Crafted by Dutch film journalist Jereon Stout and composer Jan-Bas Bollen, The Hive – one of four different walks at the IFFR – mixes music, ambient sound and narration in order to recount the story of Choi Jin-sil. A popular actress in South Korean film and television Choi Jin-sil became the centre of a feverish tabloid controversy when she was accused of being involved in the suicide of another actor. Having already been the victim of one media scandal after accusing her ex-husband of domestic abuse in 2004, the bombardment of rumours become too much for Jin-sil to handle. On October 2^nd 2008, she killed herself by hanging.

The experience of Soundtrackcity begins somewhat surreally. Given a map and an iPod, I was sent off to wander the chilly streets of Rotterdam in the dead of night. The Hive is set primarily by the waterfront, which makes for a beautiful sight when lit up by the lights of the city. As you walk, the “narrative” begins to unfold, as pair of female voices – one an actress playing Jin-sil, the other player a friend – converse back and forth as if via email. As the walk continues away from the river and down darkened streets, the story too takes a darker turn. Jin-sil’s voice grows increasing frantic, as do the whispers of hundreds of others, accusing her of being a monster, a liar and a slut. Eventually even her friend starts to believe the gossip, as the map lead me back to the river for the stories tragic and inevitable conclusion.

What fascinates most about Soundtrackcity is how it alters the idea of the “viewer” experience. Environmental factors can affect a film screening – for example, one cinema might have a better sound system than another, while a movie can be ruined by inconsiderate patrons whispering, texting or chewing their popcorn too loudly. But with Soundtrackcity, the variables are far more numerous, and can render far more disparate results. Everything from participant walking speed to weather conditions affects ones experience; had I embarked on the walk just a few days later, I would have been trekking through ice and snow.

The artists do make great use of concept. When characters make reference to buildings across the river, the effect is surprisingly potent. An atmosphere of paranoia is cultivated by mentions of eyes that might be watching from high-rise windows, while the sound of artificial footsteps had me glancing behind myself on more than one occasion. Yet the live-ness is also the projects weakness. At a key moment in the story, I happened to be walking along a main road, and the sound of the traffic drowned out the voices emanating from my headphones. Participants have the option to pause and rewind, but that only further pulls one out of the immersion.

Soundtrackcity may not really qualify as cinema. There’s no screen, no projector, no camera and, perhaps most pertinently, no way to replicate the exact experience, especially for those who live outside of Rotterdam. Regardless, the project is a remarkable experiment, and one I very much appreciated being a part of.

Room 514 (IFFR Review)

38 Witnesses [38 Témoins] (IFFR Review)

Kotoko (IFFR Review)

IFFR Shorts Programme

Ace Attorney (IFFR Review)

This being a film site, the obvious answer would be that I’m attending the 62^nd Berlinale, the renowned film festival that showcases some of the finest international films of the new year before Cannes shows up and takes all the credit. But that’s only part of the reason. Coinciding with the festival is the 10^th Berlinale Talent Campus, a yearly event in which young and upcoming filmmakers are invited to Berlin to participate in a week of lectures, workshops and networking events led by industry professionals such as Werner Herzog, Mike Leigh, Keanu Reeves and many others. The Campus also invites a handful of burgeoning film critics to hone their craft under the mentorship of professional film writers, and after applying late last year, I was among the lucky few accepted to attend. That’s why I’m currently on a plane to Berlin, where I will be tutored on how to be a better film writer, as well as how to survive as a film critic in a world where film critics are not surviving. There aren’t many initiatives out there supporting the endangered art of film criticism, so I feel very fortune to be a part of one that does.

So now all I have to do is get there (preferably in one piece thanks QANTAS). I’m excited, nervous, tired and a little bit annoyed by the people casually trying to read what I’m typing whilst they queue in the aisle for the toilet.  (Yes you, gentleman in the blue shirt!) Still, ‘excited’ is certainly the prevailing emotion. I can’t wait to see what treasures Berlin has in store; I’m told it’s one of the most happening places on the planet, although given how bloody cold it is this time of year, I imagine that’s partly because you’ll freeze to death if you ever stand still!

If time permits, I plan to catch a few films playing at the festival and review them for this here website, but given that time will most likely not be very permitting, don’t be surprised if I don’t.  Besides, you can always re-read Tom Clift’s excellent coverage of the Rotterdam International Film Festival if you’re itching to know what’s happening on the festival circuit.

Ok, I’ve just been given that look from the person seated in front of me that says they want to recline their chair, so unless I want a laptop to the pancreas, I best be off. Auf Wiedersehen!

Room 514 (IFFR Review)

Portable Film Festival 2008

Alps (IFFR Review)

Cannes diary: Wednesday May 18th (Day Three)

Our picks of the 2012 Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR)

But what I do know about Rotterdam is that between January 25^th and February 5^th, it becomes a hotbed of cinematic activity. Celebrating its 41^st birthday this year, the International Film Festival of Rotterdam is one of Europe’s largest and most illustrious film festivals, alongside Cannes, Venice and Berlin. In 2012, the IFFR will screen a whopping 268 feature films and 469 shorts, receive esteemed directors including Michel Gondry (The Green Hornet), Takashi Miike (13 Assassins) and Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre), and welcome members of the press from all around Europe and the world. Somewhere in that crowd of critics, wrapped in woollen scarf, Richmond F.C. beanie and heavily insulated parker, will be me, ready to cover all the action for Cut Print Review.

