It’s always hard at MIFF to grade the films you see. As it happened I think I was a bit harsh about all of these movies. I gave them all between none and eight stars instead of ten. The first few because they were the first I’d seen, the later ones because there were a couple of things that were less than perfect but all of them were really, really good and are recommended if they get a commercial release.
House of Seasons
The film follows three generations of a South Korean family over a couple of years. They own a tofu factory in a small rural town. An exquisite mountain landscape forms a beautiful backdrop giving rise to some beautiful images. We are immediately plunged into South Korean culture. The women of the family are preparing food. What emerges is a traditional feast in honour of their ancestors. Grandma rules the roost; refusing here grand-daughter’s request to let air conditioning take the edge off the unbearable heat and criticising everyone’s kitchen skills and final products, including the tofu – which we have seen being manufactured in the factory. An intensive process which was interesting. Grandpa wanders around generally making a nuisance of himself – in the factory and at home. It is he who is demanding the ritual that is being observed whereas both of the younger generations – his children and their spouses, and his granddaughter and grandson are less keen. There are tensions about who is to take over the factory. A son and son-in-law are running the place whilst another son is in hospital with an untreatable condition making his wife dependent financially on her in-laws. Another daughter and son-in-law visits from Vietnam where he is prospering. Memories of the Korean war and experiences with communists intrude on preparations for the ritual – including in a harrowing nightmare endured by one of the sons. Midst these combustible relationships the grandson is the fulcrum on which past and present swing. The ceremony is undertaken, conversations held, secrets uncovered. Time passes and the Grandmother dies. The family gathers again for a traditional Korean funeral – more cultural learning. Grandfather sets forth to the mountain. Who shall claim the inheritance? Gently gripping story-telling. Great acting. You feel for all of the characters. An ambiguous ending completes a perfect picture.
Armand
This film was written and directed by, Halfdan Ullman Tøndon, the grandsonof Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullman. I was a bit anxious that the story might be too grim for me but signed up to it because of the director’s pedigree. I’m so glad I did. It’s a compelling tale brilliantly told. There’s been an altercation between two six year old boys in junior school. Details are extremely opaque; happened in a toilet, could it be kids playing out or could it be sexual assault? Fantastic seeing the mess the school authorities make of the resolution process. The young, idealistic class teacher is being instructed by the headmaster on how to deal with the parents who’ve been called into a meeting. The actor Renate Reinsve, playing Elisabeth,the mother of the accused boy is fantastic (is in the running for Best Actress at the Oscars). She’s a single mother, an award winning actress and this is the first time she’s heard about the incident. The mother of the other boy, Sarah, has made the complaint based on her son’s story. She’s also the sister of Elizabeth’s late husband and very hostile towards her sister-in-law. Much is made of Elizabeth being a single mother and her profession as an actor and how this impacts her parenting. The film explores the way institutions, managers and co-workers deal with these sorts of complaint – all very contemporary issues. The way information is spread and distorted. How processes meant to aid resolution obstruct it. The way people leap to conclusions and are then swayed one way and then the other. It’s set in a school but we could be in any institution. Except the empty corridors along which the characters stalk and stairs and empty classrooms in which each takes refuge during the seemingly endless meeting conjure up every school you’ve ever been in. There is a very Bergmanian scene in which Elizabeth’s inner emotions are displayed in a dance sequence. And a wonderful conclusion. Just all round wonderful! I hope it gets a commercial screening here in which case I will see it again.
Crossing
Another wonderful film – certainly worth a ten star review but it was the first one I saw and I was chary about awarding top points straight away. It’s directed by the Georgian – Swedish director Levan Akin. The title Crossing is very apposite – crossing countries, crossing genders, crossing from the known to the unknown, crossing lives, from hostility to acceptance. Great performances all round, especially Maia Arabuli – a stalwart of Georgian cinema – as Lia. She is fulfilling her sister’s dying wish which is to trace her niece, Tekla, who has moved from Georgia to Istanbul having, to her family’s horror changed her gender. She doesn’t talk much but she has such an expressive face – hostility, suspicion, hope, love. When we first meet her she is wary not knowing whom to trust, what leads to follow. Steadfast in her quest she accepts the help of a feckless young man who offers to accompany and translate for her. She understands he may be, probably is untrustworthy. he is Achi (Lucas Kankava) and as we know, and maybe she does too, only wants to escape his abusive brother. Will he help or abandon her? Their journey eventually leads to the transvestite Evrim, played by Deniz Dumani who also gives a great performance. We see the reality of daily life as a transvestite as Evrim joins in the search – humiliating interviews with doctors and police, but also friendship and assistance, within the community. Authentic views of Istanbul – not touristy at all. The performances from everyone involved, including those we meet briefly as Lia searches through Istanbul’s underbelly, make the characters real. Throughout the whole film we are hoping they all find what they’re looking for. There are moments for both Lia & Achi which are very moving. And there’s another great ending.
