culture suffering from narcolepsy. house, trapped and alone, is that it plays as though it forward to the brown paper packages obstinately looks to Euro-American The fi lm opens with Malek unable to do anything but has been made strictly with sent by kind relatives from Hong Kong. markets as the measure of success. This and his mother, Claudia, think of the past. Malek at an international audience They contained the badly dubbed video does not have to be the only way. at a lawyer’s offi ce where least, is constantly outside, in mind, and this detracted cassettes that provided me with an Consider the trajectory of a last-minute the two are submitting an immersing himself in from its overall potency. alternative source of entertainment to the addition to this year’s MIFF guest list, application to have Malek’s Beirut’s traffi c, its discos A global audience might white dominated screen culture of the Christopher Doyle. Doyle left his suburban father offi cially listed as a and its buzz. However, his get more insight into a Australian mainstream. These fragments existence of 1970s Sydney to explore the missing person�15-years narcolepsy is a reminder city and its people by from beyond came in the form of Canto- world, ending up in Hong Kong where he after his disappearance. The that he too is not free. viewing a fi lm that a local pop movie stars, martial arts epics set in became recognised for his work as Wong scene captures A Perfect Beirut is depicted as a audience would watch. Imperial China, and Hong Kong Triad gun Kar Wai’s cinematographer. His most Day’s central theme; a thriving, bustling town, very Nevertheless, Beirut battle showdowns that were usually too recent collaboration with Thai fi lm-maker people whose past keeps much the ‘city that never is eminently fascinating graphic for my sensitive nature as a child. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, Invisible Waves, is invading the present. It sleeps’. Directors Joana and that alone makes A Since then, SBS, satellite television and screening at this year’s Festival. Notable is a topic the fi lm keeps Hadjithomas and Khalil Perfect Day a worthwhile DVD imports have somewhat bridged the actors from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong revisiting. For instance, Boreige employ numerous experience. gap between a truly eclectic and innovative and Thailand come together in this fi lm, Malek later visits a building panning shots across Mike Katsieris fi lm world that circulates just outside our conversing in broken English as they site where construction has Beirut’s bars, clubs, streets, doorsteps, and the persistent uniformity of come to terms with the circumstances commercial fare in Australia derived mainly that have taken them away from home. from anglophone markets. Yet it takes an In fact, the use of multiple languages is event like the Melbourne International becoming more prevalent in Asian cinema Film Festival to show how much we as fi lm-makers pool the resources and miss out on by marginalising cultural talent from Pan-Asia. It is a remarkable exchange between Asia and Australia. cross-cultural mix that is taking place. From its inception, the Regional Focus Australian voices have yet to really program at MIFF has offered fi lmgoers join this conversation—at a time when Asian farmers how to read a snapshot of the state of cinema in the even Hollywood has its own share of and write. Conversations Asia-Pacifi c region. This year, 16 fi lms Asian infl uences—but events like MIFF between the educators How to Fix have been chosen as exemplary works ensure that we are not left out of the and the farmers, combined that contribute to the vitality of the loop altogether. I, too, try to engage with with visual adaptations cultural output from Hong Kong, South Asia in my own way with my broken the World of Max Penson’s period Korea, the Philippines, New Zealand, Cantonese picked up all those years ago Willow photographs, exposes The Willow Tree is the story In the mood for Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. (Japan from those video cassettes. But it’s never the idealism in this of a blind man, Youssef, contemporary avant- is a notable exception to this group, as too late for anyone to start enjoying the apparently harmless and his journey out of Tree, The garde? This selection of new Japanese cinema is featured in a Asian selection at this year’s MIFF. attempt to spread literacy. darkness as he regains fi ve international video separate program Brain Monkey Sushi). Queenie Chan Nicolas Provost’s lyrical his sight after 38 years. works by award-winning The selection signals the accomplishments Papillon d’amour resembles As the fi lm begins we artists is a sample of the of emergent fi lm-makers as they lead a Rorschach ‘ink blot’ test. are momentarily invited to extensive collection of the charge for their burgeoning local young daughter patiently By subjecting a fragment share Youssef’s experience: Video Data Bank (VBD), fi lm industries (Royston Tan, Eric Khoo), teaching him the names of of Akira Kurosawa’s it opens with a black one of the world’s largest while showcasing the maturation of colours as they sit together Rashomon to this mirroring screen and Youssef’s voice distributors of video established directors as they navigate at the kitchen table. A trail effect, a woman’s fi gure narrating his innermost art, based in the USA. the diffi cult terrain of consolidating on of self-destruction follows is transformed into an thoughts. This technique In Throwing Stones artist their previous achievements (Tsui Hark, Youssef as he develops an ephemeral butterfl y. is used at various times John Smith humorously Park Chan-Wook). Genre pieces featuring obsession for a beautiful The most affecting piece in in the fi lm—as we see the ponders world events fl awed heroes, mutant monsters and woman he barely knows. the selection is Paul Chan’s world poetically unfolding from his hotel room. In a revenge-driven individuals share the It is the heightened Untitled Video on Lynne through his renewed vision. fusion of the personal and screen with more nuanced explorations emotions of the characters Stewart and Her Conviction, Despite Youssef’s the political, he creates of contemporary life in the Asia-Pacifi c. that drive the plot forward The Law and Poetry. It is a blindness, he appears to as Youssef discovers the a video blog of sorts. Such is the pace of social upheaval have an enviable life. He’s Bobby Abate’s visually simple portrait of Stewart, Melbourne, in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan that darkness lies within him. a New York lawyer who a successful academic at abstract Soothsayer MIFF has programmed a special focus Although emotions are in 2005 was convicted of Tehran University and lives compares famous 20th called Transience: The Asian Metropolis. brought to the surface, the aiding terrorism under the in a comfortable suburban century prophecies The fi lms in this section respond to the characters remain one- US Patriot Act. The video home with Roya, his wife, dimensional with limited with the actual events social, political and cultural changes that and their daughter. He is, through the use of focuses on her private and Australia: have transformed these locales from insight into their actions and public use of poetry in however, also a distant and MELBOURNE ON SCREEN archival footage and colonially exploited trading outposts to motivations. This has the law practice to highlight isolated fi gure walking alone animation. Abate offers ultra-modern cosmopolitan societies. effect of making the story injustice and gain insight. through the city streets an idiosyncratic refl ection According to the slogan of this year’s seem, at times, unrealistic. As all things avant- and natural landscapes. The Willow Tree is slow on these occasionally Festival, it’s a long way from Hollywood. Youssef’s operation allows absurd and paranoid garde, this selection is a Long Way Yet despite our close geographical moving, quite heavy-handed not for all tastes, but the fi lm to explore the projections into the future. proximity, the distance between Asia and loaded with a strong video art fans should be fragility of family dynamics moral message. It is thought How to Fix the World and Australia seems even greater turned upside down by such by Jacqueline Goss, pleased to discover VDB provoking but lacks real as a valuable resource. a life changing event. He entertainment value. based on a 1930s book angrily rejects the support by psychologist AR Patricia Bieszk from Asia Madeleine Jenkins of Roya, accusing her of Luria, documents the mothering him. In another Communist government’s scene we see Youssef’s attempts to teach Central Regional Focus Regional Focus

As ambition has it, Lok Much has been made of (Simon Yam) is not about Jet Li’s claim that Fearless to give up his position as will be his fi nal Washu fi lm. Chairman of the Wo Sing The fi lm certainly sees an triad after a two-year term. attempt by both Li and Fearless Short Films of Royston Tan, The Meanwhile, the cigar- director Ronny Yu to convey smoking Uncles, whose a more authentic martial arts 37 Known for his visuals, Life abounds in DIY music. emotional torture that Hock Hiap Leong: to pay approvals are pivotal, aesthetic than the Wuxia Singaporean fi lm-maker Random people produce come with falling in love. homage to a local eatery bolster their support behind fi lms, such as Crouching Royston Tan’s collection random sounds. A quirky Sons: who should be soon to be demolished, the entrepreneurial Jimmy Tiger, Hidden Dragon, that of short fi lms is fi lled with play on the universal faulted when a son fails a colourful musical of (Louis Koo). Initially a have come to dominate beautifully composed rhythm and inherent to love his father—father the ‘60s is evoked. reluctant candidate, Jimmy Hong Kong cinema. shots featuring the lesser- musicality of our moods. or son? A monologue told A man in love must sing changes his mind when his The fi lm’s central narrative known sides to Singapore. Cut is a humorous satire. by an aging father who to profess his love, Patrick business prospects in China revolves around the life of Favouring abstract and At the supermarket, a fails to kindle a connection is told. But Patrick sings are threatened. Wo Sing, the Huo Yuanjia, a renowned quirky portrayals of life’s movie-goer recognises with his son, Tan captures so modestly, he cannot be oldest and most respected Martial Arts Master who moments, Tan conjures the woman who sits on life’s melodramas in heard. Careless Whisperer triad in Hong Kong, is seen Election 2 founded the Jin Wu Sports up a magical lalaland in the Censorship Board, the regret of a father. is a humorous piece on by the Chinese authorities Federation at the beginning DIY, Monkey Love, Hock whereupon he launches into New York Girl is realist a man whose love is so as the arbiter between the understated performance, of the 20th century. Blinded Hiap Leong and Careless detailed tirade, a hilarious tract, summoning facets gentle- that if love were government and the triads. both pathetic and painful, by youthful ambition and a underlying ideological Whisperer. Use of a strong rant against authority. of the young yuppie expressed through song, Power-hungry Lok and his contributes unmistakably to desperate need to remedy principals on which the narrative voice is also vital One winter, a monkey Singaporean—hodgepodge it won’t hurt to be loved. competitor soon become the mood of the fi lm. Simon his father’s legacy, Yuanjia Washu style is founded in lending weight to Tan’s in Japan lost his heart of pretentious mimicry, May Yong embroiled in a head-to- Yam’s amicability adds initiates a confrontation with as well as providing a fl amboyant style as seen to a rabbit. Monkey ambition and cynicism; head battle for the position depth to the sly crocodile the head of a rival clan. The limited critique of the in Mother, Sons, 24 Hours Love is an exploration all refl ected by one of the Chairman amidst which hides behind the ensuing fi ght degenerates dialectic between Chinese and the controversial Cut. of the absurdities and actress’s casting call. artful manipulation and into a savage bloodbath, ready smile, quick to snap and Western culture. men and women as they heartless double-crosses. and rather than bringing at his enemies’ bones when Fearless is infused with deal with marriage and There are no adrenaline- glory Yuanjia’s subsequent they threaten his territory. a strong sense of Chinese familial matters. However, pumping chopper scenes victory only prompts an It is the juxtaposition nationalism, emphasising while these seem like and wild street-chases act of bloody vengeance. of timidity and bravery, traditional storytelling and universal themes, Sa- typical of Hong Kong Fleeing in self-imposed fear and ambition that aesthetic elements while at Invisible Waves Kwa has a very specifi c gangster movies. The Young exile, Yuanjia descends organises To’s fi lm. To the same time appropriating and localised feel. This is and Dangerous series, one into a spiritual oblivion. Invisible Waves tells asks hard questions the conventions typical the huge appeal of South of Hong Kong’s much- Rescued at the point of the story of soporifi c here: if survival were the of post-Matrix Western Korean fi lms for me—that loved triad fi lms, seems death by the peasants of gangster and chef, Kyoji sole purpose of human action fi lms. Kinetic shot their fi lm-makers are able brash by comparison. a remote farming village. (Tadanobu Asano). After existence, to what extent montages and impossible to reinvent their generic Johnnie To abandons Participating in the simple Kyoji unintentionally kills his would one go, and at what camera angles are preferred counterparts in the West so B-grade irrationality and pastoral existence of the lover, who also happens to cost is harmonious living over the use of wires and as to revitalise the cinema madness for calculated untouched community leads be sleeping with his boss, achieved in the post-1997 it is this