As one of the first major international film festivals of the calendar year, the IFFR offers young and upcoming filmmakers a unique opportunity to showcase their work. Under the “Bright Futures” banner, festival organizers have highlighted sixty-eight films from first and second time directors from nations as disparate as Indonesia, France, India and The Ukraine. Of these films, thirteen will have their world premieres at the IFFR. In addition, fifteen budding filmmakers will compete for the Tiger Awards, the most prestigious prize that the festival bestows

Of course no film festival would be complete without a bit of star power. Undoubtedly some of the most sought after tickets will be to Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, Steve McQueen’s Shame, David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method and Alexander Payne’s Oscar forerunner The Descendants, all of which will have their Dutch premiere’s at the festival in 2012.

There are even a couple of Australian films on the schedule, including documentary filmmaker Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s (Bastardly) first narrative feature Hail, as well as the closing night film, Daniel Nettheim’s The Hunter, starring Sam Neill and Willem Dafoe.

But one of the truly unique things about IFFR 2012 is the way it seeks to challenge notions of what cinema can be. From 100 Meters Behind the Future – a live film that is shot, acted, directed, edited and screened in real time – to Michel Gondry’s “Home Movie Factory” – a workshop in which festival attendees are given three hours to shoot a short film of their own – this year’s festival is pushing boundaries into the way we watch, make and appreciate movies.

Regrettably, with over seven hundred films to choose from, as well as numerous panel discussions, director Q&As and experimental installations, it’s simply impossible to get to everything. Choices have to be made, schedules have to be juggled, and many intriguing looking films must unfortunately go unseen. But then again, browsing through the programme is all part of the fun. CPR’s coverage of the IFFR will kick off in earnest once the festival gets under way. In the mean time, here’s a list of ten titles that happened to catch my eye.

TOM’S TEN MOST ANTICIPATED FILMS OF THE IFFR (ALPHABETICAL):

ALPS

Alps is the new film Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, whose previous film Dogtooth shocked and disturbed audiences all the way to an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. His follow up boasts a similarly bizarre conceit, about people who rent themselves out as temporarily stand-ins for families whose loved ones have passed away.

BLACK & WHITE & SEX

Another Australian picture on the festival programme – and what kind of person would I be if I didn’t try to promote local films? – Black & White & Sex sees eight actresses play the same woman in an experimental mockumentary about a verbal game of cat and mouse between a filmmaker and a prostitute.

BLACK DOVE

I’m on the record as being a big fan of South Korean cinema. Black Dove, from director Roh Gyeong-Tae, utilizes a non-linear timeline to show how four lives intersect following a horrific car accident.

CLIP

One of the fifteen films competing in the Tiger Awards category, the Serbian drama Clip is described on the IFFR website as a “non-judgmental portrait of teenagers caught in sexual and social turmoil. Sexually explicit and emotionally disturbing, it goes beyond borders and even further.” Colour me intrigued.

A DANGEROUS METHOD

I’m generally planning to steer clear of the festivals high profile features, as I know I’ll get the chance to catch up with them later on. But I love director David Cronenberg. His latest effect, about the twisted rivalry between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, played by Michael Fassbender and Viggo Mortensen respectively, looks fascinating.

THE EXTRAORDINARY VOYAGE + A TRIP TO THE MOON

A Trip to the Moon, George Méliès’ revolutionary fourteen minute silent film from 1902, received its due diligence this year in Martin Scorsese’s 3D fantasy Hugo. Personally though, I’m far more intrigued by this French documentary that charts the movies’ influence and restoration, and will be screened in conjunction with Méliès’ original short.

KILL LIST

A British horror film about two contract killers on job that takes a surreal turn, I sorely regret missing Ben Wheatley’s Kill List when it played at MIFF back in July. It’s not a mistake I’ll be making twice.

NICK

The IFFR is a Dutch festival, so I’d be remiss if I didn’t include at least one Dutch movie on the list. Nick is a part character study, part road movie about a conceited chef looking for truffles in a Croatian forest. Sounds bizarre, but why not?

OSLO, AUGUST 31^ST

A Norwegian drama about a drug addict and suicide survivor on a one day excursion from his rehab facility, Oslo August 31^st  received extremely positive critical notice when it played at Cannes. It’s also directed by a distant cousin of Lars von Trier (although that doesn’t necessarily score it many points in my book)

STILLLEBEN

A minimalist family drama from Austria, Stillleben explores themes of guilt and shame after a father is discovered by his son to have begun a disturbing relationship with a prostitute.

Room 514 (IFFR Review)

Kill List (IFFR Review)

IFFR Shorts Programme

Alps (IFFR Review)

Cannes Classics: A Trip to the Moon (1902)

Movies, however, are not mundane at all. Why, they can be awesome! But before we go and watch them, we like to know what they’re about. We like to know what genre they pertain to, and the actors they feature. We like to know what the critics have said about it, and what the censorship board have rated it. In short, we like to know what to expect, and that’s where a film’s key art — the main image associated with a given movie — comes into play. Whether you see it lining the walls of your local cinema, plastered on a billboard on your way to work or buried in a blog post much like this one, a movie’s key art is often the first contact you’ll have with an upcoming release. And you know what they say about first impressions…

Below are some of the best examples of key art from 2011. They’re attention-grabbing, beautifully composed, richly symbolic and indicative of the mood of the movie. They say a good poster can sell you a movie in three seconds. Well, these are the ones that do it in two.