Most Precious Cargo
An animation (obviously) by the director of The Artist (which I loved), Michel Hazanavicius which is why I picked it. It’s an inventive retelling of an oft told tale. A Second World War story set in the snowy Polish hinterland. A lonely wife, brusque woodcutter husband – hardscrabble life. Trains pass their isolated cottage nightly bearing human cargo. The harsh drawing style suits the story. Familiar tropes from similar stories – what would you do to save your child? What would you do to save someone else’s child?Saved from smaltziness by the ending really although beautifully tender story telling throughout.
Every Little Thing
This is the one I couldn’t remember when I first came to write this blog which was over a month ago! I couldn’t find a trailer but above is an interview with the Australian documentary maker, Sally Aitken, who made it. A quite a lovely story about Terry Masear, a woman who runs a refuge for injured hummingbirds in Las Angeles. I saw a critique complaining about stock images of these beautiful birds but it was all filmed by a specialist hummingbird photographer. Their incredibly vibrant colours were captured in all their dazzling beauty and there were amazing close ups of the injured birds getting more movement and finally being released back into the wild. As well as interactions with people bringing them to the refuge and of course interviews with Terry Masear. The film is actually based on a book that she wrote about this work called Fastest Things on Wings, But what makes this film special – giving it the ballast that makes it more than a nature doco – is the slow unfolding of what makes this woman so empathetic to the birds in her care. The author’s own story was not included in the book, and apparently only emerged unexpectedly in the middle of what was a long process of filming. It’s gently done and quite moving. And you learn a lot about hummingbirds!
A Traveler’s Needs
At MIFF I always sign up for any film on the program that’s by Hong Sang-soo, over the years there have been quite a few. It’s the only place – festivals I mean – that they’re shown. Might say something about their audiences. They are always full of talk and not much action. Often the same actors and usually in Korea. I find them very interesting. Character driven and full of talk. And I could really watch Isabelle Huppert do anything on screen. So seeing this was a no-brainer for me. But maybe it’s not for everyone. This is the second film of his that Isabelle has starred in and she suits his film-making style; the other one was set in Cannes, unusual for this director. Isabelle is so expressive – standing still she can exude emotion. Here she is a fish out of water. A French woman in Korea. We see her interactions with people, couples by whom, it emerges, she is being engaged to teach French. For a daughter, for a wife. Her teaching methods we come to see are idiosyncratic to say the least! But that’s immaterial to the story which is really a study in alienation. Although she is not anxt ridden or anything. Just a traveler in a very different country to her own. We meet a young man with whom she has a somewhat ambiguous relationship and witness his mother’s anxiety about it. It’s all quite humorous. But nothing very much happens. I loved it.
Suspended Time
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this film and I only picked it because I really like films by the director, Olivier Assayas. I enjoyed it more than expected based on the short overview in the MIFF program. It is based on his own experience living with his brother during the covid lockdown. They are in rural France in their old family home. I really like the French actor Vincent Macaigne who plays Olivier’s character, here named Paul. The brothers are chalk and cheese in terms of personalities including in their attitudes to the pandemic. Paul highly strung and anxious about everything; scrupulous about mask wearing, hand washing and human interaction generally. He’s also thrown himself into buying online. Very familiar responses to lockdown. In addition to anxiety about the affect of the disease on his health he’s worrying about it’s affect on his film career. There are discussions with various film folk that are very funny. Probably based on real life. Its unclear how much of this is based on fact and and how much is fiction. The other brother, Etienne(Micha Lescot), is more cerebral. He’s a music journalist and managing to present his radio programme from home.much more relaxed and generally dismissive of his brother’s fears. They also have different memories about incidents and memories from childhood, which arise given where they are living. Their girlfriends are living with them – bearing witness to the rough and tumble relationship between the two brothers. It was a wry and very familiar retrospective look at how we all existed during the pandemic. I liked it a lot.
