Father Geek here with Timo's 2nd report from the Finnish Film Fest in Helsinki. I'm awaiting the cab to the airport myself right now sooooooo, here's our spy from Estonia with some more reviews from Finland...
Love & Anarchy" is over now and I have started to function properly again after watching 30+ films in seven days. This is too much but still...cannot wait to get back there after a year has passed.
Many movies have found a solid place in my memory and now it is time to share my experiences with the readers of AICN.
INTACTO
Many movies have found a solid place in my memory and now it is time to share my experiences with the readers of AICN.
INTACTO
Since Harry and Father Geek are attending the Fantasy Film Festival in Spain, there is no other film more properly suited to start off this report than "Intacto", a highly intelligent and original Spanish movie that can be described as "Unbreakable" taken a few drastic steps further and deserves wider recognition and praise. It is about people who have escaped unharmed from plane crashes, car accidents, earthquakes, etc. and are now determined to find out (through several tests and competitions) who is indeed the luckiest person in the whole wide world. The person who qualifies from all the so-called pre-trials, will get a chance to play a final game (until death) with the defending champion Sam (played by the Grand Old Man Max von Sydow), the concentration camp survivor who has been a champion of such games for over 30 years.
The film is completely captivating and the atmosphere and the overall feeling of the movie doesn't let you go after watching it. You feel the rush of the players taking part in these games, completely high on adrenaline and the feeling that nothing can touch them. While watching the film, I couldn't help but draw parallels with "Unbreakable" only that all the David Dunns of this movie have the curiosity of Elijah Price about their abilities and they are more than willing to go on. For example one guy thinks that he is the luckiest man alive after he found a check for a considerable sum of money. To enter the games, he must take a test and running blindfolded across the busy freeway ends his brief lucky streak abruptly.
I don't have enough praise for the film since I don't pretend to be a critic, analyzing all the layers, etc. I simply say that see this fantasy thriller gem of a film and you'll have a movie experience worthy of your time and price of admission. And remember the name Juan Carlos Fresnadillo - this newcomer director will be destined for great things in years to come.
NINE QUEENS
If I personally have to pick one film that impressed me the most during the festival then "Nine Queens" would rank in Top 3 on that list. This Argentinian con-movie has enough charm, suspense to secure its place among classics during years to come. After seeing the international trailer for the movie it gave me the impression that we are dealing with Argentinian version of "Pulp Fiction" but the widely used comparison with Mamet's "House of Games" is far more appropriate.
There is something about con-movies that completely draws you into what is going on. But one thing is absolutely essential - if you don't like the characters the story revolves around (or even worse - if you feel indifferent to them), then you are in trouble. Luckily, Gaston Pauls and Ricardo Darin are nothing less than captivating. These two have a wonderful chemistry on screen and the relationship of these two con-men is believable and really fluid. Nothing is forced in their performances and that is a big part of the movie's charm.
To be brief - David Mamet should be proud that his legacy has spawned this wonderful movie.
KABHI KHUSHI KABHIE GHAM
There is something about big, lavish Bollywood productions that completely win you over. They are so disarming in their naivité, sweetness and overflowing emotions that you cannot help but root for all the characters in the movie and wish that everything goes well in the end.
I must start by saying that Indian movies have a very special place in my heart - while being behind the iron curtain of the Soviet Union for so many years, the Estonians lacked the opportunity to see Hollywood films on big screens (there were of course exceptions, but the censors were really ruthless in that regard) but Bollywood was almost everyday guest in our movie theatres. Hence the feeling of nostalgia every time I see a film from india with all its lavishness and unforgettable musical numbers.
There was a special Bollywood programm in the "Love & Anarchy" festival this year, headed by spectacles like "Lagaan", "Dil Se" and "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham". Since the first one mentioned is relatively well-known all around the world by now, I'll focus on the latter, although it premiered in the States last December. But somehow I suspect it didn't reach as wide an audience it should have.
The movie is a marvel and an absolute joyride from the beginning till the end. In between there are 210 (!) glorious minutes of family relationships, forbidden love, estrangement between a father and a son and finally, reconcilliation. Nothing more should be said about the plot since it is a traditional tale and the ending should not be a surprise for anyone. And the characters' ability to burst into song and impressive dance numbers at any given moment brings nothing but joy to the hearts of the viewers - one moment the man is wooing a girl in a market, the next moment their feelings have flown them to the pyramids, the coast of the ocean, etc. and in addition to that they manage to go through half a dozen different costumes during the song. Simply marvellous!
I often judge films I see by the fact how many times I check my watch during the screening and how often do I try and rub some life into my numb behind. Now 210 minutes is enough to create a severe stiffness in anyone's ass, but "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham" seemed to be a rare exception. I didn't check my watch even once during the screening and there were maybe a couple of position-shifting movements on my part. The film took me places I hadn't been since childhood and any film that manages to do that, is in good graces in my book. Highly recommended. A delightful experience from start to finish.
ADDRESS UNKNOWN
Last year during the festival I became closely acquainted with what the South-Korean film industry had to offer to the cinema-going public. The films I saw - "Joint Security Area", "Foul King", "Friend", "Attack on the Gas Station", "Shiri" - were all top-notch work and deserving of wider recognition. This year's festival gave the audiences many new and interesting films from South-Korea, one of them being "Address Unknown", from the director Kim Ki-duk who has shocked and appalled viewers with his controversial movie "The Isle" (which contained plenty of disturbing images such as a bunch of fish-hooks swallowed and pushed into female sexual organs - I'm not kidding) but also grabbed their attention. With "Address Unknown" the man who doesn't seem to shy away from anything, continues on the same path.
In this utterly bizarre movie we meet a bunch of weird or simply crazy characters - there is a girl who was blinded in one eye as a child because of the dangerous combination of her brother and a home made gun and a half-breed, whose father was a black G.I. who got her mother pregnant during the Korean War. The half-breed's mother sends continuous letters to the father trying to find him but the letters are returned due to the unknown address. The boy works in a dog pound and since the meat of man's best friend has a special place in Korean cuisine, he has to help his ruthless boss (who is also the lover of the boy's mother) with canine executions. The things described only scrape the surface of what is going on in the movie but the atmosphere of the film is bleak, desperate and hopeless, resembling Harmony Korine's "Gummo" in more ways than one. But this depressive setting is invaded by sudden bursts of weird humor so characteristic to the Oriental cinema. One example: two boys are trying to watch a girl getting undressed through a tiny hole in the paper wall. They argue who should have the privilege of some long-awaited nudity not knowing that the girl has heard their bickering and is waiting on the other side of the wall, a pencil in her hand ready to strike the lucky winner in the eye. The way this scene was played, generated a real laugh-storm in the theatre. Anyway, a weird and ultimately unforgettable film due to its schocking images by a fearless director.