The Ides of March

Drenched in symbolism, this masterful design tells you everything you need to know about the film, and then some. With his tie loose and top button undone, we quickly establish that Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) is the political young gun of the story, working for Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney), a presidential candidate. It’s telling that Morris' TIME magazine cover folds back to reveal Gosling’s face, as Meyers is the man behind Morris, writing his speeches and advising his actions. The fact that there is near-perfect symmetry between their faces is no coincidence, either, as Meyers is a Morris in the making. But take one look at Clooney’s furrowed brow and tell me he’s not hiding something. That's the underlying message of the movie: the political realm is full of egos willing to say and do anything to get ahead. “It’s not about you,” Clooney’s subtle scowl might as well be saying to the voting public. “It’s all about TIME.”

Clever, no?

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Often when a poster features superimposed images, it looks jarring and amateurish, but this one is nigh on perfect. (Well, except for the choice of font, but let's not dwell on that). With a kind of sensual unease, this sun-bleached bastion of good design tells the story of a lost soul looking for her place, and how a sinister father figure – seen ominously approaching in the background – sniffs out and takes advantage of her whimpering soul. It’s almost as if we’ve caught Elizabeth Olsen mid hair flick as she basks in the warming glow of the sun, eyes closed, wishing she could find the same warmth elsewhere. Ok, so I’m probably overthinking it, but how can you not. This poster just absorbs you.

Here I Am

There are colours… and then there are COLOURS. I’m pretty sure there are hues of blue and red on this poster that I have never even seen before, and now that I have, I feel like I’ve been missing out. It’s kind of fitting, too, that the film follows indigenous Australians, which some may (archaically) refer to as “people of colour”. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes – is that a bushfire raging in the background? – the woman pictured is looking to start afresh, and her empowering stance encapsulates the film’s title far better than an arrangement of words ever could. “Life affirming” is one way to describe the raw emotion of this poster, “awe-inspiring” is another.

Apart

I’ve never heard of this film before, but while trawling through the internet looking for posters to compile this list, this one immediately stood out. As two softly-lit young lovers rest heads against a translucent yellow background, the word I keep arriving at is “embryonic”. The sellotaped borders are telling of a photo that has been ripped up and stuck back together again, the only piece missing being the gatekeepers of the soul, the eyes. I’m reluctant to point out that “Torn” is the unspoken verb of the title, because it’s so perfectly conveyed, I'm sure you knew that already. I may have never heard of Apart before, but I’m all ears now.

Melancholia

Have you ever seen someone this stunning look so morose, so deceased, on their wedding day? You’d think it was the end of the world or something! Oh wait...

This poster for Lars Von Trier’s art-house apocalypse has earned its place on this list for one simple reason: that photograph is magnificent. All the Photoshop pros in the world could not recreate an image as gorgeously composed as this one. That’s not to say it hasn’t been touched up – see the looming planet's reflection? – but it’s done is such a natural way, it abides by what Photoshop was designed for in the first place: enhancing photos, not massacring them.

A Good Old Fashioned Orgy

I chuckled when I first laid eyes on this witty design, did you? For starters, it’s rare for an ensemble film to have a poster where each actor’s mug is not lazily plonked inside a box like the Brady Bunch, but I guess when your biggest star is Jason Sudeikis, that wasn’t exactly an option. You might say that anyone who can open Microsoft Paint could have made this poster, but that’s like saying anyone with a few bits of wood could have invented the wheel. It’s less about the complexity or technicality of the execution than it is about the strength of the concept. And when you think about it, this concept is probably the most impenetrable thing about this movie. Zzing!

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2

The face-to-face, good vs. evil poster is nothing particularly new, but when it’s done right, by gosh, is it done right. The intensity of the colours, the starkness of the lighting, the power of the symmetry and that nasty reptilian nose; this poster for the final Harry Potter just oozes epic. Much like the films, observing the evolution of the posters is a journey through adolescence itself.
Boy wizard? Not anymore.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

A poster that embraces sexuality this fearlessly is so rare in Hollywood, it’s worth celebrating when it comes along. In fact, had they chosen not to market David Fincher’s latest film with such gritty, gender-centric imagery, they would have done wrong by the Swedish source material, which was originally (and tellingly) titled ‘Men Who Hate Women’. Picturing a haggard Daniel Craig clutching a topless Rooney Mara around the neck, you might initially think the image reinforces the old “man dominating woman” stereotype. But take one look at Mara’s unruffled expression and firm returning grasp, and you’ll be forced to stop and think: who’s really wearing the pants in this relationship?

Scre4m

The one thing you should know about design is that less is almost always best. A poster that will grab your attention is usually the one with a simple yet striking bit of imagery, and this key art for Scre4m fits the bill perfectly. Ok, so it’s a little bit similar to the classic Halloween poster, but there’s no mistaking the Ghostface mask as anything but Wes Craven’s iconic series. Notice the way the tip of the knife leads the eye directly to the Scre4m title treatment; that’s called the visual hierarchy of the design, and an effective poster will make sure our attention winds up at the title sooner rather than later. Why? Because you don’t recite an image when you buy a ticket at the box office...

Super 8

I’m sure everyone has tilted their head at least once to observe this brooding beauty, which by way of an insidious skyline, cleverly highlights just how puny we all are in comparison to whatever the hell is out there. It also mimics the orientation of a strip of film, which is no doubt being wound through the Super 8 camera in possesion of the silhouetted kids. Yes, the credits are a little garish, but when Spielberg is involved, you’d be mad not to slap his name on there in a big, bold font. To top it off, there’s also one of J.J. Abrams' signature lens flares highlighting a key location in the film. A nice bit of ‘wink-wink’ in an otherwise mysterious bit of marketing.