Brief History of a Family
A first film from writer-director Jianji Lin. This reminded me very much of the movie Parasite which was a hit not so long ago. Another cuckoo in the nest story. This time a young boy from the wrong side of the tracks inveigles himself into a prosperous family. We’re in China where the one child policy has just been altered, but this well heeled couple are not going to follow their friend’s example and try for another child. Despite the fact their only son, Wei, is a deep disappointment. His passion is the sport of fencing. His professor father, Feng Zu, is passionate about the classical music that enabled him to rise up from an impoverished background. He wants Wei to study hard and win and academic achievement. Wei’s classmate Shuo is befriended- first by Wei and increasingly by Feng Zu and by Wei’s mother, Keyu Guo, a former flight attendant. The film shows how the wealthy – described as middle-class in the programme notes but I’d say more upper than middling – live in China – a beautiful apartment home appointed with all mod cons, trips to exclusive mountain retreats, designer clothes, the lot. The backdrop to which is ongoing competition amongst the well-to-do to advance themselves and more importantly their cild(ren)by whatever means possible. This includes the highly competitive access to overseas study. Feng Zu gets up very early to queue for a place in an English crammer school through which pupils get to do that. Wei isn’t interested. But Shuo, who’s definitely from the lower class certainly is. From his introduction to the family he sets about becoming the son these parents wish they had. We see how economic advancement has left everyone in this familt emotionally impoverished. Throughout we’re not sure if tge interloper, Shuo, is the real deal. Is he really being beaten by his father. Does he really love classical music? He’s certainly clever. We wonder how this will all end. Will Wei be replaced by Shuo? What do we want to happen – our sympathies move back and forth. When the conclusion finally comes, abruptly, it feels right. Terrific film.
All Shall Be Well
A beautifully rendered exploration of the experience of a long-term same sex partner who’s left behind when her beloved dies without a will. What do familial expressions of love and affection and gratitude for lots of material help mean when legally you are not bound to share an inheritance. The answer here is ‘not much’. A lovely depiction of the thirty year relationship between Angie (Patra Au) and Pat (Lin-Lin Li) as they shop together and relax at home. They are hosting a dinner party for Pat’s family – bother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece and partners. A friendly, lving meal full of good humour and goodwill but with the occasional tensions common to all families breaking through. Poor paying jobs, poor living conditions, rocky romances. A familiar family. Then Pat dies. Without a will. She’s always been the administrator in this couple – handling house purchases, finances etc. And slowly Angie understands that formal family relationships take precedence. The film was inspired by real life stories. What makes it so good is that all of Pat’s relations are treated sympathetically. They start with good intentions that are slowly whittled away. Their personal circumstances bear down on them. It’s all so believable. And in the end so enraging. It’s only Au’s beautiful performance as Angie -her dignity and quiet strength bolstered by memories of her loving relationship with Pat, shown in flashback, and her compassion for the family members that makes any of this bearable. All beautifully done. I hope it gets a commercial release.
Head South
At nearly every MIFF I’ve been to there has been a gem of a New Zealand film – which is why I always look out for them. This year it was this one. Set in Christchurch in 1979 it’s about a boy called Angus (Ed Oxenbould in a terrific performance) who desperately wants to be called. He falls a long way short of this when his mates discover he’s been selling them dried parsley as marajuana! The local record shop is where the cool people go. The setting is so familiar! The laconic owner is helpful. The coolest people in town are a lead singer in a band and his sister who it turns out are real drug dealers. Young Angus lives with his quiet (Marton Csokas – who was beautiful in Romulus and is beautiful here). In fact Dad is grieving his wife’s departure – possibility of return uncertain. He’s going through a mid-life crisis eventually buying a sportscar which will figure in the denouement. In the meantime Angus gets himself in a jam pretending to be in a band. He’s helped out by Kirsten, the girl at the chemist who can actually play an instrument – she’s played by a pop artist Benee – unknown to me). It’s all hugely enjoyable. Great fun with a touch – well maybe a bit more than a touch – of pathos. Do catch it in the cinema if you can.
Thelma
This is already in commercial cinemas. I loved it but people to whom I recommended it were not so enamoured. It’s just a feel good movie about a 94 year old woman – played, incredibly by a 94 year old actor (June Squibb) who gets scammed out of money on the internet. They use the actual scam we’ve all heard about – a phone call allegedly from a family member, in this instant, her much loved grandson, saying he needs money to get out of trouble, in this instant gaol! Her loving family including grandson Danny encourage her to put it down to experience and let it go. Not our intrepid Thelma. She teams up with an old friend in a nursing home, Ben (Richard Rowndtree who I didn’t know previously starred in Shaft – a very different film), and sets out to retrieve her money. It’s great fun and rather unbelievably, quite believable. Much fun is made about her lack of mobility and out-of-dateness. Along the way there is a nice little discussion about the perils of ageing and how one should deal with it. I hope I’m as intrepid at 94 as Thelma!
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