lack of mysticism with new perspectives. bludgeoning, making these Yuanjia towards redemption. he moves to Phuket. He is new world order? One of that proves to be the fi lm’s Sa-Kwa centres on a acts even more unnerving, Returning to the scene of trailed there by Lizard (Ken Communism’s foundations strongest feature. It allows young woman, Hyung- cold-blooded and vile. his downfall, he takes up Mitsuishi), a Hawaiian- remains prevalent: the the superbly choreographed jung (Moon So-ri), who Nick Cheung is excellently the fi ght for national pride shirted caricature of a individual must not fi ght sequences to come is carefree yet devoted in cast as the naïve Jet and his in the face of encroaching 1940s Hollywood cliché, impede on the well-being to the fore and provides love and is shattered when British Imperialism. Li the chance to showcase who menacingly disrupts of society. To asks us to was the spotlight director her fi ancé breaks up with While this unimaginative his classic fi sts of fury. Kyoji’s daily movements. consider the inner workings at MIFF in 2004. This her. She then decides to and formulaic plot can at Rees Quilford Kyoji is never allowed to of a nation and what is at American-educated Thai marry on the rebound to times frustrate, it does settle into his new life, and stake when territoriality fi lm-maker often exudes an awkward co-worker, provide an ideal platform soon realises that his boss is becomes uncertain. a subdued calm through Sang-hoon (Kim Tae-woo), Germaine Lim for the exploration of the responsible for orchestrating Sa-Kwa a sinister scheme. Kyoji his fi lms. For Invisible urged by her overbearing yet amusing family to move on. therefore plots his revenge. Waves, Ratanaruang The Greater Union cinema The passing of time fl ows An oblique and absurd once again teamed with was only half full, but the naturally in the fi lm at the gangster fi lm, the violence Australian cinematographer fact that David Stratton hands of Kang, as Hyung- of Invisible Waves is Christopher Doyle. The was there provided some jung comes to terms with always implied and there fi lm is beautifully shot and consolation. But even if the choice of making her is no traditional suspense Doyle’s drifting, off-centre you do not hold his opinion until the fi nal scene. The camerawork supports the marriage work. When Li Yuan), who is left to in the fi lm, and the lead in high regard, there is no fi lm’s simple plot is also understated grace and her ex-fi ancé makes an fend for himself while his actors were forbidden doubt that South Korean punctuated by moments lethargic feel of the fi lm. unexpected reappearance, 4:30 mother is away on business. to talk to each other on fi lms deserve the critical of slapstick comedy, and While informed by the she realises that she is no According to Tan, 4:30 in the set. Tan relies heavily on recognition they are the cruise ship sequence Hollywood and French longer the same woman. Director Royston Tan morning is the loneliest time their corporeal abilities to receiving on the festival as Kyoji travels to Phuket tradition of gangster fi lms, Kang is a director who puts doesn’t say much when he of day because it is too late convey their loneliness. circuit. It is perhaps fi tting is worthy of the brilliant Waves has a slower pulse. a handheld camera close to introduces his fi lm 4:30 on to fall asleep and too early to At times, this turns into that Sa-Kwa won the the park and ‘borrowing’ French fi lm-maker Jacques Ratanaruang’s recent fi lms his accomplished actors, so Monday night, except to wake up. Longing for human caricature, especially International Critics Jury oranges from offerings Tati. Doors inadvertently all veer close to minimalism, that we become involved forewarn the audience that contact and desperate to for Kim’s character, who Prize at the 2005 Toronto left out for worship. slam shut, taps come on at with little dialogue, little in the emotional core of the unlike his previous work, break the monotony of his spends the majority of the International Film Festival. 4:30 is a welcome the wrong time, and engine action and little plot fi lm. South Korea may seem 4.30 is so quiet he will be day, Xiao Wu rifl es through fi lm looking forlorn. Yet, Sa-Kwa is the debut departure for Tan, fumes pour in the only cabin development. In Invisible like a conservative society— able to hear any snoring the belongings of Jung (Kim Tan’s ability to evoke such a feature fi lm of Kang Yi- marking his cinematic window. And in a similarly Waves, this subtlety can at in which practically is the during the screening. Young Jun) at 4.30 a.m.—the visceral performance from Kwan. The fi lm delves into engagement with those perverse but well-executed times mask the narrative price to pay for stability—yet Such childish, almost broken-hearted, chain- his young actor makes you territory that the American who do not fi t in with scene, two gangsters advancement. But be their fi lms show that they absurd humour punctuates smoking and suicidal Korean wonder if he was like this indie cinema seems to Singapore’s public image diverted from their life-and- assured that it is there, can transgress conventional the stillness of 4:30. tenant who passes out every as a child—surfi ng ironing excel in—character-driven as a universally middle- death tussle to tend some however slight it may seem. and banal fi lm-making. The fi lm follows a young night in the room next door. boards, playing tricks on melodramas that explore class and orderly city. soup cooking on a stove. Ben Gook Queenie Chan boy, Zhang Xiao Wu (Xiao There is scant dialogue tai chi practitioners in the complex divide between Queenie Chan Pen-Ek Ratanaruang Transience: Transience: The Asian Metropolis The Asian Metropolis

Luxury Car Rampo Noir Goddess, The 39 In Shanghai, silent film drab cinematography and unfortunate that the one Wang Chao (The Orphan international audience. convinced that it worked. actress Ruan Lingyu was laborious plot, it’s easy to and only screening of The of Anyang, 2001; Day and Luxury Car is substantially Mirror Hell, the second among the biggest stars of understand how esteem Goddess lacked a live Night, 2004) investigates more expensive than either film, is an interesting take her generation. After first for Lingyu’s performance music accompaniment. the hardships of low income of his former pictures and is on the Myth of Narcissus. rising to fame as a teen has outlasted appreciation This prevented the earners in China’s regional the first to receive additional A man who loves seeing actress in the late 1920s, for the picture’s technical modern audience from interior in Luxury Car, a film pre-sale investment himself in mirrors so Lingyu joined the LianHua virtues. Lingyu breathes viewing a silent picture about the tragically strained from a major distributor much, that he creates a film studio in 1930 and soon emotional depth into the as originally intended. relations between a father, based in Europe (Celluloid mirror (using an ancient became its major attraction. benevolent figure of the One year after The his pregnant bar hostess Dreams). The consequent technique) to harness black Over the next six years she mother. Rare, carefree Goddess was theatrically daughter, her gangster boss requirement to make a magic and kill people. anchored some of the most moments highlighting her released, and before anyone and a kind-hearted police saleable property seems Caterpillar features a important films of the era, lovely smile and beguiling had a chance to cast her officer helping the father to have motivated Wang’s limbless war veteran, including Love and Duty, radiance contrast the in a sound picture, Ruan search for his missing son. newfound tolerance for his wife who beats him which screens at MIFF on the oppressive melancholy at Lingyu committed suicide. The plot of Luxury Car is gorgeous visuals, onscreen A collection of four short for pleasure and her August 6, and The Goddess. the heart of the tragic story. She was 24-years-old. Since unusually thick for Wang, violence and sweeping disturbing films, Rampo brother who believes The Goddess is a tragic When overbearing male then, her life and career who has also developed camera movements. Noir is right at home in the that the limbless war silent drama about a single figures dominate her later has been immortalised on a far more conventional In the process of making Brain Monkey Sushi film veteran is a work of art. mother battling patriarchal in the film, her tempestuous celluloid thanks to Stanley dialogue driven style than vibrant movie full of nuance category. Each short film has Crawling Bugs, the final tyranny as she resorts to vexation allows her to Kwan’s Actress (known in previous films. Wang for art house consumption, its distinctive qualities, yet film, stars a germophobe prostitution in order to raise exploit a whole different Australia as Centre Stage, exploits atmosphere sound Wang has discarded the each also possesses some driver who falls in love with her son and earn enough set of mannerisms. 1992), which features tracks and songs heard on distinctive barren formalism similarity to the others. The his actress passenger. In money to send him through Silent movies are hardly Maggie Cheung in the role offscreen karaoke machines that made him stand out central themes are art and an act of love, he decides school. Given the uninspired ever watched in silent of the silent glamour queen. to replace a recorded music from the latest group of love, conveyed in extremely to kill her and keep her staging, occasionally auditoriums, so it was James Brown Everlasting Regret score. The commotion of low-budget film-makers to disturbing situations. body at his apartment. street vendors, hurtling emerge from China. Now The opening film, Mars’s As a collection, Rampo By situating itself in traffic, boozing businessmen it is the strength of Wang’s Canal is silent and packed Noir works on some levels the upper echelons of and school children floods stories and his technical flair with male nudity and but fails to deliver in cosmopolitan Shanghai the sound scape, providing that critics and audiences artistic, flashy cuts. Mars’s many others. It sets out to society, we are presented an acute juxtaposition with will judge him by. Canal tells the tale of a man visually assault its audience with a sumptuous image of the often expressionless We’re not so much hailing recounting a horrific sexual and does so from time to pre-Communist China—all main characters. A few the arrival of a great new experience, in which he ends time, but on a number of r 222 art deco apartments, ba h unbefitting histrionic individualist director up killing his lover. Because occasions throughout the il ig Western desserts and pre- a h moments intrude to spoil anymore as wondering how the film lacks any sound arduous journey I felt bored t s revolution indulgence. It’s k t the overall affect of Wang’s superbly crafted French- whatsoever, it’s clear that and uninterested in what c r a nostalgic image and the o e formal restraint, another Chinese co-productions the director was trying to was taking place onscreen. c e romantic plot only heightens lend some artistic credit to a t result of appealing to the might find a harmonious If you are planning on n the seduction of these early this piece, but I’m not fully m o preferences of a wider balance of objectives and watching Rampo Noir I r scenes. As the characters i r response to the imperatives would suggest that this f t grow older and the political h Stanley Kwan’s Everlasting of the international market. collection of films is not a c landscape changes, r Regret traces the story of James Brown for the weak of stomach r o melancholy becomes the e t two female friends, Qiyao or easily bored. t e dominant mood of the film. Paul D’Agostino (Sammi Cheng) and Lili With its pervasive (Yan Su), as their lives melancholy, gorgeous Accelerator Program 2 entwine and fall apart in cinematography and Shanghai. Set against the nostalgia, the film recalls Like Forrest Gump’s was humorous—the backdrop of the turbulent Wong Kar-Wai. But Kwan box of chocolates, short audience often giggled arrival and implementation doesn’t reach Wong’s level films can be delicate and with recognition—but of Mao’s Communism, of mastery. The film’s plot discomforting in equal never nostalgic. Similarly the private lives of these never quite comes together measure—and that’s understated was Small two young girls are around any emotion just what we got. Boxes, a gentle tale of a continually unsettled. beyond nostalgia. The The atmospheric The Latino-Australian man’s with her younger brother Qiyao begins as a retiring few piercing moments of Dance follows a teenager’s efforts to change his life but playful girl who is and her Anglo-Australian turmoil are almost comic flirtation with suicide and that could have been boyfriend are the more groomed to become Miss given the flatness of their immersion in music. Its saccharine but was gently Shanghai. When her corrupt piquant for the crippling backstories—we have no real use of light is hauntingly uplifting. The boxes of the grief of her bedridden father. husband’s activities find context for these outbursts. beautiful, but the wobbly title refer to the shoe store him out of favour with the The screening finished with As such, Everlasting Regret camera does little to dispel where he takes his beloved the literally creepy Nature’s burgeoning Communist is a feast where tiny visual the stereotype of short claustrophic character study grandmother, and where party, he disappears and of a photographer’s sexual Way, set in a perpetually delicacies never quite sate films as training grounds for he later looks for work. rainy New Zealand suburb. Qiyao is left to fend for the desire for a wholesome inexperienced directors. manipulation of two teenage Love This Time was herself. Running from the sharpie models. Good After a man stabs a feed: even with the Despite its heroic focus bittersweet, but equally small girl to death in the 1940s through until the disappointing plot, the film’s pulling, I felt similarly premise; unnecessarily tender. ‘I have so much 1990s, the film’s reach hammy acting. rainforest, she creeps back sumptuous presentation is ambivalent about Look love to give,’ says an into his life like the vines across time is significant. a worthwhile indulgence Sharp; although, l did For me, the highlight was Islamic-Australian girl as However, its settings remain the agony and ecstasy of creeping into his home. for those who enjoy the appreciate its punning title. she attempts to hold her It was an unsettling end the same—we return to the work of Wong Kar-Wai Seemingly inspired by fireworks in the Cannes household together after same cafes and apartments to a rewarding afternoon or Christopher Doyle, his Melbourne photographer selected Cracker Bag. her mother’s death. Her word. to see how lives have Its evocation of early of Australian cinema. Australian cinematographer. Carol Jerrems, it’s a optimistic relationships Mel Campbell changed or stayed the same. Ben Gook ‘80s Australian suburbia Brain Monkey Sushi Globalised