Honourable Mentions

By a whisker, these are the posters that didn't quite make this year's Top 10, but are too good to not share with you anyway. Next year, in the unlikely chance that I'm less lazy than I am now, I might do a Top 20 instead.

Click on an individual poster to see it in all its glory.

When you're ready, click the 'next' arrow below to begin the countdown.

Read my lists for 2008, 2009 & 2010.

10 Best & Worst Movie Posters of 2009

2011 Online Film Critics Society Awards

Competition: Win a PROM DVD/Blu-ray prize pack!

10 Best & Worst Movie Posters of 2008

Competition: Win a BURIED prize pack + movie tickets!

But if there’s any satisfaction to be had from watching bad movies, it’s snarkily writing about how bad they are in year-end lists like this one!

Before we begin, it’s worth mentioning that I was more selective about the movies I went to see last year than I have been in the past, so there were a lot of potentially bad movies released in 2011 – namely anything involving Kevin James, Martin Lawrence and Sarah Jessica Parker – that I actively avoided. So perhaps a better title for this list would be “The 10 Worst Films of 2011 That I Failed to Avoid”.

 Anders Wotzke’s Bottom 10:

10. Transformers: Dark of the Moon

You know it’s a Michael Bay movie when the best compliment you can give is: “it’s slightly less racist than the last one!”

9. I Am Number Four

Actually, you’re number nine, but a good guess nonetheless.

8. Wasted on the Young

Too busy being cool and cutting-edge to be anything else, this grossly miscalculated, po-faced melodrama about Australian high schoolers was Wasted on Me more than anyone else.

7. The Hangover Part II

When the first Hangover turned out to be funny, critics such as myself were lost for words because the zinger we were all planning to use — “It’s awful like an actual hangover!” — was totally shut down. So out of sympathy, director Todd Phillips went ahead and made a sequel that is, undeniably, “awful like an actual hangover!” Thanks Todd!

6. Battle: Los Angeles

If you gave a bunch of drunk teenage boys a camera and a few million bucks to make a movie, the result would look something like this. Only the camerawork would probably be a bit better…

5. Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

What happens when a vampire and werewolf fight over dinner a girl?

Four movies of NOTHING. F*****G NOTHING.

4. Abduction

With lines like “there’s a bomb in the oven!” and the seminal “I hate balloons!”, it’s an outright scandal that amendments have yet to be made to the AFI’s Top 100 Movie Quotes of All Time list.

3. Your Highness

Did you know that if you say “penis!” a lot whilst wearing a suit of armour you’re making a joke? It’s true! You’ve also just made Your Highness, so shame on you.

2. Just Go With It/Jack & Jill

When Adam Sandler farts in a cup and dares his partner to smell it, I just know he’s thinking “there’s a movie in this.”

1. The Three Musketeers

If I were Satan, The Three Musketeers would be the movie I’d have looping in the lobby to greet new tenants.

Tom Clift’s Bottom 10:

10. Abduction

Don’t get me wrong: I actually really enjoyed this movie. I found it hilarious. Still, there’s no doubt that this Taylor Lautner action vehicle is absolutely one of the worst films of the year.

9. My Week with Marilyn

A lifeless, sappy and wholly unlikely story about a supposed romance between Marilyn Monroe and a British youth so bland and uninteresting I don’t even feel compelling to look up his name, My Week with Marilyn hits Australian cinemas in February 2012. Don’t waste your time.

8. The Ages of Love

Ludicrously un-PC and ludicrously unfunny, this romantic comedy, styled as Italy’s answer to Love, Actually, and starring a very confused looking Robert DeNiro, is abysmal.

7. Tiny Furniture

One of the indie darlings of the year (although not in Australia, where it is yet to play outside the festival circuit), Lisa Dunham directorial debut is full of agonizingly irritating and self centred characters whose constant whining is enough to send you running from the theatre.

6. The Redemption of General Butt Naked

There are other films on this list I consider boring, stupid or artless. This documentary – about a former African warlord who embraced Christianity and went about converting his former child soldiers – I found morally disturbing.

5. Transformers: Dark of the Moon

The CGI is top of the line, but that’s about all this film has to offer. Marginally less offensive than the second Transformers movie, but Dark of the Moon is still juvenile, boring, overlong, incomprehensibly edited and full of unlikable characters whose demise would be a blessing.

4. The Tree of Life

Ambitious and visually stunning…to a point. But Terrance Mallick’s latest soon descends into utter tedium and laughable art house clichés due to its director’s refusal to engage his audience or deliver a cohesive narrative.

3. Melancholia

Utterly one note. Everything from the performances from the colour scheme to the title of the film is void of emotional complexity, or even emotional variation. You’re sad. We get it. Move on.

2. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Perhaps the most shamelessly cash-grabby Hollywood turd of the year, the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie turns its beloved characters to painfully irritating caricatures, and is duller than watching paint dry. Oh, and it was post-converted into 3D. Need I say more?

1. Once Upon A Time In Anatolia

It doesn’t help that I saw it late at night during a five-film day on the last weekend of a film festival in which I spent over sixty hours in various cinemas. But the fact remains that this supposedly existential drama from Turkey is the most boring film I have seen all year. A quarter of my audience walked out. I should have as well.

—

(DIS)Honourable Mentions: Battle: LA, She Monkeys, Troll Hunter, Cowboys and Aliens

Phew, thank God that’s over! Now how about you cleanse your palate by reading our list of the 10 Best Movies of 2011?

The 10 Best Films of 2011

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Video Review)

Competition: Win tickets to SUBMARINE + indie DVDs!

