AURORA--Finland--Engaging and amusing comedy drama of a serious Iranian refugee and his daughter trying to stay in Finland, and he seeks the help of a flaky, hard partying nail salon worker. They have little in common, so of course you know at the start that they will end up together. Still there are quirky surprises along the way. GRADE--------B+
SIBEL--Turkey--Mute young woman is ostracized by village women, then she finds a strange man deep in the wood who is near death and nurses him, endangering her father's role as town mayor. GRADE---------B+
A THOUSAND GIRLS LIKE ME---Afghanistan--Documentary of young woman who was repeatedly raped and impregnated by her father. She is ignored by local political and religious figures (and her male family members!) until she contacts the media, and becomes the first woman to formally charge her father of sexual crimes. Despite subject matter, the film is hopeful and encouraging. GRADE-----B+
MEMORY: THE ORIGINS OF ALIEN--USA---Well done documentary about making of ALIEN (1979) and specializing on the infamous chest bursting scene. Engrossing, especially for film buffs and sci-fi and horror fans. GRADE--------B
RETROSPEKT--Netherlands--The non linear storyline can be confusing and the odd background music which plays like Gilbert and Sullivan choruses are quite bizarre, but this story of domestic violence is mostly riveting. GRADE----------B
THIS IS NOT BERLIN--Mexico--Older teens and early 20's find growing up tough in 1986 Mexico City as they experiment with politics, sexuality, drugs, and rock and roll. GRADE-----B-
THE CITY OF LAST THINGS---Taiwan/France--Ambitious three part story told in reverse doesn't always hold logic together, but it is intriguingly filmed. GRADE-------B-
PIGEON KINGS--USA--Fitfully interesting documentary from southern California about (mostly) black men from poor communities that have formed clubs that train certain pigeons to fly in formation, and amazingly the pigeons somersault through the air (!!!!!) I wanted more somersaulting pigeons and less talk, but there's a fascinating (at times) film here. GRADE-----------C+
_____________The GOLDEN SPACE NEEDLE Awards were given to certain fine achievements in these SIFF films and were mostly selected by SIFF--and they included TEL AVIV ON FIRE (audience award) and the jury prizes went to HOUSE OF HUMMINGBIRD, EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY OF CELESTE GARCIA, AWAKENING Of THE ANTS, INTERNATIONAL FALLS and QBALL. WE ARE THE RADICAL MONARCHS (Documentary), SIBEL (Actress) and ALL ABOUT ME (Actor) round out the other awards.
A little less than 200 viewers voted for the Fool Serious (Full Series) group and vote on every film they have seen at SIFF--that ranges from about 25 to 150 films (I saw 118 films this year--more than 165 other voters.) The favorite films for the FOOL SERIOUS group included
SIBEL, THE INVISIBLE WITNESS, YULI, FALL OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE, YOMEDDINE, REMI-NO BODY'S BOY, OFFICIAL SECRETS, MINUSCULE/MANDIBLES, SONS OF DENMARK and ONE LAST DEAL. Top documentaries include--RAISE HELL: LIFE AND TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS, FOR SAMA, STUFFED, Q BALL, and MAIDEN.
Breaking down the FOOL SERIOUS awards, best film went to HONEYLAND, worst film to CELEBRATION, Best Director to SONS OF DENMARK, Cinematographer to VOLCANO, Script to INVISIBLE WITNESS, Music to BLINDED BY THE LIGHT, Actor to YOMEDDINE, Actress to SIBEL and Guilty Pleasure to SWINGING SAFARI.
If and when these films open for regular runs at theatres or Netflix or cable, I will write a more detailed review of them. Here are the first films I saw this week after SIFF-----
THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2--Perhaps even better than the first outing, this animated feature had some great laughs--as last time I especially enjoyed Kevin Hart's voicing of the sarcastic puffy white dog Snowball and Harrison Ford was a world weary sheep dog. I giggled and laughed consistently through the whole film--the perfect first film to follow SIFF! GRADE------B+
ROCKETMAN--This unique way of presenting the life and times of Elton John begs to be called the world's first psychotherapy musical--the story is told as flashback from the group session of the therapy Elton John ended up at during his lengthy stay at a session for drying out from his obsession with sex, drugs, alcohol, and various heartache. As he got more fame and money, he became more miserable, hostile and disappointed in life. and apparently he was deeply conflicted about his homosexuality. Thank god the film and many scenes are presented through the presentation of spectacular song and dance routines, or we'd all need therapy after seeing this visual, creative story. The drug and alcohol abuse become overbearing at times, but the musical numbers help the story go down better. This is more than I ever wanted to know about Elton's personal life, but I feel certain that at long last he has found some comfort from his younger persona, and of course the music is toe tapping and effective. GRADE------B+
THE HUSTLE--This low brow comedy is lifted due to the slapstick humor and mugging of Rebel Wilson, who gets much more to work with here than in her last sequel of films playing "the fat one" in the PITCH PERFECT films. She actually steals the film from Anne Hathaway, who gets stuck with playing the "straight man" part, although she, too. is amusing at times. This is a remake of the Michael Caine/Steve Martin con man film DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS 1988, which itself was a remake of the original film BEDTIME STORY 1964 featuring Marlon Brando and David Niven. The plot is pretty clever, with the cons conning the cons, and one can see why a remake with two women would be irresistible. I only wish it had been funnier and wittier. Still, it was a fun one to watch. GRADE--------------B-
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