you feeling better off for Each story feels like The First Contact makes you The debut documentary The Oromo Coffee Farmers having had the experience. a preparation for the feel like you’re in a weird film by brothers Marc and Co-operative Union in Addis Funky Forest, The Funky Forest: The First next, so there’s no real and surreal blend of dream, Nick Francis, Black Gold, is Ababa. His passionate quest Contact plays like an displacement or distance anime, computer game, life a fascinating observation to improve the life of the Co- First Contact amalgamation of short between them. More so and a not so scary version Black Gold of the machinations of the operative workers provides stories, but you kind of there’s a commonality of self of Hunter S. Thompson’s international coffee industry. the film-makers with a hero get the feeling that each sublimity, ridiculousness, The Naked Lunch. This film From farmers struggling to as he searches for buyers 41 Japan’s reverence and in Vietnam. A personal and fascination with Western character in each separate and a deliberate madcap is everything that’s fun and survive in Ethiopia to the willing to pay a little more often funny observation, pop culture has given birth story lives in a small world, impetuousness that pulses, interesting about Japan. And trading floor of the New for his Union beans. the film captures the to many wacky screen one that continuously or impulses, throughout for the Eeyore in all of us, it York commodities exchange Black Gold shows that sharing of traditions characters and concepts. threads through itself and the entire film. This is cool still has a lot of philosophical and the competitive world we consumers can make a through recollections, But this one really takes through an interlinking and clever cinema. Its wit merit. That is, if you’re of ‘rock star’ baristas, difference. All it takes is the relationships and the cake. It’s equally as higher subconscious. This and brash humour make Freudian enough to interpret Black Gold exposes the price of a cup of coffee. photographs. A sweet short. bizarre and quirky as it is may or may not be due to its abrupt, unexpected the dream states. Get inequities and complexities The Betel Tree: this short Rachael Howlett endearingly entertaining. the underlying presence of and seemingly pointless seriously lost, and laugh that of a right to fair trade. documentary by VCA School From the first moment aliens from Piko Riko, with plotlines not only forgivable shocked, innocent laugh you The film-makers use of Film and Television to the last, it assaults whom everyone seems but an enhancement to the haven’t had since you were Ethiopia as the focus for graduate Jakeb Anhvu is a and surpasses all normal to either hear about or cinematic experience. a kid. Not recommended for an issue having such a poignant reflection on life expectations and then leaves come into contact with. Watching Funky Forest: the responsible adult in you. devastating effect on so Magenta Magenta For the majority of many countries. Known as Melburnians, grabbing the birthplace of coffee, a coffee is part of the Ethiopia is home to the best fundamentals of life. coffee in the world—Black Whether it’s a latte, espresso Gold. But with 15 million or skinny soy mocha, we people depending on coffee for their survival and record Heart, Beating in the Dark lovingly participate in the low international coffee is part sequel, part remake We may be watching one estimated two billion cups prices, the farmers are and part mockumentary—an or both of these characters of coffee drunk globally Heart, Beating desperate for a fair deal. Inconvenient intriguing continuation making a movie within every day. But how many Trying to assist is Tadesse of Shunichi Nagasaki’s Takeshis’ a movie. Or one of the of us ever think about the Meskela, the Manager of 1982 Super 8 classic in the Dark characters fantasising story behind the bean? Truth, An of the same name. about living the other’s It’s time to be alert and signed up Guggenheim Don’t be put off by not life—a lengthy satire about and alarmed. Carbon (Deadwood) to film the having seen the original, violence and fate. Or we dioxide emissions are debate—to broaden the as this is a stand alone may be watching something rising. The polar caps reach of Gore’s message. film in its own right. While surprisingly poignant as the are shrinking. Species The environmental agenda reshooting the original story almost forgotten pre-credit are disappearing. Davis is clear and the construction with new actors in a modern sequence comes into play. Guggenheim’s documentary simple as An Inconvenient setting, the film explores In Takeshis’, actors An insightful portrayal of people’s lives thrown An Inconvenient Truth Truth focuses on Gore’s the long-term implications playing various characters may well be ‘the decade’s multimedia message. of the original by following using their names, turn into turmoil as corporate giant BP claims the land of scariest movie yet’ as it Lively, passionate and the characters 20 years up in multiple scenes as demonstrates how our often funny, Gore is down the track. The older different personas. The a small farming village in Georgia for a multimillion actions affect the planet. engaging as he delivers an characters are played by the hilarious auditions the At its core is former USA impressive presentation on same actors who appeared The film title’s apostrophe luckless ‘nobody Kitano’ dollar oil project. Set against a backdrop Vice-President Al Gore’s the impact of warming on in the original, and the is deliberate—the plural attends are replayed as long-time crusade to the Earth. His slide show younger characters bear an made possessive. Takeshi real-life events. Completely of stunning mountain Pipeline Next ranges, the film portrays raise awareness of global contains an array of visual uncanny resemblance to the is Kitano Takeshi, one of surreal interludes are warming. His interest was images, stunning in their original actors in their youth. Japan’s foremost film included for no discernable a land being ripped apart by construction workers Door, The ignited in college but in simplicity and easy to grasp. Dark, tense and writers, directors and reason—I’m still scratching 1989, the near death of his Dramatic images of an claustrophobic, it is not my head about the two jolly to make a path for the scenes are some of the most stars. The name of his new amounts of financial six-year-old son changed Antarctic ice shelf crashing an easy film to watch. (15 Sumo wrestlers on a cliff industrial pipeline, Baku- enjoyable parts of the film. movie not only loosely compensation being offered Gore’s way of thinking about into the ocean, graphs people left the cinema headbutting a papier mâché Tbilisi-Ceyhan, which Heart, Beating in the translates as Takeshi dies, to individuals. One of the the world—what we take for correlating 650-thousand- throughout the movie.) caterpillar into the ground! snakes its way across the Dark moves at quite a slow but also suggests the measures of compensation, granted may not be here for years of rising carbon With central themes of However, the film abounds valleys. Sweeping shots pace and attempts too film belongs to multiple according to the film, our kids. Losing the 2000 dioxide emissions with rising infanticide, violence and with biographical references of the lush and peaceful many things at once. Some Takeshis. And so it does. requires landowners to US Presidential election temperatures, and the shock being on the run—and a few about the real Takeshi and countryside is contrasted tighter editing may have Takeshis’ is a remarkable count the number of apple provided further fuel in his of the receding snowline harrowing rape scenes—it contains elegant parodies with close-ups of trucks improved it. It is, however, piece of work that is and walnut trees growing battle for the environment. of Mount Kilimanjaro is a shocking and beautiful of his previous movies and monstrous cranes. an ultimately satisfying hilarious, self-referential, on their properties. Producers Laurie David push home the point. It is film about ugly things. and careers. Takeshis’ is The primary focus of this experience: with excellent action packed and mind- Director, Nino Kirtadzé and Lawrence Bender disturbing. But Gore also The mockumentary completely absorbing both film is the people living acting, moving imagery boggling. Kitano plays takes the role of detached attended one of Gore’s free inserts humour into this element delivers some in trying to keep up with in the village who have and tense mood, the film is an idealised version of observer and the camera lectures on climate change horror with animations and (black) comedic relief from himself, a film superstar the levels of reality (or lack found themselves pitted nothing if not audacious. against a global corporation is non-invasive as we even a clip from ‘Futurama’. the tension of the storyline. who bumps into a lookalike thereof) in the plot, the uncertainty and reveals This is less a remake and while they fight to be fairly are transported into the With Australia one of only Nagasaki’s inclusion of movie extra with the same doubling up of performers the plethora of different more a reworking, a carefully compensated for the loss homes and daily lives two developed nations not footage of the original actors name—also played by and scenes, the recurring character traits (including crafted and self-reflective of their land. There is an of the villagers and the to have signed the Kyoto re-engaging with the movie Kitano! And then things dialogue, and the wonderful strength, compassion film. Well worth a look in if atmosphere of mistrust, conflicting world of the climate change Treaty is a novel look at the effect start getting complicated... madcap humour of it all. and humour), as well as you can handle the intensity. and emotions run high as company executives. (USA being the other), of a film on its actors. These Just go and see Takeshis’— the faults and foibles of Lesley Devlin the people discuss health The film is neither preachy Guggenheim’s documentary it’s in a league all of its own. people, which surface and environmental risks, nor judgmental but takes An Inconvenient Truth is Kim Edwards in a crisis situation. government corruption, a humanist approach and captivating viewing during A powerful and moving problems with determining allows the people to tell this year’s Festival. Just account of a highly land ownership and large their own stories. It is a don’t drive to see it. complex issue. discrepancies with the fascinating study of human Rachael Howlett nature in the face of future Madeleine Jenkins Documentaries

9 Square out of focus shots and rough framing capturing some sort of reality. Meters for All created with one handheld camera—never Absolute Wilson Two leaving the cell, never showing other inmates or 43 9 Square Meters for Two is Absolute Wilson is an the result of an experiment guards, focusing on the interesting documentary that took place in Baumettes here and now, with little about a theatre director, Prison in Marseille, France. exploration of the inmates’ but does not convey the A purpose built set using history or future, and little power of Wilson’s work. the same dimensions as a sense of a world beyond the I saw Wilson’s Einstein Unholy standard cell—nine square four walls. We only once get On the Beach in 1992. Part meters—was constructed a glimpse of the outside, meditation, part spectacle, within the prison, then 10 showing other cells exactly pure experience; and one inmates were given basic the same as the one we’re in. of the most phenomenal training in filming techniques There are also more nights I have ever Confessions and encouraged to create scripted stories: stories spent in a theatre. whatever they wanted. about music, getting Director Katharina The result is a series out, rebuilding lives, and Otto-Bernstein is also an of stories most of which the tensions that such a admirer, which influences focus on the minutiae of restricted space creates. This her choices. The film prison life: constant cups is a constant reminder that avoids criticism, and of tea or coffee, cutting the film isn’t a documentary, contribution by significant each other’s hair, listening but an experiment; it’s not Wilson collaborators made for an audience but Amy Berg, the writer, director and producer of Deliver Us the rule of a confessional between Priest and Bishop to music, reading, playing is noticeably absent. hospital in the late ‘60s. for the inmates, to give From Evil, talks about her revealing interviews with Church means that everything said must not be repeated, and scrabble, trying to fill the Very successful is The cast were patients them a chance to express officials and the perpetuation of abuse against children. that has and still does include criminal activity. The church hours. These have the her exploration of how who could only make small themselves. It’s concerned justifies the cover