Cinema Releases July 2nd, 2009 – Ice Age 3, Last Ride

Competition: Win ATTACK THE BLOCK tickets!

The endearing charm of Disney arguably peaked during the years many of us at Cut Print Review were experiencing cinema for the first time as young children. While the animation stalwart has gone in a different direction since that period, new technology enables all of us to experience that charm on the big screen once more. Bringing The Lion King to a new generation is one thing, but to bring it back for those growing up with it and those who gave their children the chance to see it is another point entirely.

Disney was always buying in on the 3D craze. What better way to keep the love for their most impressive films going (and cash-in once more) then a digital remastering? The chance of it going pear-shaped is always a worry – changed endings on Star Wars DVDs an example – but not overusing the technology is key. As the saying goes, keep it simple stupid. And they did. What many argue to be Disney’s best feature undeniably still stands as a masterpiece, with the 3D reworking enhancing the amazing array of colours – particularly doing wonders for characters Zazu and Rafiki.

Michael Wakelam, the manager of Reading Cinemas in Dubbo, first saw The Lion King as a 20 year old and appreciated its all-round humour. The excitement was undeniable as he described his disbelief at how good it came up on the big screen. As one of the last of the hand-drawn animations from Disney before the collaboration with Pixar, people still feel that sense of nostalgia as one of the great artistic crafts slowly wanes to this day. But The Lion King holds up because of its star power. Elton John and Tim Rice’s collaboration produced some of Disney’s best songs, characters Timon and Pumbaa were so lovable they sparked a long-running spin-off series, and vocal talents from Rowan Atkinson, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Nathan Lane, James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons and Matthew Broderick are strong.

Perhaps the best way to sum it up is simply to imagine those Europeans attempting to sing ‘The Circle of Life’ with great gusto. In broken English, yes, but that just shows the reach that The Lion King, like most Disney films of the 90s, had and continue to have. They hadn’t seen the film for over a decade but the love and admiration for it was undeniably apparent. It’s a film that still manages to produce laughter and tears, with great innuendos and a beautiful story that stands as a reminder of the importance of family. US and UK audiences chose this over Brad Pitt’s Oscar-buzz performance in Moneyball, which speaks volumes.

Things may come and go, but The Lion King – whether in 3D or not – has already proved it stands the test of time. Hakuna matata!

The Princess and the Frog (Review)

Secretariat (Review)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Review)

Tangled 3D (Review)

Elise’s plea: “Stop Killing Our Characters!”

It all got off to a rather ignominious start however. Monday was my first day back at University, the first of a strenuous two day week (one of the perks of being an Arts student). Because of this, I was unfortunately unable to attend any screenings. Tuesday evening however brought two quality films – a Filipino documentary entitled Give Up Tomorrow, as well as Takashi Miike’s highly buzzed-about Samurai epic 13 Assassins.

Give Up Tomorrow was a gob-smacking watch, about a young man sentenced to death for rape, kidnapping and murder, despite being able to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was on the other side of the country at the time of the killings. A devastating indictment of corruption at the highest levels of the Filipino government, the perversion of justice seen in this film was so bald-faced and extreme that it sometimes seemed to stretch credibility. I and two friends who attended the screening with me even commented on this fact after the film ended, only for a girl in the row in front to turn around and start talking to us. Apparently she is from the same village as the unfortunate young man in the film and recognized many of the faces who appeared on the screen. As for the corruption, in her own words: “it really is that bad”. The conversation was only very brief, but it was also pretty incredible, and a real indication of the kind of memorable experiences one can have at a film festival.

Michael Collins and Marty Syjuco’s Give Up Tomorrow.

Exiting the dark greater union cinema, I then got immediately back into the already rapidly growing line for 13 Assassins. After the first MIFF screening several days before generated plenty of positive reactions, mostly in the form of tweets reading “that was totally awesome!” it was clear this film was amongst the hottest tickets in town. Thankfully, unlike other MIFF queues I’ve been placed in, I got to spend a majority of the forty minute wait inside, and my seats were actually in a pretty good spot.

As for the film itself, I’ll agree with many of the tweets I read after the previous screening: it was totally awesome. Although not as action heavy as you might have expected, the combination of dramatic dialogue throughout and some sensational sword-play in the non-stop final act made 13 Assassins one hell of a good time.

Wednesday and Thursday represented quieter days in my festival schedule due to a whole range of “real world” issues far less fun and not all that interesting. I did however manage to attend one screening on Wednesday morning, of Project Nim, director James Marsh’s follow up to the amazing documentary Man on Wire. Sadly, I wasn’t nearly as endeared by this tale of a chimpanzee raised by humans as many were (both Simon and Jess of the Quickflix Blog admitted to being brought to tears by the film). Look for my full review coming soon – in the mean time I’ll just say that in my opinion, this scientific experiment seemed doomed from the beginning, and that most of the people involved were just a bit too naïve to garner much sympathy from me.

James Marsh’s Project Nim.

Thursday went by without any trips to the cinema. But after a long day of work on Friday, what better way to unwind in the evening with a trio of strong although very different films.

First up, at 6:30, was Ken Loach’s Route Irish. A story of a private military contractor murdered in Iraq, and the subsequent investigation by his best friend and his wife, like most Loach films it was well acted, filled with realism, politically to the point and very, very depressing. Worth seeing though, especially for a couple of really suspenseful sequences peppered throughout.

