Coming up to the last weekend of SIFF 2012, another busy week of film-going.
Still at the top was Part 5 of the 15 hour marathon screening of THE STORY OF FILM and in spite of a few minor complaints (like occasionally declaring some film the BEST of it's kind for the decade--usually a film that no one in the auditorium had ever even heard of....much less seen) this thoughtful, epic film is a MUST SEE for any serious film fan, because it provides a much needed historical content against which to base film criticism. It also fills in the gaps of world wide historical film making, providing context and raising the "need to see" bar. GRADE-------A
Incredible icy landscapes and shocking time-lapse imagery prove beyond a doubt that the ice glaciers are melting at an amazing speed, and only humanity has the power to change this dangerous course. A must see for every sceptic, especially the doubtful cast of FOX News, CHASING ICE is proof positive that it is time to step up to save the environment. GRADE---------A
Very, very serious film LIPSTIKKA about the life long relationship between two women living in London, that flashes back to tell the life changing episode from their teen years in Ramallah that shapes their future. Intelligently told, with a strong, surprising conclusion. GRADE-------A-
HUNKY DORY juggles a dozen main characters from a high school in the mid 1970's in Great Britain who are trying to mount a modern musical version of THE TEMPEST. This is a lovable dramedy that plays like a more serious version of TV's GLEE. GRADE---------B+
Opening nationwide near the end of June, PEOPLE LIKE US features Chris Pine who discovers, after his father's death, that he has a half sister (Elizabeth Banks)--the film is surprisingly sensitive about the issues raised---definitely an anti-blockbuster type of film, but heartfelt and touching. GRADE----B+
Another intriguing Hollywood film opening this summer, and well filmed in Seattle, THE DETAILS tells of an amoral doctor who finds himself in a downward cycle of lies, infidelity and murder when he tries to get rid of a raccoon family that is tearing up his back yard. The film is actually that rarest of creatures--a very dark black comedy that works pretty well. Tobey Maguire is the doctor, Elizabeth Banks his wife, and Laura Linney, Dennis Haysbert and Ray Liotta are also featured. GRADE------B
Nothing much happens on this beautiful, tranquil Indonesian island in THE MIRROR NEVER LIES. A young girl grieves for her missing and presumed dead father while she befriends a dolphin scientist who rents a room from her mother. But if you let yourself go while watching the beautiful scenery, the film has a moving, ethereal effect at times. GRADE------B
A small but tightly paced drama about the last 24 hours before a National Guard unit is RECALLED up to be deployed to Iraq in the mid-1980's The ethical dilemma appears when a soldier finds that he can't stay behind when it's discovered that his son has developed stage 4 cancer, and he considers going AWOL. The fine cast includes Seth Gabel, Aidan Quinn and Shad Moss, aka singer Bow Wow. GRADE-------B
Interesting film set in Kyrgyzstan, Russia and France, THE EMPTY HOME follows a very tough and resourceful teen who runs away after marrying a rich villager, but finds life a big challenge in the big city of Moscow. GRADE-----B
From Israel, the film POLICEMAN follows four brutish cops and a handful of would be revolutionaries who are planning an "event"--it shows us their ideals and relationships. Some unusual scenes include a naked massage that one cop gives his very pregnant wife. The film is not great, but it doesn't bore, either--just needs a bit of editing. GRADE------B-
UNIT 7 from Spain is another police thriller that follows four head banger cops as they try to clean up Seville of drugs before the Olympics in 1992. It appears that these four are also on the take. Haven't we seen this done before? Still, the action is compulsive and the film is stylish. GRADE-----B-
Here's a good looking film about a couple of beautiful male prostitutes in Saigon. A young gay man makes his way to the city and ends up falling in love with one, who just can't seem to quit the trade. It may be simplistic and rather shallow at times, but LOST IN PARADISE was easy to watch, with high quality production values for a Vietnamese film. GRADE---------B-
THALE from Norway is a would be science fiction thrillers about the discovery of a very strange woman who has been kept in captivity for many years. There is a very promising, intense twenty minute opening, but it seems the film makers lose their nerve and script along the way. GRADE-------C+
It's not a good film, but the indie production WHITE CAMELIAS about an aging, loveless ex-Hollywood player (an interesting Cybil Shepard) throwing the dinner party from hell, kept me engaged and entertained for 90 minutes. GRADE--------C+
Nice try, but this low budget sci-fi wanna be called EASTON'S ARTICLE was dull, dull, slow and dull. After 45 minutes nothing much happened and I walked out. GRADE--------D+
Another film where nothing happened for almost an hour, SIN BIN wants to be a "cleaned up" teen sex comedy, but I didn't laugh one time in 45 minutes, so I walked out. GRADE------D
I've liked her previous films, especially RED ROAD screening Saturday morning, but Andrea Arnold's newest, a "re-imaging" of WUTHERING HEIGHTS had me wanting to run from the theatre after 5 minutes, but I didn't want to crawl over 4 bodies that were blocking my exit. Done in extreme and aggressive hand held style, using "natural" lighting (think single candle, or fire place, or foggy, rain soaked scenes)---well, I couldn't make out any ones faces or names---the sound quality was very poor at my screening. It just kept going on and on, although the final 20 minutes tries to whip up some emotional intensity. Instead, it just looked to me like Heathclift was trying to have sex with a corpse. UGH. GRADE----------D
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