up because they value members of feel of a documentary, Wilson developed movements with their with looking out, not How did the idea for Deliver Us From Evil arise? the Priesthood above children. Cardinal Mahoney of Los with their single, long, his unique theatrical hand or mouth. They were looking in; but watching it, Angeles, who appears in a lot of video footage in the film, language. Possibly his connected by photosensitive in all of its claustrophobic, I had been a journalist for about seven years when I believes that the Priest and rules of the confessional are most powerful works string. They created a grey, monotony, you can started working on stories about paedophilia within the more important than the rights of children—he doesn’t have never been seen visual language showing see glimpses of the truth Catholic Church for CNN. I met Father Oliver O’Grady, the acknowledge what has been done to the victims of abuse in public. Wilson used they could communicate. that the film is trying to paedophile priest, during this time and realised I had an at all. Victims have sought meeting up with Church officials theatre games in schools Absolute Wilson gave me communicate. As one of the incredible opportunity to document his story for a feature- but this request has not been met. Nor has there been an & hospitals to enable a greater understanding of prisoners states, nobody length film. I didn’t really have a personal interest in the apology to abuse victims on behalf of the Catholic Church. communication with an artist I admire. I would outside really knows what subject matter before this. I wanted to include Oliver’s patients & children have liked more debate & it’s like to be in prison, but perspective because it is a side we don’t hear very often, Cardinal Roger Mahoney was aware of O’Grady’s ‘unable’ to communicate. wish the film could have 9 Square Meters for Two and I think it’s important that we include it to balance record as an offender and was culpable for allowing I would love to have seen captured the experience of shows enough to appreciate with the stories of his colleagues and of the victims. O’Grady to continue working as a Priest. How The Black Rider, but even being in theatre. Fortunately, the bleakness of prison life. do you think his refusal to report O’Grady would better would have been this can be achieved by Paul Callaghan Your film takes a sympathetic view towards fare outside the institution of the Church? a piece performed in a seeing his new work at the the child abuse victims. You have also tried to Melbourne International understand O’Grady’s views about what he has Well, he would be fired or killed, wouldn’t he? There is a Arts Festival in October. done—he committed abuse of children while a priest great opportunity now for the Catholic Church to change Anne-Marie Peard for decades. What answers did you come up with? the way people look at them, yet they’re going the other way. They perpetuate myths such as, ‘Homosexuality Well, he acknowledges it (paedophilia) as an illness is linked to paedophilia.’ There are no reports saying and that his abuse of children shouldn’t have happened. homosexuals are more likely to be paedophiles. The But he is also in denial. When he talks about some of psychologist I interviewed in the film substantiates this. Al Franken: God Spoke is the instances when he hurt children, he is very vague. Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a documentary following Al Franken : He never goes as far as to say he raped a child. He talks has the power to set up investigations that set out to the former ‘Saturday Night very indirectly about what he has done, always skirting prevent future abuse, but nothing is being done. He Live’ comedian from the around the extent of it—talking about ‘touching’ and presided over the Congregation for the Doctrine of the God Spoke publication of his 2003 book ‘cuddling’ and so on. Another interesting point is that Faith, the Vatican office that ran an inquiry into child Lies, and the Lying Liars that he was himself abused as a child, but he refers to these sex abuse. Nothing positive was done during this time. Tell Them to the conclusion events as ‘sex’ and not ‘abuse.’ I think that if he did fully He ordered that the Church’s investigations into child most interesting insights of the 2004 US Presidential acknowledge these traumas of his childhood, he would sex abuse claims be carried out in secret. But you have to external observers of elections. The film traces his then have to face up to himself in light of what he has done to remember, we’re talking about a Church that won’t the US political system. efforts to make the voice of to hundreds of children...and he doesn’t want to do that. support the use of condoms in AIDS stricken countries. Australian figures such the American liberal heard as Andrew Bolt and Alan in the face of an increasingly An excerpt from the Deliver Us From Evil website Do you think Evil exists or is it only a religious concept? Jones pale in comparison conservative media. says, ‘Church hierarchs may believe their divinely to Franken’s adversaries. Passionate, funny and use of humour that serves as are judged according to ordained status relieves them of accountability to their No, I don’t think it does. I don’t want to speak for Coulter asserts at one point ultimately frustrated by the his most damaging weapon. their ability to take a joke, followers.’ How do you think the Catholic Church justifies the victims, but I know that for at least one of them, in the film that if she could environment he lives in, Any doubts the audience it is Franken’s humour covering up abuse perpetrated by inside Officials? O’Grady speaks for the devil. I’m not religious in be any political figure in Franken is presented as a may have over the threat that makes him an easy And what about them answering to their victims? a Christian sense, but I’m very spiritual. I think the past she would be Joe more personable version he poses to people such target when he attempts to we all get lost and make bad choices...and we’re McCarthy, demonstrating of Michael Moore. Despite as Bill O’Reilly and Anne talk serious politics. This Catholic Church officials—the Bishops, Cardinals...they individually responsible for those choices. the depth of conservatism his obvious knowledge of Coulter are soon laid to paradox drives him to a don’t try to justify or explain the abuse in the slightest. I’m interested in the power of thoughts and how they in America today and the political system and rest through the ferocity of final dilemma over what Their view is, ‘what happens stays in the Church.’ And manifest themselves, how we can control them. the full extent of what well researched approach their attacks on him. These he truly needs to sacrifice Anna Sutton figures in the film, as well as Franken has taken on. in order to progress on towards the right, there is no Although this film shows denying that it is Franken’s others like Rush Limbaugh the political stage. and Sean Hannity, offer the that people in authority Sam Wilson Documentaries Documentaries

Just like in real life (albeit with more foam weapons and battles) for every Deliver Us possible negative, there is a Darkon positive; for every friendship From Evil that fractures because of the game, a new one is 45 Darkon is a world at war. The disclosure of extensive of silence and duplicity to The plains shake with created; for every scrap cases of child abuse within protect one of their own. As Hero’s the sounds of battle. The of meaningless politics, the Catholic Church has a consequence, although seas run red with blood. there’s a real opportunity attracted much media previously convicted of The wind pulses with to express yourself. attention over the past violently abusing two young Axle Journey, A screams of victory. The As the fi lm reaches its decade, as victims began boys, O’Grady now lives in Glass (03)9499 9444 climactic battle between the soccer fi elds quake with to garner the courage to Ireland with an unsettling Grace Phan’s stilted rallying cries. Alliance and Mordom, you come forward with their level of anonymity, ambling see friendships form and documentary, A Hero’s Welcome to the world of experiences. Still, despite around his neighbourhood Journey, charts Xanana The Darkon Wargaming break, alliances struggle, widespread media coverage, park amongst families castles stormed, and Gusmao’s journey from Club in Baltimore, USA, the true extent of the history and children. fi sherman, poet, guerilla a full-contact medieval forests fi ll with wounded. of child abuse within the O’Grady’s disturbing Bannor fi nally meets his leader to President, fantasy wargaming group. Catholic clergy remains detachment to his through his relationships Darkon follows a time of nemesis, one-on-one. unclear. It has become crimes seems even more with two women wearing When it’s all over, everyone with the people and the brightly coloured fabrics. great upheaval. Bannor increasingly evident that overwhelming in light of land of East Timor—a (Skip Lipman) has insulted goes back into their cars in many instances, the the detailed and emotive The villagers clap and and home to fi x their swords beautiful country full laugh as they begin to leader Keldar (Kenyon Church itself was involved descriptions of the abuse of blue water beaches, Wells) and country Mordom. and shields. They sew up in elaborate cover-ups to described on camera by dance— ‘integration’ with their armour, pick up their emerald mountains, deep Indonesia would have Believing it to be his ensure that the experiences three of his victims. The jungle terrain and villages destiny to break Mordom’s kids, do the washing, and of sufferers never became emotional potency of their meant the loss of the East serve coffee, all the while where the people seem Timorese people’s spirit, stranglehold and bring public. In her feature fi lm recollections is furthermore as striking and as full of Keldar to trial and justice, thinking about the next debut, Deliver Us From Evil, interjected with footage colour and traditions forever. event when, maybe, they’ll colour as the landscape. Gusmao provided Bannor creates an alliance former journalist Amy Berg of the unaffected and Seen through Gusmao’s with outlying countries. fi nally get to be a hero. delves beneath the layers manipulative depositions leadership throughout, Paul Callaghan eyes this fi lm opens but the fi lm clearly shows Darkon takes us into both of deceit that surround of some of the most senior with a terrifying poem the fantasy and real world such cases to reveal a web bishops in the Catholic that he has learned from recited by the President the people he encountered of the people behind it all. of clerical conspiracy. Church of Los Angeles. over scenes of beautiful, The fi lm never portrays The centrepiece of the fi lm As the web of deception, on his journey. An elderly rugged countryside. woman, who sold everything the participants as losers, is the candid testimony of perjury and denial begins From the safety of nerds or overwhelmingly Oliver O’Grady, a former to unravel, the sense of to buy malaria medicine Australia, it is diffi cult to for him, saved his life. In dysfunctional. From the parish priest responsible hopelessness grows. comprehend the suffering house-husband who wants for the abuse of hundreds Berg deftly guides the prison he overcame his of the East Timorese hatred of Indonesian guards. to be a hero, to the 28- of children within his care. audience into the tangle of under Indonesian rule. year-old ex-stripper who O’Grady’s open manner and lies and corruption, leaving He learned the meaning of Why did Gusmao and forgiveness from a villager wants out of her mother’s detached depth of detail us feeling both disturbed his comrades fi ght for basement, to the high school are incredibly disarming, and overwhelmed. Filmed whose arms were broken liberation for 24 years, so badly by Indonesian aged Starbucks worker especially when juxtaposed with the ruthless motivation hiding out in the jungles? who wants the courage with his overt charisma. of a journalist, Deliver Us soldiers that he asked his Why did Gusmao endure sons to amputate them. to talk to girls—they’re all Harboured by the Catholic From Evil is at once both nine years incarceration people, struggling with the Church for over 30 years, an expose of a broad and Gusmao urges his people to in an Indonesian prison? forgive in order to be free. search for meaning, with O’Grady was simply moved insidious problem, and a Great Happiness Space Visiting a village in their place in both worlds. from parish to parish gentle tribute to the courage The fi lm closes with the fi lm, he is asked to another poem, one of rebirth across California, as the of a few individuals. The fi lm Tale of an Osaka Love Thief, The join a traditional dance Church constructed a wall is by no means an enjoyable and hope. Forgiveness is or easy one to watch, but it not easy, as recent events in In East of Paradise, This documentary is physically and fi nancially. is incredibly moving, and East Timor have shown, but fi lm-maker Lech Kowalski centred on the popular The one-on-one important. Not to be missed. with the journey to liberation East of presents two distinct ‘host bar’ Café Rakkyu, interactions between the Sophie Gaston resolved Gusmao is now meditations on human pain its charismatic head host host boys and the girls who trying to guide his people Paradise and renewal. In the fi rst half, Issei, and the women who adore them are central to to reach out for the future. Kowalski’s elderly mother pay handsomely for his the fi lm. It is in the intimate Lesley Devlin MariaMaria sspeakspeaks aboutabout thethe shifts to New York City’s son’s manufactured variety. that he hid somewhat behind attention. Shot in Osaka’s moments of these bought debut from director horrorshorrors sheshe livedlived tthroughhrough East Village in the late ‘70s. Whereas Maria’s story his oddball characters, frenetic nightlife district, it relationships that the Jake Clennell. inin