Then at 9pm I squeezed into the sold out session of Mike Mills’ Beginners, also the first screening I’ve attended at MIFF so far where the director himself was present. The film stars Ewan McGregor as Oliver, a man whose father (Christopher Plummer) comes out of the closet at the age of 75, and not too long after is diagnosed with terminal cancer. At the same time, Oliver must juggle a fledgling relationship with the beautiful Anna (Melanie Laurent). Mostly avoiding the clichés and irritating quirks of the independent relationship dramedy that the film very clearly is, Beginners is a sweet, subtle, emotional little picture that I highly recommend. I also stuck around for part of the Q&A with the charming director after the film, where he gave one lucky audience member a book of artwork from the film. Unfortunately I had to dash off to catch my final screening of the night.

Mike Mills’ Beginners.

That final screening was of James Gunn’s Super, a violent, pitch-black superhero comedy that, after a double dosage of heartbreaking verisimilitude and social important what-not, was a very welcome change indeed. Starring Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon (plus a hilarious cameo from Firefly’s Nathan Fillion), this film is Kick-Ass with bigger balls. Unflinching, brutal, completely inappropriate and hilarious in an oh-so-wrong-its-right kind of way, Super elicited more laughs and groans from the audience than any other film of the festival so far. That said, while I loved the first 95% of the film, I did have rather series problems with the ending, where the violence went from shockingly comedic to just plain unpleasant. It was a real downer, and made me question how much I liked everything that came before.

So now I’m back where I was at the beginning of last week – sitting at my computer in the wee hours of the morning. After a few hours sleep, today (Saturday) will kick off my biggest day at MIFF so far: five films, starting at eleven o’clock in the morning and running through to that same time at night. Look forward to plenty more from me in the very near future.

—

Tom Clift is a web-based film journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Visit his website here: http://reviewsbytom.blogspot.com.

You can read all of Tom Clift’s coverage of MIFF 2011 here.

Give Up Tomorrow (MIFF Review)

MIFF 2011 Diary: Days 1-4

MIFF 2011 Diary: Days 13-16

13 Assassins (MIFF Review)

Route Irish (MIFF Review)

But I’ll get to that in a minute.

While the festival festivities technically kicked off on Thursday night with the opening film and after-party, for plebs/cheapskates like me the festival doesn’t really begin until Friday. Unfortunately, this didn’t exactly work out either. I was meant to be attending a screening of the award-winning documentary Tears of Gaza on Friday afternoon, only to discover the day before that I was rostered on to work my “real” job. With an 8pm, non-MIFF screening of The Blues Brothers to attend in the evening, it seems my 2011 MIFF experience was not fated to begin until Saturday.

Still, on Saturday morning I set off bright and early with my girlfriend into Melbourne’s CBD for my first film at The Australian Centre for the Movie Image (ACMI) in Federation Square. Arriving in the city just after 10 for an 11 o’clock screening, we had a chance to check out the Stella Artois MIFF Lounge and MIFF Box Office (both located in the Forum Theatre right across the road from ACMI). It was there I bumped into Simon Miraudo of the Quickflix blog. Simon, with whom I have been Twitter friends for some time, and have even podcasted with on one occasion, is taking part in the MIFF 60-films-in-17-days blog-a-thon, so we only had the chance to chat for a moment before he had to rush off. Still, it’s always nice to meet fellow bloggers, and I hope it will be the first of many such chance encounters.

After grabbing a quick coffee, we settled into the rather rigid seats for our very first film: Mohamad Rasoulof’s Good Bye [Bé omid é didar], an Iranian film about a pregnant woman trying to flee from the country that is persecuting her and her fugitive husband. I’d selected the film with my girlfriend in mind – she, like me, is in the midst of her liberal arts education, and is always down for commiserating about the plights of oppressed minorities from any and all corners of the globe. Good Bye certainly had this in spades, but it also had a tendency to keep the audience at arm’s length, both emotionally and in terms of communicating the gravity of the situation the protagonists find themselves in. Many of the scenes in the film are intentionally mundane, and while it was effective way of demonstrating the marginalised position of women in Iranian society, it was also occasionally quite dull.

Mohamad Rasoulof’s Good Bye [Bé omid é didar].

Frustratingly, whatever quiet qualities the film did possess were undercut by the first of many technical faults that seemed to follow me wherever I went. Coming from the bottom right hand corner of the theatre, for the entire two hours, was a high pitched whistling noise that was impossible to ignore. Afterwards we theorised what the noise might have been – perhaps the breathing apparatus of an elderly patron, or an ACMI employee making cup after cup of tea?

(I reached out to the ACMI Twitter account, and eventually discovered it was a faulty air conditioner… I think our explanations were more interesting. Either way, it has apparently been fixed).

Good Bye was preceded by a short Iranian film called The Accordion. It was a rather sweet little story, but unfortunately for me it also meant that by the time the lights came up, I was already a couple of minutes late for my 1pm showing of Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams, which was playing up the other end of Swanston St at the Hoyts Multiplex in Melbourne Central (presumably because the arthouse theatres MIFF usually commandeers don’t have the capacity to project 3D films).

By the time I arrived at Melbourne Central I was 20 minutes late. But as luck would have it, there were apparently major faults with the sound system, and after the crowd starting shouting and stamping their feet (which I’m actually extremely sorry I missed), the projectionist decided to just restart the whole thing. So by the time I rushed into the theatre, the film had just begun… for the second time. Not so luckily, because I was amongst the last people in, I was seated in the very front row, and spent most of the movie craning my neck trying to make out the screen.

Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams.

