Heading into the final weekend, some great films to watch, and waiting to be watched. Here's what I've seen these past 3 days.
American indie film CLUTTER has a promising premise, that being about a woman who is a hoarder--her home is so full of stuff and junk that she is forcing out her adult children as she did with her husband years earlier. Played by the delightful Carol Kane, the film is faithful to the situations and mental mind set of such sufferers. Unfortunately, her kids are almost cartoon caricatures (one daughter is practically mute, another daughter wears a dangerous looking eye patch for no apparent reason) and the laughs are very mild. The script meanders, touching on moving moments and weird situations (neighbors gather,thinking they see the Virgin Mary in a water stain on the garage door)with equal relevance. It's also directed a beat too slowly. Nice try. GRADE----C+
For those interested in the political upheavals in Mozambique in the 1960s through the 1980s, then COMRADE PRESIDENT is your film. It is well made with thoughtful talking heads. For everyone else, it is not electrifying information. GRADE----C+
The surprisingly effective LAST I HEARD is about an aging mafioso character, very well played by Paul Sorvino, who is released from prison after 20 some years, to find that life is very different outside, and he no longer has the "power" and respect he once held. There's a lot of tension created by the relationships he has with a helpful neighbor, and his estranged daughter, and the film builds beautifully to a couple of strong, sometimes shocking, scenes. GRADE------B+
A young man's girlfriend rejects his marriage proposal (in a sad scene caught on video at a baseball game that actually went viral on u-tube within a few days). ---The reason, she claims, is that his penis was too small. He sets off around the world with a director and camera man to discover what is big, small and average (and special) about the penis, and seeks remedies for his condition. This documentary called UNHUNG HERO is informative, very self deprecating, and very very funny, sometimes in a shocking way, but the sold out audience roared with laughter, even as it was gasping from shock. Very entertaining. GRADE------B+
Set in a vineyard in Saint-Emillion, France, this gripping modern day melodrama YOU WILL BE MY SON concerns the wealthy owner who does not want his son to inherit his company, for various reasons, and turns to the son of his dying best friend and steward to take over, setting the stage for political intrigue, jealousy, betrayal, and family skeletons to come tumbling forth. It's a fascinating film, with King Learish overtones. The one film of SIFF that I didn't want to end. GRADE------A
A surprisingly effective independent US film about a troupe of dancers in San Francisco in the mid-1980's, when AIDS testing was just beginning. This film is well acted by an unknown cast (who dance quite well) and it accurately captures a time and place when the spectre of AIDS seemed overwhelming and mysterious. Called T E S T, the film is also about the testing of friendships and relationships, the struggle for artistic perfection and the importance of human connection. A fine, fine effort. GRADE-------A-
INVADER is a sleek Spanish film about a doctor in the armed services in Iraq, who survives a deadly ambush, only to find out later that atrocities were involved (those nasty Americans!) and he and his family may be in deep trouble. The film glosses over the politics and turns into a chase thriller. Effective for what it is, but perhaps not totally satisfying. GRADE------B
LAST FLIGHT TO ABUJA from Nigeria, is a send up of AIRPLANE! which of course is a send up of the AIRPORT movies from the 1970's. I found it amusing for the first 10 minutes, but it gets heavy handed. The cast is attractive, but the special effects are baloney, and the plot is unbelievable on so many levels. GRADE------D
As I watched the mediocre G.B.F. (GAY BEST FRIEND) I kept thinking, is this the best film SIFF could come up with for the Gayla! celebration? If you could even hear the fast and vapid dialogue as it bounces around the cavernous Egyptyian you were probably distracted from the simplistic and cliched high school situations that TV's GLEE has handled with much greater aplomb for over four years. Generally, the actors were attractive and fine, but the script was the big let down here. This film makes the earlier screened THE GEOGRAPHY CLUB feel more and more like a minor masterpiece. GRADE--------C
A drunken slut has sex about 4 times in the first 45 minutes of NINE FULL MOONS, and even though one time was clearly a rape, she is so out of it each time, she can barely remember what really happened. There's a lot of hard drinking with all the characters, and I lost interest in the first hour, so I walked out. GRADE------C
The fine Ukrainian film HOUSE WITH A TURRET is a triumph of style, cinematography, direction and grace. The plot concerns a young boy during WWII who must depend on strangers when he becomes stranded in an unfamiliar town on an interrupted train trip with his desperately ill mother to visit his grandfather. The moving film is quiet and very perceptive. GRADE-----A-
GO GRANDRIDERS from Taiwan is a documentary about elders who travel by motor bike around the island of Taiwan in 10 days. The film is exactly what you expect, full of happiness, tears, medical problems, sentimentality, cheering, reminiscing, and some interesting scenery. GRADE----B-
From Germany comes a solid drama called FREE FALL about a young married police officer who meets and falls for a gay officer, which of course makes for a lot of tension in his family life and his work life. It is a familiar theme--I kept thinking of Tom Tykwer's fine film from two years ago called "3"--but the actors, direction, plotting, cinematography and technical work are all first rate.
GRADE---------B
LOVE IS IN THE AIR is extremely bright and slick French fluff--a comedy about two ex lovers who end up next to each other on a full plane from NYC to Paris, who hate each other, but through extended flash backs we learn the true story of their misunderstandings. The leads are extremely attractive, and there are enough jokes and sight gags to keep you entertained, but if you normally hate French fluff, the flashy slickness will only irritate you. GRADE------B-
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR THIS LAST WEEKEND OF SIFF:
CELESTIAL WIVES OF MEADOW MARI, TRIALS OF MUHAMMAD ALI, WISH YOU WERE HERE, LAST I HEARD, HORSES OF GOD, FREE FALL and TEST
The 830pm Saturday TBA at UPTOWN is David Lynch's DUNE
The 8pm Sunday TBA at UPTOWN is David Lynch's TWIN PEAKS (first Pilot episode)
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