WorldWorld WarWar IIII when,when, asas Using experimental footage epitomises how strong largely sharing his follows a night in the bar, viewer gets a good sense Clennell is scrupulously a youngyoung PolishPolish woman,woman, that he shot during this time, humans can be, the hope experiences through voice- from early evening chatter of why women are drawn non-judgemental in his sheshe waswas transportedtransported toto Lech takes the viewer on a in Lech’s world is hard over. Why didn’t he tell his to the late night binge to the host bars and the treatment of the people a gulaggulag iinn farfar easterneastern journey through the grimy to fi nd. Whether fi lming story in front of the camera drinking and party games. host boys, despite the he profi les. The partisan Russia.Russia. MMariaaria ddetailsetails tthehe world he inhabited, one fi lled concert-goers at a Sex the way his mother did? The candour that the artifi ciality of the exchanges. showing of the best and appalling treatment she host boys and their clients The plot is extremely sweet, candy-coloured look with drug use, prostitution Pistols concert, or his East of Paradise makes for worst of both the hosts of Funny Pets belies the and members of her family and porn. It is here that ‘muse’, wannabe actor and interesting, yet gruelling show in their interviews is well-crafted, taking us and the women who received, including torture, refreshingly, giving the fi lm from laughter to outrage to dark humour within. Their East of Paradise becomes musician Johnny Thunders viewing. It’s a long and pursue them allows us to adventures of kooky aliens starvation and isolation. It genuinely provocative, as dying of AIDS, it’s hard seedy journey, but Kowalski an endearing poignancy. refl ection and dropping us draw our own conclusions is a testament to Maria’s Although all seem savvy gently, almost sleepily, at the Corona and Crescent, pets to Lech’s narration reveals that not to view Lech and his fi nally makes his point. about the stylish players Betty Boop-inspired Funny, strength that she tells her he immersed himself in this pals as utterly lost. Mike Katsieris about the transactions end. The fi lm is captivating of Café Rakkyu. story with clarity and a that are taking place on and thought-provoking, are twisted and surreal. degrading scene in order Credit must go to the Sharp, funny and These animations are clever largely unfl inching eye, even to experience something younger Kowalski for the fl oor of Café Rakkyu, and the advertised ‘twist’ thoughtful, Great Happiness fi nding humour in the most we are left to wonder is a skilful presentation and stylishly produced. approaching his mother’s presenting himself in this Space is an entertaining Lisa Dempster tragic of circumstances. pain. The fi lm juxtaposes unfl attering light; although, what their involvement is of information. It is an peek into a subculture. The fi lm then jarringly Maria’s true pain with her I couldn’t shake the feeling costing them—emotionally, incredibly accomplished Short: The saccharine- Documentaries Documentaries

KZ is not just a fi lm about contribution is diminished than baseball. The Cosmos’ the Holocaust. The fact that by the enormity of the played to record crowds. KZ (the German abbreviation project. This is also true Once in a Heck, even Henry Kissinger for concentration camp) is a of the value of human life. and Mick Jagger got into documentary is quite fi tting, KZ In the Pit On the freeway, ones main Lifetime it. Maybe our A-League as it provides us with a new priority is to survive. In teams should take a leaf facet of one of the greatest this respect involvement out of the Cosmos’ book. 47 Mexico City: home to 15- When you think of sports This documentary is Real Dirt on tragedies of humanity million souls, three-million in the project merely North Americans are crazy You’ll get a better unique in that the subject, without the heaviness of cars. The cities major artery, provides the means to put about, soccer doesn’t appreciation of US soccer farmer John Peterson, is a plot or sombre music. the Perifarico freeway with enough food on the table. come very high on the after watching this. It’s both the author and the Farmer John, The fi lm is set in its bumper-to-bumper crush Respite from this constant list. ‘We don’t have the something SBS should narrator. As he tells it, his Mauthausen, a little village is symbolic of the hectic battle for survival comes attention span for a game have shown before the life thus far has consisted The in Austria, which is home and unforgiving pace of through the workers that is continuous and free recent World Cup, so we of tensions between his to one of the largest former life in this mega city. Juan carefree and at times vulgar fl owing as soccer,’ said one wouldn’t snigger, ‘Stick farming upbringing, and labour camps in Europe. Carlos Rulfo’s documentary bravado. It provides Rulfo sports journo. ‘We need the to gridiron boys.’ This the idealism and artistic Director Rex Bloomstein tracks the construction of a vehicle through which artifi cial stops and starts to fi lm has a seriously funky expression of his college offers us interviews with the second deck of Mexico to articulate the hopes, indulge in beer and chips.’ soundtrack, cool screen years and adulthood. Mauthausen residents, City’s largest freeway. dreams and fears of the But in the days of fl ares splits ala Charlie’s Angels, As a young man, John and neatly contrasts them With stunning visuals and average Mexican citizen. and short shorts, soccer and, where would a ‘70s tried to combine both with tours of the camp. alcoholism. The faces a pertinent soundtrack the The heartfelt thoughts was huge. And this fi lm is style movie be without afros worlds by inviting hippies The residents are asked of the teenagers in the fi lm follows the lives of the on friendship, religion, evidence of it. It follows the and handlebar mou’s. Look to work and play on his whether the town’s dark school group he is leading workers involved with the love, family and even the rise and fall of the New York out for Cosmos’ former farm in an experiment past bothers them, as they convey a different kind project and provides an endemic corruption of the Cosmos, America’s all-star Vice-President, Raphael de he called the ‘Midwest tend to their gardens or sit of sadness than graphic engaging portrait of the ebb Mexican state expressed by soccer team that shot to la Sierra, who has some Coast’. Failures and family in their living rooms. Most photos of victims would. and fl ow of high intensity the protagonists reinforce fame in the early 1970s. hilarious lines. There’s even pressures add to his say they are happy with the implication that the a baddie in megalomaniac KZ deals with several urban living as well as Warner Bros mogul Steve pressures and he retreats places himself as the poetic life in Mauthausen, as the foundations of the Perifarico Italian striker, Giorgio points, including the obvious the mysticism associated Ross, invested millions to to Mexico for solace. hero, which is profoundly camera pans across the were the blood, sweat Chinaglia. ‘If you don’t have one of never forgetting with this iconic freeway. lure international soccer When John returns irritating. Set-up shots fl ourishing, sunny town. and tears of its workers. an ego in sport, you’re not the past. It also raises the Despite the fact that stars, like Pele, to the team. home to farm again, he is of him in Mexico came One lady recounts her Emphasising the fact that going to go far,’ he said. touchy subject of guilt: who it seemed to consume It worked. Soccer was bigger subjected to a small-town across as self-conscious trip to Israel, where she their contribution to the city Oddly, there are interviews should feel guilty and for almost every waking witch-hunt. His lifetime and indulgent. But in its was told not to mention dynamic had gone largely with all the former players how long? The answer lies moment of their lives, the neighbour, an aspiring poetic efforts, The Real Mauthausen, the home unnoticed by the faceless except Pele, who was ultimately with the viewer, construction workers are sheriff, comes to the Dirt on Farmer John does that she knows and loves. masses that constantly credited with ‘opening a and that was something I depicted as imagining little conclusion that John is look beautiful. Super 8 One young tour guide, pass them by, Rulfo allows new frontier’ with soccer. really admired about the or no personal stake in a child-killing, orgiastic from John’s wild ‘60s days with his shaved head and those protagonists to And while the fl ashy screen fi lm. You get the feeling the freeway project. The Satan worshipper. I got weaves with well-placed sunken eyes, is almost as provide an insight into shots and close-ups are that it’s time for the moral value of their individual the feeling that part of interviews and more current chilling as the stories he urban existence, which is great, you kinda get tired lesson to be passed on. the reason the fi lm exists digital and fi lm footage, tells. His obsession with as humorous as it is tragic. of it after a while. At 97- Sarah Bones is for John to justify creating a textured and Mauthausen’s history is an Rees Quilford minutes, this fi lm would himself to his fi nger- nicely paced narrative of example of a detrimental have been better watched pointing community. John’s life. A soundtrack effect of the past, which at home. Oh, and an interest There is something littered with Dirty Three contributes to his suffering in soccer is preferable, about the way John tracks adds to the narrative. from depression and but not compulsory. Critical of Farmer John’s Janette Sato self-indulgence, I admire him and can see that his eccentricity and efforts make his corner of the world a little bit better. Passabe Return of the PoetPoet This is a deserving tale that is pretty well told. There’s a nifty aphorism and their families, and safe, women niggling and Harutyun Khachatryan’s Maggie Scott that states: ‘In war, truth is UN commissioners and teasing their husbands ReturnReturn ofof thethe PoetPoet is the the fi rst casualty.’ Passabe, lawyers. What emerges in about domestic ineptitude, ArmenianArmenian fi lm-maker’slm-maker’s fi lmed in East Timor four- the fi lm is that everyone and men making the attemptattempt toto depictdepict hishis years after independence, has a different view of sign of the cross then country.country. SansSans dialogue,dialogue, takes up this premise to the events that occurred ritually sacrifi cing pigs this is a visual sketch that explore the repercussions on the night in 1999, of to the tribal gods. assumes a prior knowledge journey of the completed of historical discrepancies who was responsible The handheld camera and of Ashugh Jivani, the 19th sculpture around Armenia. on the town of Passabe, for them, and how the natural lighting make the century poet of the title The sculpture traverses where 74 pro-independence spirits of the dead can be fi lm startlingly intimate, and name. Initially, this lack of both country and city, villagers were massacred appeased and amends while the fi lm-makers do explanation and narrative and the resulting images after the referendum. made between villages. indulge in the occasional is confusing and somewhat from the journey contrast ago, and it questions After a clumsy fi rst fi ve- While the focus of the fi lm National Geographic- alienating. However, if you landscape, modernity and the nature of creation, and how the poet would view minutes that includes a is on the consequences style shot, they try not to give up the struggle to culture. Memorable in their captivatingly portrays the country today. cringe-inducing slow motion of the massacre, it’s the exploit the poverty and understand and let go, the simplicity, Khachatryan the artistic process. The This fi lm is strikingly recreation of the massacre, incidental shots that give ethnicity of their subjects. fi lm’s visual language will presents scenes of poverty materials and textures beautiful, and its subject Passabe hits its straps and the fi lm its richness and Ultimately, the story tells engage you through the and of cultural richness. become almost tangible compelling in its simplicity. fi nds a more naturalistic depth—the sun rising over itself–and while it’s a story images that tell the stories Unfi nished, rotting churches through ingenious lighting, It inspires you to learn more pace. Scrupulous about lush countryside, children with no conclusive end, it’s of Armenia and its people. are shown alongside and the artist’s expression about Armenia and the poet ensuring all voices are heard, playing up to the cameras, one well worth telling. The fi lm is divided into two children being passed speaks eloquently of his Jivani, so that you can fi ll the fi lm-makers interview elders suggesting fart Jess Friedmann parts. The fi rst half of the through a hole in a rock. anticipation and excitement in for yourself the blank victims, perpetrators, jokes to put visitors at fi lm follows the creation of The sculpture follows as he selects the fi nal stone. spaces that Khachatryan the village priest, tribal ease, villagers thanking UN a 10-metre high sculpture of the same journey that The second part of leaves unexplained. elders, ex-militia members leaders for keeping them Jivani. Khachatryan focuses Jivani made two centuries the fi lm documents the Sarah Miller Documentaries Documentaries