In retrospect, this less-than-ideal seating position may have impacted on my rather negative review of the film, and particularly of its 3D elements. As it stands, I’m thoroughly convinced the movie would have been far better and more informative (although probably not as unique) if it had been directed by someone – anyone – other than Werner Herzog.

The films ludicrous epilogue was considerably heightened by the fact that those technical faults reared up again, as the movie came grinding to a halt right in the middle of one of the inexplicable moments of voice-over narration. The lights came up and down a few time, and a poor young MIFF volunteer girl tried timidly to inform the restless audience that the film would be up and running again soon. It was. And then it froze, again. By this time a good half the audience had left, including Glenn Dunks of Stale Popcorn and Paul Nelson of Cinema Viscera. I myself stuck it out, only to learn once the film eventually got going that it was only about a minute from the end. Damn.

The rest of my Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning was taken up by various personal commitments including my brother’s eighteenth birthday. But by 6pm on Sunday evening, I was in line at the Greater Union Cinema in Russell Street for my third film of the festival, the British/American/Indian documentary The Bengali Detective. Going in, that was about all I knew. As it turns out, the film follows a team of private detectives in Kolkata as they manage three cases: tracking an adulterous husband, thwarting a ring of shampoo counterfeiters, and solving a grizzly triple homicide.

Brian Cox’s The Bengali Detective.

In short, I thought this film was absurd — and not in a charming or interesting kind of way. Interspersed throughout the movie is footage of the detectives training to audition for – of all things – a TV dance program. These ludicrous moments strike sharp and jarring contrast with the otherwise serious subject matter, including the frequent references to the ever worsening health problems of the lead detective’s wife. Director Brian Cox also pays some small lip service to the greater social issues of law enforcement and corruption in India; issues that, had they taken any kind of central focus, would have made for a far better film.

By the film’s end, I sorely regretting not choosing to see the schedule-clashing Martha Marcy May Marlene instead, as positive reviews began littering my Twitter feed. Next, I headed down to the Forum for the screening of Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation [Jodaeiye Nader az Simin] – a film I hoped would be, at last, truly excellent. But first I had to conquer the enormous queue that was beginning to engulf the entire block. Clearly I wasn’t the only one who had heard the buzz for the film out of the Venice and later the Sydney Film Festival (where the picture took home the Golden Bear and Sydney Film Prize, respectively). So there I was, queuing in the freezing cold for 45 minutes whilst busting for a pee. It’s safe to say, by the time I got inside, the movie needed to be pretty bloody good.

Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation [Jodaeiye Nader az Simin].

Blessedly, it was sublime.  An achingly real, stunningly acted, morally complex and emotionally gripping family and legal drama, it is hard to imagine many films for the remainder of the festival coming close to this one. Look for my full length review in the next day or two, and do everything in your power to catch up with it if you can. (The second session at MIFF, unfortunately, is already sold out.) Yet another massive technical stuff-up – a projection error that meant we couldn’t read the subtitles for a good two minutes in one of the films climactic final scenes – couldn’t detract from this amazing film.

As I left the Forum and jumped straight on the tram that would take me home, I felt both relieved and reinvigorated. The next few days bring screenings of films that have already received much critical attention, including Takashi Miike’s 13 Assassins and James Marsh’s documentary Project Nim. So despite a bumpy beginning, I am ready and eager for more.

—

Tom Clift is a web-based film journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Visit his website here: http://reviewsbytom.blogspot.com.

You can read all of Tom Clift’s coverage of MIFF 2011 here.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams 3D (MIFF Review)

MIFF 2011 Diary: Days 5-9

Give Up Tomorrow (MIFF Review)

MIFF 2011 Diary: Days 13-16

MIFF 2011 Diary: Days 10-12

With such an enormous number of films and other events to choose from, discerning cinephiles will find themselves having to make some tough choices as to what to see and what to skip. Only then will they be able to make the most out of their 2011 MIFF experience. Below is a selection of some of the most exciting, anticipated and intriguing films that we believe this years’ festival has to offer.

FESTIVAL FAVOURITES

Some of the biggest titles at MIFF are films that have already generated plenty of buzz on the international film festival circuit. One of my most anticipated selections is Lars von Trier’s Melancholia, a film that won Kirsten Dunst the Best Actress Award at the prestigious Cannes film festival, before seeing its notorious director blacklisted amidst waves of controversy. Other exciting prospects out of Cannes include the psychological thriller Take Shelter (pictured above) starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, as well as the dual winners of the festivals Grand Prix: the Turkish police procedural Once Upon a Time in Anatolia and the acclaimed Belgian social drama The Kid with the Bike.

Then from the other side of Atlantic come some of the biggest hits from the 2011 Sundance Film Festival out of Utah. Morgan Spurlock (Supersize Me) returns with another subversive documentary feature about the hidden world of movie product placement, entitled POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. Those in need of further amusement might want to check out The Guard, a black comedy about a small town Irish cop who gets caught up in an international drug smuggling ring, written and directed by the brother of In Bruges helmsman Martin McDonagh, John McDonagh. Alternatively, if you’re more interested in philosophy, you could consider Mike Cahill’s award winning Another Earth, a film that blends intense personal drama with low-key science fiction.

Morgan Spurlock in POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.

