From quirky independent comedies to austere arthouse dramas, socially important documentaries and shlocky cult splatter-fests, this years Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) will have you covered no matter what your cinematic tastes.  Celebrating its 60^th Anniversary in 2011, the festival will continue its rich tradition of highlighting some of the best new local and international films, from the relatively high-profile to the totally obscure. Kicking off Thursday July 21^st with the whimsical Cannes favourite The Fairy, the festivities will run until Sunday August 7^th (the closing night film – Nicholas Winding Refn’s Drive – will play on the 6^th to ensure there’s room for a full day of screenings on the final day). In between, the festival will play host to over 300 feature films and shorts, as well as panel discussions, workshops and Q&A’s with filmmakers as diverse as Mike Mills, Alex Gibney and Morgan Spurlock.

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.

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

 

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