While the documentary There is only one truth details Gehry’s works for self-confessed ‘video Sketches of from the house in Santa junkie’ Rick Kirkham—the Monica, California through camera keeps rolling, Frank Gehry to the Vitra Design Museum no matter what. Žižek in Germany, there is a When Kirkham was given repeated focus on the his fi rst video camera at 49 This is an engaging profi le As a rule (And I have hysterically (and addictively) of Frank Gehry, one of the glistening, titanium clad 14, he began to record plenty of them in my passionate about whatever world’s most avant-garde Guggenheim Museum. everything. From his role narrow, sad little life.), he’s talking about. Not in contemporary architects. It tends to overshadow as dancer on ‘American I think it’s good to be a calm, wide-eyed David Directed by Sydney Pollack, Gehry’s other works. Bandstand’ to national TV Junkie wary of movies with Attenborough-way either. Gehry’s close friend, the Opinion on Gehry’s reporter for ‘Inside Edition’, exclamation points in He’s off the charts. Even designs has always Kirkham’s obsessive desire fi lm highlights some of the insight into the reasons the title. Especially when his fi ve-year-old son’s toys architect’s best projects been divided. There are to remain centre screen, the preceding word is are not safe from analysis. interviews with prominent both in public and private, behind these families’ �������� such as the Guggenheim in another language. I Žižek explains that his son critics who fail to see why saw him fi lm over three- dysfunction, even Kirkham’s Museum in Bilbao, Spain confession–like diaries seem don’t know what ‘Žižek’ is ‘progressive’ because and the Walt Disney Concert Gehry’s work is hailed as an thousand-hours of footage. means; it could be he has two ‘lesbian’ Lego ‘architectural phenomenon’. Co-directed by Michael Cain performative and guarded. ��������& Hall in Los Angeles. ‘Splade!’ or something women ruling the playroom. This adds another dimension and Matt Redecki, TV Junkie They follow a familiar cycle Shot mainly using a of avowal, self-loathing else. So imagine my Thankfully, there are handheld camera, this to the fi lm and prevents is the condensed result. surprise when I found out some shallower offerings it from falling into the All Kirkham wants is ‘the and hollow promises. By �������� documentary gives visual halfway through the fi lm, the ‘Žižek’ is not the name of in here for the punters insight into Gehry’s design trap of being a publicity perfect life’: he marries a something boring—no— too, with plenty of catchy campaign for the architect. nice girl from Texas, buys audience began laughing at process. Footage of Gehry the repetition and cliché of it’s actually the surname sound bites destined to agonising over his building Gehry then talks about a gaudy house and fathers ����� of a bombastic Slovenian plaster amateur reviews Kirkham’s proclamations. models is fascinating. his reactions to negative two sons. Yet despite his academic, complete like this. Stuff like ‘Love comments on his buildings. wealth, celebrity and all- Unlike Tarnation, in But what really sets it which self-documentation with green corduroy is evil’ and ‘Vegetarians apart from other profi les Sketches of Frank Gehry American veneer, Kirkham’s ���������� jacket! Strap yourselves are degenerates.’ You will appeal to those bizarre home movie footage becomes a cathartic process is unmistakeable close for both the fi lm-maker and in, we’re in for a roller believe him too. The fi lm rapport between Pollack interested in design and and video diaries reveal coaster of fun here. sometimes bogs itself down architecture. Yet everyone his descent into substance the audience, TV Junkie is and Gehry. The informal strangely devoid of hope ���� And, strangely enough, with its verbosity. But, hey, can appreciate the beautiful abuse and depression. and sometimes humorous or redemption. Kirkham is sometimes, yeah, it is. if you’re into that sort of manner in which the fi lm visualvisual presentationpresentation ooff Like Tarnation (2003) and Slavoj Zizek (Think Barry stuff, you’ll probably be Gehry’sGehry’s buildingsbuildings aandnd tthehe Capturing the Friedmans essentially an unsympathetic unfolds, complements and egotistical character, Jones on speed with a sweating with excitement. Gehry’s experimental design intriguingintriguing insightsinsights intointo thisthis (2003), TV Junkie is the cleft palate. Actually... Also, the short fi lm Death architect’sarchitect’s creativecreative process.process. self-documented tale of a whose need to record approach. He possesses an everything appears not no, don’t.) is something of the Revolution, which exuberant style more often VarunikaVarunika RuwanpuraRuwanpura family’s implosion. Yet while ������������ of a celebrity academic would’ve been better had the previous two fi lms offer as an attempt to capture associated with sculpting reality, but rather a desire ���������� (possibly more for his the lead child actor’s English and painting. Pollack also to shape it according to personality than his accent not been so thick. interviews Gehry’s clients his own requirements. for more information, please visit www.studentmedia.org.au teachings), specialising Shannon Marinko and contemporaries Despite the fi lm’s in sociology, philosophy including architect/writer positive, somewhat forced and other topics I don’t Charles Jencks and conclusion, I left the pretend to understand. singer Bob Geldof. theatre feeling the only Regardless, he’s insight I got into Kirkham was his insincerity. TV Junkie refl ects the falsity and self-obsession of an Fiction Shorts era and culture besotted with celebrity and wealth, Program 1 in which DIY implosion There’sThere’s thatthat oldold sayingsaying may become the closest DESPERATION. The pushing the envelopes of blurs the line between the thatthat mumsmums likelike toto throwthrow thing to ‘reality’. shorts opened with a adulthood, Cow Tipping real and the made-up. In downdown ttheirheir kids’kids’ throats:throats: Rebecca Harkins-Cross portrayal of entrapment in lucks out on the hallmark shaky handheld cameras ‘If‘If youyou can’tcan’t saysay anythinganything Antonio’s Breakfast. This of desperation—its fl eeting and a constant awareness of nice,nice, ddon’ton’t ssayay aanythingnything is an intimate insight to and temporal nature. the camera’s form ala reality at all.’ Sarah Silverman’s the reverse dependencies LONLINESS. Booth Story, TV, this UK production mum must’ve told her: ‘If all the rude words, it’s carers have to endure in Supermarket Love Song and sees Alistar return to the you can’t say anything nice, actually all pretty ordinary. caring for their loved ones. Home chronicle loneliness. hippy commune in which tell the whingeing cunts to Which is a shame because, Sarah Silverman: Antonio’s desperation is In the fi rst, a lonely car he grew up to confront fuck off.’ I guess it stuck. It well, she’s just so pretty. matched in The Substitute, park attendant becomes his deepest childhood stuck like a mother fucker. Remember when you fi rst Jesus is Magic where a young female obsessed with the hatching fears of abandonment. All right, I think I’ve suitably saw Delirious or Raw? Go army clerk’s her freedom of an egg he fi nds. Then, a But abandonment is still set up what we’re dealing watch them again. Every line depends—by a cruel dignifi ed pensioner reveals told best by a child, and with, as well as completely Maybe something’s lost in fearless as a performer. twist of fate—on her a penchant for his amorous this child is Lucky—the hits. Still. ‘Offensive’ or not. translation. Australians are Her delivery and execution alienated my family, friends, Then go see this. It’s really suicidal substitute. past. Finally in Home, plucky AIDS orphan who potential employers... pretty un-PC anyway. And are spot on. She’s totally The best spiel on another old man returns moves into the city in hopes weak. Could it have the we hang shit on different committed (or should be), Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is same (albeit cult) success as desperation belongs to home one day to fi nd that of a better life. Lucky is Magic is basically a concert minorities than the US. putting herself out there Cow Tipping. Caught in a everything has changed. composed of moments of either of those? No chance. Maybe it’s become harder and playing it all absolutely fi lm; 70-odd-minutes of I hope not. Kids today aren’t bid to impress the girl and Home is a splendid story loss and abandonment, but stand-up with fi ve short to become tasteless. Maybe straight for the sake of the the respect of his brother of a man who thinks his this little hero passes each that stupid, are they? it’s just me. People were joke. She does really well. musical numbers peppered I like to think I can Menke, Jan needs to best house is being robbed. The trial with fl ying colours. throughout. And after laughing. All throughout. She’s just not very funny. his brother. In a convincing six-minute noir-style thriller May Yong appreciate a good Maybe it is me. Shannon Marinko (or ‘if’—there were a few bad taste joke. But the portrayal of the rebellious ends with a sad surprise. walkouts) you get through However, having said all desperation of children ABANDONMENT. Cotopaxi writing’s just not there. that, Silverman’s pretty Super Sk8mm + Mixed Cheese Bits Trespass & Trickery 51 Super SK8mm in Los Angeles Programme 1 The death of the American dream spawned a new breed of skaters. With the promise of large backyards, carefree families and white- only fenced communities, There was a time before the legend of Tony skims the upward contours of the pool people started transforming Vine, but also has some Hawk, before his street-skating adventures tiles before meeting gravity. It remains the Californian desert into less-known gems that Super SK8mm graced our video gaming consoles, before one of the main focuses of Charnoski a suburban jungle. Every shine out. A 10-minute skating tournaments offered multimillion and Nichols’ films, this relentless quest family had a car the size of short composed entirely dollar sponsorship deals and slots on MTV. for the perfect pool in LA, ‘the epicentre a small boat, enough room from shots taken out the Programme 2 The skater-punk aesthetic was encapsulated of pool-skating,’ Nichols notes. for their 2.3 kids and (of window of aircraft is eerily by The Dead Kennedys rather than Good Their latest conquest involves a swimming course) a swimming pool. beautiful in its simplicity. Cut to a few decades later; Super Sk8mm is a motley importance of streetscapes Charlotte—and the skate movement was pool directly beneath the famed Hollywood You’re left feeling like mix of short films split in the microcosm of skating. rooted firmly in the underground. sign. Armed with a noisy gasoline pump, the families have moved out, you’ve been privy to the community has fallen into two halves: the first Many of the films are shot The old-school and underground-focussed the boys drained the pool and did their best personal secret memories dedicated to emerging in LA, so we’re treated to skateboarding documentary Dogtown to ensure the considerable water runoff apart without government and they’re truly amazing support and the houses are skate film-makers and the a snapshot of this city’s and Z-Boys was released in 2001 to wide was distributed between neighbouring cinematic experiences. second to Rick Charnoski contradictions; the decay acclaim. It inspired Lords of Dogtown properties (So no significant flooding abandoned and dilapidated. Tim Norton The swimming pools are and Coan ‘Buddy’ Nichols amidst the decadence and (2005), starring our own Heath Ledger as a damage was evident.). Despite their defiant (Fruit of the Vine). the skating sanctuaries pioneer pool skater in Venice, California. draining act being performed in full view of filled with a thick layer of sludge and slime, until 90-minutes of devotion hidden under overpasses neighbouring residents, no one bothered to skateboarding may and highways, unbeknownst Rick Charnoski and Coan ‘Buddy’ Nichols to say anything to authorities. Even Nichols a bunch of skaters jump the fence, scoop it out, sound daunting to the to commuters. One of the are skaters turned film-makers, and they are is puzzled. ‘That’s what so fucking weird average filmgoer, but the shorts is filmed in China, special guests of MIFF, showing a collection about LA,’ he says, shaking his head. scrub it down, dry it out and transform a pool into majority of films appeal to with a somewhat stupefying of their own and their friends’ short films ‘Everyone has their air-conditioning on with a broader audience. These shot of the Great Wall in in Super SK8mm + Mixed Cheese Bits. the windows shut...you could be skating a personal skate bowl. Film-makers Coan ‘Buddy’ films were authentic and all its splendour, before a They’ve come a long way since recording in someone’s pool while they are there.’ earnest not only in their sharp cut to a skateboarder their shorts on ‘five dollar cameras.... Nichols and Rick Charnoski document moments like this editing techniques, but also attempting to jump the Wall bought at the flea market,’ Nichols laughs, It’s this element of trespass which in content presentation. (He does so successfully.). and their landmark film Fruit of the Vine Nichols and Charnoski find so enticing, with a powerful, personal feeling that is rarely seen While stylistic flair and The Beijing Mega Ramp is started off with a run of five-hundred and Charnoski sees the skateboarding special effects were lacking, the largest skateboarding copies, and eventually expanded to over experience as encompassing more than in 8mm documentary, let alone one about film-makers compensated structure in the world; and 25-hundred copies in the US alone. simply a smorgasbord of tricks. ‘I’m as by exploring the intriguing perhaps there’s a lingering They could probably wax lyrical about the much attracted to trespassing and finding skateboarding. Whilst the material in their films is and rare stories of commentary on the United beauty of a flawlessly executed trick, but these pools, as I am to skateboarding,’ skateboarding culture. More States’ cultural imperialism this isn’t what interests them as film-makers. he says. It’s testament to the old-school incredibly interesting, you could be made to watch a than just an array of skating over the once exotic East. ‘We’re more interested in the personalities brand of skater subversion; a relentless tricks performed in quick There’s even a place for we’ve met while skateboarding,’ Nichols pursuit for the right pool amidst a medley 20–minute flick about the life of an acacia tree and they succession, the films show satire, with character Osama says. They’re interested in the stories, of challenges, including but not limited skating dissidents draining W Christowitz, resplendent for instance, of skaters who possess to: the Neighbourhood Watch, barking could make it fascinating. The collection includes private pools and building in a towel turban, water immense artistic talent, or build elaborate dogs, and a throng of skater buddies with their own underground skate pistols, and skateboard. yet illegal skate parks under highways— ‘it a slightly unhealthy adrenaline addiction. their earlier skateboard based work Fruits of the parks. It also highlighted the While some of the films just goes on and on,’ he says. ‘We just try to keep it real,’ Charnoski says would be geared only in a laconic drawl, and he assures me that towards skating aficionados, Despite the strong commercial interest he and Nichols steer clear of a sensationalist the majority of these in skateboarding, there are still hints of portrayal of the skateboarding culture. short films are diverse the clandestine evident in their films—in They also prefer to utilise the skills of their and accessible. There’s particular, the adventure of finding and skate buddies to provide editing, music and something to suit those who creating one’s own skate park heaven with production assistance. ‘It’s overwhelming,’ are young (and perhaps a an empty pool. The physical dimensions he says with a wry smile, ‘but what our tad rebellious) at heart. of a pool lend quite well to skateboard trip is all about, is to mellow things out.’ Gillian Terzis artistry, particularly the indescribable Well, it’s certainly a refreshing way to sensation of weightlessness when one wile away the hot summer days in LA. Gillian Terzis Film on Film