DOCUMENTARIES

Just as impressive if not more so than the narrative features at MIFF this year is the incredible list of documentaries on offer. Sure to be one of the most heartbreaking films of the entire festival, How To Die in Oregon chronicles the struggles of terminally ill patients attempting to end their lives via doctor assisted suicide in the US State of Oregon. Then, at the complete other end of the emotional spectrum we get Being Elmo, a film about the man behind everybody’s favourite furry red Muppet. Acclaimed documentarian Errol Morris returns to MIFF with the eye-opening and outrageous Tabloid, as does the ever eccentric Werner Herzog, who this time sets out to examine the world’s oldest cave paintings in Cave of Forgotten Dreams (and in 3D, no less!). But perhaps most intriguing to me is the Ridley Scott-produced Life in a Day, compiled from 4,500 hours of amateur footage submitted by YouTube users from all around the globe.

Kevin Clash in Constance Marks’ Being Elmo.

ACCENT ON ASIA

One of the centerpieces of MIFF this year is what the organizers are calling the “Accent on Asia”. At the top of the list, having already played to acclaim at Cannes, Toronto, Venice, Sydney and multiple other international festivals, is Takashi Miike’s 13 Assassins, an epic Samurai drama and homage to the films of Akira Kurosawa. Also from Japan comes a pair of sure to be controversial tales of sexual deviance directed by cult filmmaker Sion Sono: Cold Fish and Guilty of Romance. From South Korea we have The Unjust, an intricate police thriller from MIFF regular Ryoo Seung-wan, while from Thailand comes Eternity, an existential romance and meditation on death. Alternatively, for something a little less weighty, check out Jiro Dreams of Sushi, a documentary about Tokyo’s oldest and most celebrated Sushi chef.

Kôji Yakusho in Takashi Miike’s 13 Assasins.

AUSSIE HIGHLIGHTS

In addition to all the excellent selections from around the world, MIFF 2011 will also be shining a light on some features from a little closer to home. The Eye of the Storm stars Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis as two unscrupulous siblings trying to win the affections – and the inheritance – of their wealthy elderly mother. Following the path of 2009s Samson & Delilah and its scorching indictment of Australian race relations, Toomelah, the story of a ten-year old boy living in one of the countries most impoverished Aboriginal communities, comes straight off of rave reviews out of Cannes, and is sure to generate much discussion amongst liberal minded festival goers. Likewise, outraged citizens will go head to head with local government and property developers in The Triangle Wars, a documentary about the legal battle surrounding the construction of a $400 million dollar shopping mall in St Kilda. Fair warning: tickets for many of these local films are selling fast, so be sure to get a move on if you want to be amongst the first people in the world to see them on the big screen.

Judy Davis, Charolette Rampling and Geoffrey Rush in Fred Schepisi’s The Eye of the Storm.

LATE NIGHT MADNESS

If you’re like me then few things get you more excited than the prospect of a late night screening of a cult classic. Or, in the case of MIFF 2011, a cult classic in the making. Two films at this year’s festival have already hit it big in North America, where they have been celebrated for their over the top violence and darkly comedic tones. James Gunn’s Super stars The Office’s Rainn Wilson as a no-hope loser who decides to become a vigilante after his wife (Liv Tyler) leaves him for a local drug dealer (Kevin Bacon). Meanwhile, Rutger Hauer embodies the eponymous character in the aptly named Hobo With a Shotgun, an homage to seventies exploitation films. A film with an even stranger name is Takashi Miike’s other entry at this year’s festival, a movie that I intend to see knowing nothing other than its title – Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City. Finally, how could I possibly skip The Innkeepers when the festival organizers are billing it as Clerks meets The Shining? These films and more will be screening in the late night 9pm and 11:30pm slots, and are sure to attract some of the rowdiest audiences of the entire festival.

Rutger Hauer in Jason Eisener’s Hobo with a Shotgun.

And best of all? This list is just the tip of the iceberg. Many of the most memorable films at MIFF this year will no doubt be flicks that none of us have ever heard of. Like the very best international film festivals, MIFF presents film fans from all around the city, the country and the world to discover movies’ that they would never get the opportunity to see. That is why, as much as it saddens me, I’ll be skipping some of the festivals hottest tickets, including the feverishly anticipated documentaries Senna and Project Nim, the latest adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre starring Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska, as well as 2011’s sure to be indie favourite, Submarine. I chose to miss these films resting assured in the knowledge that they will all find theatrical distribution later in the year, and that my time might be better spent catching some lesser known titles that might not be quite so lucky.

As it stands I’m scheduled to see thirty-three films over the duration of the festival, and I’m very much looking forward to battling hunger and exhaustion to bring you updates, commentary and reviews here at Cut Print Review. Those of you who haven’t secured tickets yet can do so at festival’s website.

—

Tom Clift is a web-based film journalist from Melbourne, Australia. Visit his website here: http://reviewsbytom.blogspot.com.

MIFF 2011 Diary: Days 10-12

MIFF 2011 Diary: Days 13-16

POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (MIFF Review)

Hobo With A Shotgun (MIFF Review)

MIFF 2011 Diary: Days 5-9

Reviews:
01:42 – X-men: First Class
12:48 – Super 8

Discussion:
24:45 -The duration of movies; do they need to be so long?
31:04 – Movies you’ve fallen asleep in.
33:42 – What movies are worth rewatching or collecting?
38:35 – DVD vs. Blu-ray

Last week’s intro quotes:
Apollo 13
Avatar
Iron Man
Shrek 2

To subscribe or listen to previous episodes of Film Spiel, visit film-spiel.com.

Film Spiel #14: Hangover 2, The Tunnel

Film Spiel #13: Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Snowtown

Film Spiel #2: No Strings Attached, Hereafter, 127 Hours

Film Spiel #12: Insidious, Your Highness, Burke & Hare

Film Spiel: A new movie podcast with Anders Wotzke & Dave Bradley