quite as good as Divine Trash, which covers similar Midnight Movies: territory, but well worth a look, and hopefully bound to From the Margin to the Mainstream introduce a new generation to the perverse pleasures of outrageous cinema from the 53 Romero’s ground breaking era of cultural excitement zombie horror The Night and transgression. margins. ‘Midnight Movies of the Living Dead, John The fi lm does not introduce II: From Blade Runner to Waters’ bad taste classic much new material, but Buffy and Beyond’ just Pink Flamingos, the cult is content to reminisce begs to be made though. mega-hit The Rocky about the time when the A note for the morbidly Horror Picture Show, division between subcultural inquisitive: yes, those poor The Harder They Come anarchy and conservative dead bunnies in El Topo with its hip Jamaican establishment (aka the were indeed sacrifi ced for vibes, and David Lynch’s mainstream) was clearly art—the fi lm was made at melancholy industrial defi ned. The reliably a time when furry-friendly nightmare Eraserhead. eloquent Waters quips regulations were not yet Besides interviews with that although he does introduced. Oh, and brace A nostalgic trip into directors and distributors, have a Broadway show yourself—you get to see the realm of the cult, the critics Roger Ebert, J. now, his sense of humour Tim Curry without his trashy and the surreal, this Frank’N’Furter get up. Backbeat: Hoberman and Jonathan hasn’t changed—it has just documentary celebrates a Rosenbaum recycle their infected everything else. Patricia Bieszk unique cinema experiences widely-published ideas on Midnight Movies is not offered by the midnight the subject. Nowadays we movie circuit of the 1970s. can only imagine with a Director Stewart Samuels Searching for a Pulse tinge of jealousy what it was concentrates on Alejandro like to sit in a pot-infused This Film Is Todorowsky’s Mexican atmosphere breathing in spaghetti western-mystic countercultural ideas in an acid trip El Topo, George Not Yet Rated FUCK censorship! DAMN, Anyone familiar with the supersized DVD stores that dot Weisberg’s attempt at getting the notoriously disorganised No. This fi lm is not about our cities will also be familiar with their dedicated ‘music’ and reluctant Wu Tang Clan together for one show. The Pervert’s Guide to actual censorship. HELL, sections. Row upon row of discs stuffed with ‘exclusive drama in simply getting Clan member Ol’ Dirty Bastard to then the Motion Picture interviews!’ and ‘bonus extra special live footage!’. Each arrive becomes the central theme of a fi lm that delivers live Association of American music documentary title promises fans a chance to hear footage and behind-the-scenes action. By focussing on one Cinema (MPAA) and their voluntary and see their beloved band, potentially showing another event, the fi lm maintains an easy narrative and squeezes rating system are CRAP! side to that heard on audio recordings. The titles run the all the suspense of real life into something that’s as much As a writer for the Village equipped with a rudimentary CRAP, CRAPITY CRAP! gamut from straight concert footage (a documentary of about artists as it is the chaos of organising a large-scale Voice once maintained, knowledge of cinema alone. BITCH! FART! DICK! Oh... a sort, albeit dull) to critical and thorough engagements event. Beyond Beats and Rhymes, on the other hand, does Slavoj Žižek is a modern day Divided into three parts, wait. Kirby Dick is the fi lm’s with an artist’s history, context and philosophies. everything its subtitle suggests—A Hip-Hop Head Weighs philosophy rock star. In The the ‘fi lm’ presented here director and he’s desperate in on Manhood in Hip-Hop Culture. As hip hop shifts and Pervert’s Guide to Cinema, was originally devised as 50- to shock. Unfortunately, The Backbeat section of the MIFF program offers a range progresses from its early roots as the underground music the bearish Slovak theorist minute television episodes. he is about as successful of fi lms pitched somewhere in the middle, but with more of the urban oppressed to being the music of choice for runs riot in 150-minutes of The fi rst of these addresses as this fi rst paragraph. impresses with the length stress on the historical than the concert experience. many privileged whites, the genre fi nds itself increasingly archival cinema footage. the link between reality This Film Is Not Yet and girth of his lens as he If a lot of those DVD shelves are fi lled with marketing in the role of oppressor—treating women, homosexuals and He slams Hitchcock, Lynch, and screen—between our Rated follows Dick as he transgresses through other pap—dosing up on praise for whoever the saintly subject particular races as targets of denigration. This, obviously, is Tarkovsky, Chaplin and the base desires and our ‘nice’ attempts to stunt this people’s rubbish bins. may be—at MIFF we regularly get a parallel of this in fi lms not cool—and fi lm-maker Byron Hurt calls out this hypocrisy Marx Brothers all against everyday behaviours. The documentary into meaning Unlike documentaries like We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen. That in a personal but much needed intervention into the genre. each other in quick-fi re second episode looks at and entertainment. He hunts by directors like Michael is, solid but not particularly remarkable documentaries succession. Instead of telling masculine desire, femininity down and exposes the secret Moore, Dick’s subject about some once-underrated-now-infl uential band The strength of these two fi lms suggest where the us why particular fi lms— and sexuality. The third identities of parents on the doesn’t matter a whole lot, or artist. These fi lms are musical treats for fans, but best musical documentaries often come from: focus on Blue Velvet, Solaris, The draws the fi rst two episodes MPAA board responsible let alone justify his extreme with little cinematic value and little real attempt to a singular but groundbreaking event (Think of Wilco’s Birds—are great cinematic together, and attempts for fi lm classifi cations antics. Here is something justify their importance as fi lms or documents. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart or Rolling Stone’s works, Žižek’s aim is to tell to state why cinema is an that stop children from really shocking: there are Gimme Shelter.) or reporting on interesting, current us why cinema matters. expressive outlet for the seeing Maria Bello’s pubic some things more important This fi lm also shows up another of the Festival’s phenomenon. The latter is where MIFF Backbeat As a philosopher in the modern Western psyche. hair and puppets peeing than fi lm and a fi lmmaker’s regular weak spots—the disproportionate number of often seems to be missing, even though the other psychoanalytic tradition, For all its gravity, this on other puppets. freedom to further sexualise fi lms about the history of rock and punk. Alongside the documentary sections of the Festival are often loaded with Žižek understands the is nevertheless a playful Dick really shows it to children for profi t. Minutemen doco, this year sees American Hardcore and relevant fi lms. It’s hard to believe these topical musical cinema as a place where and highly viewable them. He goes all out to But of course, no one need Punk’s Not Dead, two fi lms addressing punk’s musical documentaries aren’t being made in big numbers. fantasy and reality—desire documentary. It’s abstract achieve a dreaded NC- look for sense. If they did, and philosophical roots. If we add to this the punkish and fulfi lment—are always and intellectually complex, 17 rating (no admission someone might mention that frenzy of the Pixies doco, loudQUIETloud: A Film About Where, for instance, are the MIFF fi lms about electronic at battle. Consequently, but Žižek’s sense of under 17 years of age) by a fi lm that needs graphic oral The Pixies, you have just under a third of the 2006 music? Let’s hope in 2007 we get to see Speaking in Code: knowing your Lacanian humour and director creating a montage of sex sex scenes probably SUCKS music documentaries allotted to one musical genre. Adventures in the New Electronic Underground, an exciting symbolic order from your Sophie Fiennes’ sense of scenes, which makes up a and a script that needs It’s an important and signifi cant genre, obviously, but production by sQuare that focuses on the ultra-creative Freudian death drive is cinematic style make this a fair chunk of the fi lm. It’s swearing is probably SHIT. the MIFF programmers seem to have a distinct leaning electronic music underground. It’s a fi lm that should speak benefi cial in extracting high-fl ying tour of modern all very naughty: nipples Jane Watkins toward excavating the historical myths around punk and to the globalised nature of music and fi lm these days—jet- the full depth of this fi lm. civilisation rather than the and profanities. Dick early rock. This is all neatly symbolised in the choice of setting artists, transatlantic musical and fi lmic productions, While Žižek doesn’t stop to ride through a postmodern Jean-Luc Godard’s important—but hardly essential— creative centres (Berlin, Cologne, Detroit) with dispersed explain for beginners, his house of horrors that it Sympathy for the Devil as one of the fl agship docos. performance locations (Madrid, London, Florida). Let’s breathless yet humorous could well have been. hope one of Speaking in Code’s fl ights around the world stream of premises, Ben Gook hypotheses and declarations As it happens, the better musical moments at MIFF come fi nds it in Melbourne. It’d be a shock of contemporary can nevertheless be in the places away from this rock-focus. Rock the Bells buzz in the grey-haired baby boomer rock ‘n’ roll love-in. well absorbed by those and Beyond Beats and Rhymes are hip hop documentaries Ben Gook with quite different agendas. Rock the Bells follows Chang Backbeat: Music on Film Backbeat: Music on Film

than baseball. The Cosmos’ played to record crowds. American Beyond Beats New Orleans Heck, even Henry Kissinger and Mick Jagger got into Hardcore and Rhymes Music in Exile it. Maybe our A-League teams should take a leaf out of the Cosmos’ book. 55 This is low-budget fi lm- In Beyond Beats and When you think of sports For over a decade the making at its best. Steven Rhymes documentary- North Americans are crazy You’ll get a better civil war in Sierra Leone Refugee All Soderburgh directs and maker Bryon Hurt about, soccer doesn’t appreciation of US soccer waged, decimating Coleman Hough writes. analyses the themes of come very high on the after watching this. It’s innocent lives in the Martha (Debbie manhood, sexism and list. ‘We don’t have the something SBS should most horrifi c ways Stars, The Doerbereiner), a middle- homophobia in hip hop attention span for a game have shown before the humans could design. aged woman who lives with culture. Beyond Beats and that is continuous and free recent World Cup, so we Children were forced into is particularly good, her wouldn’t snigger, ‘Stick her ageing father, goes off surprising innocence and Rhymes pulls into focus fl owing as soccer,’ said one recruitment. Hundreds to work everyday in a doll negative aspects of this sports journo. ‘We need the to gridiron boys.’ This of thousands were slain. acquiescence a strong focus fi lm has a seriously funky factory and sews dolls’ for the camera throughout. culture that are just as artifi cial stops and starts to The atrocities endured clothes at night. The only often accepted or ignored. indulge in beer and chips.’ soundtrack, cool screen by civilians became The setting is superb, splits ala Charlie’s Angels, other signifi cant person in with a sense of decay and Hurt is a dominant But in the days of fl ares notorious for their crude her life is co-worker Kyle presence in the fi lm, and short shorts, soccer and, where would a ‘70s violence, with amputation a feeling of little or no with violence, Black men style movie be without afros (Dustin Ashley), a much infrastructure. Nor is there taking the viewer on his was huge. And this fi lm is being the most common younger man, who lives with journey to answer some and their repression of other evidence of it. It follows the and handlebar mou’s. Look form of torture. From anything to compensate in Black men, sexism, and out for Cosmos’ former his mother. They are the the surrounding countryside, of the tougher questions rise and fall of the New York this nightmare emerged working poor of America. about the American homophobia. Each of these Cosmos, America’s all-star Vice-President, Raphael de thousands of refugees which is fl at and sparse. packages concludes with la Sierra, who has some Along comes Rose (Misty The doll factory is also hip hop industry. soccer team that shot to seeking shelter in the Wilkins), a young woman The strength of this statistics about the wider fame in the early 1970s. hilarious lines. There’s even neighbouring nation of used to great effect. a baddie in megalomaniac hired by the doll factory documentary is its ability American community, and it Warner Bros mogul Steve Guinea, where they were retellings of their hardships There is a sense of deep Italian striker, Giorgio to help with extra orders. to tackle complicated is through this information Ross, invested millions to placed in camps and, in Sierra Leone and their repression and tedium in Chinaglia. ‘If you don’t have Energetic and talkative, and topical issues, that we are able to see lure international soccer although being displaced belief in their music as a much of the fi lm, which is an ego in sport, you’re not she plans to get out of the while maintaining a fast the way in which the hip stars, like Pele, to the team. from their families and way to relieve the stress of very real, but threatened to going to go far,’ he said. dying mid-western town and entertaining pace. hop culture interacts with It worked. Soccer was bigger living in fairly simple living like a refugee. The fi lm become a little boring. Just Oddly, there are interviews they live in. Her presence Many academics are broader American culture. conditions, found shared discusses the philosophical when I felt my concentration with all the former players not only shakes up the interviewed in the fi lm, Although the topics tackled peace within this wounded plight of returning home slipping, though, the story except Pele, who was status quo, but also brings but their opinions are by Beyond Beats are serious, but living community. It is after the war is over—of turned unexpectedly. credited with ‘opening a the possibility of dating interspersed with vision the fi lm never resorts to a group of these survivors wanting to ‘forgive and This is well worth seeing. new frontier’ with soccer. into Kyle’s world, which has from popular culture, a preachy or moralising that is the subject forget’, as one man says he The cinema was packed And while the fl ashy screen so far been non-existent. which continuously tone. Hurt announces at for the documentary can, or to sacrifi ce home and the vibe was good. shots and close-ups are However, not everyone likes works to maintain the the beginning of the fi lm Refugee All Stars. for the sake of guaranteed Bubble screens with Red, a great, you kinda get tired the status quo shifting. viewer’s attention. that he loves hip hop, so Film-makers Zach Niles safety. Percussionist French-Canadian short fi lm of it after a while. At 97- None of the people Hurt divides the fi lm it’s understood that he and Banker White remain Mohammed watched his directed by Maxime Giroux. minutes, this fi lm would appearing in this fi lm are into four sections, each isn’t making this fi lm to virtually invisible in this parents and wife murdered Probably the most succinct have been better watched professional actors, but they representing a problem he tear the genre apart. story, which expands by rebels, and after forcing and to-the-point portrayal at home. Oh, and an interest are realer than real. Debbie has identifi ed in hip hop The short documentary three years. It’s the voices him to kill his child, they of alcoholism, alienation in soccer is preferable, Doerbereiner as Martha culture: men’s obsession Toth follows Steve Martin, a of the six musicians who cut off his hand. He fi nds and depression that you are but not compulsory. Scottish ex-gang member, make up the reggae/ it harder than the others likely to get in 16-minutes. as he tries to persuade his Janette Sato Irene Korsten funk/traditional Sierra to repatriate, and tearily son not to follow in his Leonean goombay band, states ‘If I saw the man footsteps. The camera work the Refugee All Stars, that did this on the street, I in this documentary is very that narrate the fi lm. would not be fi ne with it.’ stylised, giving it an overall The musicians introduce With the interweaving of feel of a cinema verite fi lm. Metal : A Headbanger’s Journey themselves with candid real footage and personal This short is well worth a stories of the war, and the Thinking of becoming Harutyun Khachatryan’s look, although at times it is a music and the native Creole a vegetarian? This might Return of the Poet is the little diffi cult to understand language Krio spoken and just push you over the Loudquietloud : A Armenian fi lm-maker’s the Dundee accent. sung, the documentary is edge! Imagine Wolf attempt to depict his Emma Watts masterfully made and a Creek and Resident Evil, country. Sans dialogue, Film About The Pixies real pleasure to watch. minus the camp, and this is a visual sketch that Alice Gage the gloom dial maxed. horror fl ick, so most just psychological warfare giggles of the audience. assumes a prior knowledge journey of the completed Six rather comely lasses kick over. Let’s just say that between the two leads is The director Neil Marshall of Ashugh Jivani, the 19th sculpture around Armenia. venture on a caving the slime in the cave isn’t intriguingly understated (Dog Soldiers, 2002) has century poet of the title The sculpture traverses trip, which slowly and of purely mineral origin. and gets unleashed in carved a cosy (if rather dark) name. Initially, this lack of both country and city, relentlessly turns into Impressively gory visuals typical horror fashion niche for himself as the new explanation and narrative and the resulting images a nightmare, not unlike escalate like an unstoppable on the monsters, whose British indie horror guru is confusing and somewhat from the journey contrast ago, and it questions Dante’s hell, which seems violent avalanche�blood evolutionary characteristics and has multiple awards alienating. However, if you landscape, modernity and the nature of creation, and how the poet would view never to run out of extra lake included. are lapse-prone and to prove it. Despite the fact give up the struggle to culture. Memorable in their captivatingly portrays the country today. circles here. The adventure Plot similarities to The require considerable that he hammers home understand and let go, the simplicity, Khachatryan the artistic process. The This fi lm is strikingly is the idea of brunette Cave (2005) are striking, suspension of belief�in his point about how easily fi lm’s visual language will presents scenes of poverty materials and textures beautiful, and its subject ego-tripper Juno (Natalie but the latter is a breezy good genre tradition. the human race releases engage you through the and of cultural richness. become almost tangible compelling in its simplicity. Mendoza), seeking to ride by comparison. However the admirably monstrosity and depravity, images that tell the stories Unfi nished, rotting churches through ingenious lighting, It inspires you to learn more rekindle her friendship with The performances are consistent cynicism, which in the end the fi lm’s of Armenia and its people. are shown alongside and the artist’s expression about Armenia and the poet meek blonde Sarah (Shauna compelling, genre clichés permeates the tone of conclusion is somehow The fi lm is divided into two children being passed speaks eloquently of his Jivani, so that you can fi ll Macdonald). Their four refreshingly stretched The Descent, might be a satisfying; although I was parts. The fi rst half of the through a hole in a rock. anticipation and excitement in for yourself the blank friends join in for a girl- and then subverted, bitter pill to swallow for defi nitely glad it was over. fi lm follows the creation of The sculpture follows as he selects the fi nal stone. spaces that Khachatryan power expedition, and some and the punches just some�the only glimmer of Patricia Bieszk a 10-metre high sculpture of the same journey that The second part of leaves unexplained. do kick ass, but hey—it’s a keep on coming. The humour being the nervous Jivani. Khachatryan focuses Jivani made two centuries the fi lm documents the Sarah Miller Backbeat: Music on Film

We Jam Rock the Bells Econo: The of San Pedro, Southern Rock the Bells? What in hell is wait and see / if the stage Story of the California. His laconic wit can this be? / It’s like Dave will be graced by the Ol’ is a hit, although many of Chapelle’s Block Party grew Dirty Bastard, / the most the anecdotes provided by testes. / The freshest thing likely plastered ODB. / Minutemen George Hurley (drummer) at this year’s Film Festival. Rock the Bells, more and other artists reveal a / Call it hype if you like. But than the breaks and the Directed by Tim Irwin, We hilarious revelation about ‘the Bells is incredible. / If rhymes, / is also a fi lm Jam Econo: The Story of the the band. Apparently, a you watch this fl ick prepared about a race against time. Minutemen is a 90-minute signifi cant amount of time to be bored, / you’d best / Slow-arse opening acts: documentary chronicling the passed before the band prepare to be split with the / DJ Abilities is massaging life and times of ‘80s punk tuned their instruments tip of a Shaolin sword. / more wax like it were his band, the Minutemen. It also together—they were under ballsack. / And Redman’s serves as a poignant tribute the impression that some Chang is the star of this hip running late for his set. / to lead singer D.Boon, preferred their instruments hop documentary, / holding Where is he? He’s busy... who died in a car accident to have looser or tighter an LA festival as shit hot as jumping on his bed. / Wu- at the age of 27 in 1985. strings—undoubtedly the weather be. / Chang’s Tang are ‘superheroes on The Minutemen never causing numerous pitch not trying to half-step, / in stage’. / He said it himself, sought commercial success, problems. There was no bringing together a clan the killah Mr. Ghostface. nor did they receive it; but such discord between the of the hardest artists: / the / Together, they came to they exerted their innovative members of the Minutemen. innovators and creators Rock the Bells. / They came sound—a synthesis of punk, There’s concert footage of the Wu-Tang music. / to save themselves, but funkadelic riffs, mexicali aplenty, highlighting the on- He signs Raekwon, U- if they don’t hurry up and rhythms, and even a touch stage exuberance of D.Boon, God, everyone: the entire play, / they’ll have to save of jazz—on a variety of as he jumped up and down movement. / But the Wu? Chang from the crowd bands, including Black on stage vigorously, despite The whole crew? Doubters tearing down the place. / Flag, Dinosaur Jnr, and his heavy-set build. There are waiting for Chang Rock the Bells is hip the Red Hot Chili Peppers. are shots of the rabid to prove it. / Even with hop. It will take your Members from these audience, initially hostile, unoffi cial tenth, rapper fucking shoes, / have you bands extol the virtues of coating the band members Cappadonna, / Chang still walking round barefoot the Minutemen, providing in spit, before convulsing to has to overcome ‘Ol’ Dirty but still putting up Ws. amusing anecdotes. the music in a frenzied mass. drama’. / All anyone can do The fi lm moves between As a former punk Jane Watkins interviews fi lmed in 1985 enthusiast, I found the fi lm (prior to Boon’s death) and entertaining, but those most recent ones. Bassist looking for an innovative Mike Watt provides the approach to punk history bulk of the commentary should look (and look while haphazardly steering hard) elsewhere. his van around the streets Gillian Terzis

Sympathy for the Devil

Masquerading as a music Burton, reading from atat a guitarguitar theythey aren’taren’t eveneven documentary, Sympathy a salacious pulp novel, feedingfeeding iintonto tthehe mix,mix, whichwhich For The Devil is actually featuring such fi gures as leaves the most lasting part fl y-on-the-wall studio Walt Disney and Kruschev impression. Though by footage, part timely political thrusting their hard most reports a thoroughly MORE REVIEWS, document, and part ‘60s members into moist places. unscrupulous, despicable euro art fi lm kookfest. For a Stones fan, the individual,individual, youyou can’tcan’t helphelp butbut Footage of the Stones in Olympic studios footage feelfeel fforor tthehe manman asas hehe standsstands Olympic Studios, working is priceless. It’s nothing in a circle doing BV’s right the title song up from a few unexpected; Mick acts like next to Anita Pallenberg INTERVIEWS AND chords and lyrics to the a prat, Keith is gloriously and Keith Richards, now bongo-jamming stomper stoned and Wyman looks thickthick aass tthieveshieves a sscantcant ffewew we all know and love, is dour and shakes a maraca. weeks after she left Brian. intercut with abstract set But with the smooth, The aforementioned pieces fi lled with political assured camerawork and euro art fi lm stuff is ARTICLES AVAILABLE diatribe and shots of a rich, grainy colour of a mildly amusing, but quite woman in big sunnies European art fi lm, it’s a excruciating at length, and spray-painting things like joy to behold. As usual, it makes up the majority of MAO with the A used to Keith is the star, with some the running time. So go if also vertically spell ART. wonderful pirate shirts you’re a Stones fan—but ONLINE AT OUR WEBSITE Oh yes, and it’s all overlaid and stoned grooving, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. with the voice-over of a it’s Brian Jones, obviously Richie Hebden man who sounds somewhat isolated, behind a wall of like a high-pitched Richard barriers strumming away WWW.THEPUNDIT.COM.AU crumpler.com.au