MIFF 2024 The Rest

These are my remaining films. All were really very good, but except, perhaps, for the first one, which I would put higher now that I’ve thought about it for a while, all had flaws that stopped them being great.

Audrey

I had no expectations of this film but I always check out at least one Australian film at MIFF and enjoyed lots. In these days swamped by streaming from USA and UK watch Australian I say! I didn’t like the look of it after the opening which involved a male character using a sex toy! But stay with it – story and performances get better and better. Set in Surfers Paradise (I think) we follow the fortunes of the Lipstick family. Mother Ronnie (New Zealander Jackie van Beek) used to be a famous television actress but has since thrown her whole being into making her daughter Audrey (Josephine Blazier) a star. Husband and father Cormack (Jeremy Lindsay) is feeling unloved and unneeded in both roles and finds relief in an unexpected role at a Christian therapy group. Given all the focus is on Audrey, her feisty wheel-chair bound sister Norah (Hannah Diviney) is also neglected – by both family and school friends. An accident upends the lives of all four. It’s a very subversive take on the mother / daughter relationship and lots of black humour and hypocrisy called out about all manner of things – treatment of disabled people, pornography, homosexuality, religion. Having chosen their course director, Natalie Bailey, and writer, Lou Sanz, throw caution to the wind. It’s a hoot. Wonderful performances from everyone and it races along. Joe called it a very naughty film. I’m off to see it again as it’s now screening at Palace Cinemas.

Black Dog

I’d been looking forward to this film since Cannes because the reviews were so good. I enjoyed it a lot but after setting up the characters and story it fell away at the end. The setting in the Gobi desert was spectacular. The story an old trope: loner returns to his home town from gaol where he’s done time for the manslaughter of a local. Whose family is out for revenge. The township is being moved – as is the way of progress in China, amazing really. The hero, Lang (Eddie Peng) is charismatic as is the dog he tames which we’re told was adopted by the actor after shooting the film. Although others say there were six dogs in the role – who knows. It rolled along quite nicely and the other characters were interesting but it didn’t really come together at the end. Which leaves a feeling of what’s the point? Pleasant to watch and some interesting scenes – a tiger walking through a deserted town, a man bungee jumping from the top of a mountain, an abandoned zoo, a circus performance and dogs racing across a desert landscape (again and again). But not enough story or character development for me.

Gaucho 

Another film I had no expectations of; chosen because I enjoyed The Truffle Hunters by the same directors Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw. This was very different but I loved it. The wonderful opening sequence is shown in the trailer which isn’t available so press the YouTube button. It’s a documentary about a real-life Argentine cowboy community in the Calchaqúi Valleys. We get to see the lifestyles, culture and rituals of the gaucho. There’s an old man looking back at his life, a young girl trying to break into the macho tradition of the rodeo – with the full support of her father and some male friends – there are little boys camping out practicing at being gauchos, a priest and some older, mostly silent women going about their domestic tasks. A tough, and increasingly threatened way of life. Sweeping vistas of open plains (the pampas) and mountain ranges, community events, quiet moments of reflection. Terrific.

Sasquatch Sunset

This was pretty amazing. No dialogue at all – only grunts, that eventually your learn to understand. Two stars unrecognisable under all that costuming and make-up – Riley Keough playing the only female and Jesse Eisenberg playing the mischievous young one (I think, impossible to tell ages). Strangely compelling. A take on the legend of BigFoot in the forests of Northern California. Incredible landscapes and an intriguing story about how our forebears may have lived. Certainly gets you thinking about where we come from, and who our earliest ancestors were.

The Outrun

I’d read the book so was interested in the movie. As the reviews all say, Saoirse Ronan’s performance as a recovering alcoholic seeking solitude and rehabilitation on her home turf among the Orkney Islands is wonderful. She is let down somewhat by the script which was written by the author of the memoir, Amy Liptrot. Unlike the original story this focusses too much on the alcohol infused times back in London rather than the healing effect of the natural environment. She also appears almost totally alone which was not the case as she formed relationships with local people that were important to her recovery. So despite spectacular land and seascapes this was disappointing.

Some Rain Must Fall 

A woman is beset by trouble – there’s lots of rain falling in her neck of the woods. She inadvertently injures an old woman at a basketball stadium and thereafter is abused by folk around the place. She is moving to divorce her husband, it seems as a result of ennui rather than anything else. She has no relationship to speak of with her daughter. We get snippets about her early life, meeting elderly parents and a former love interest. It’s all a bit grim really. Wonderful performances and evocative photography couldn’t save it for me.

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

This was a very good telling of the well-known, I think, story of how Christoper Reeve became paralysed after surviving a fall that most thought would kill him. And how he went on to raise money to promote research into the causes of, and treatment and potential cures, for injuries like his. His public appearances and advocacy also changed public perceptions of disability. The documentary does a serviceable job winnowing miles of public footage of Reeves into a manageable storyIt also uses footage from private home movies of his family life before and after the accident. It is a great story but the film falls between two stools – that of a straight biography and an exposé of the importance of his work post accident. I liked an image used to show the impact of his injuries on his body – a body circling in space with green crystals appearing at relevant parts. By the end it was a bit hagiographic; understandable given it was done by his children. And I would have liked more about the actual research undertaken by the foundation his children have continued and it’s impact on treatment. Even so it is a nice memorial to Reeves – he was so handsome!

Queens of Concrete

This was unexpectedly involving and moving. I’m not remotely interested in skateboarding and until seeing this knew very little about it. I’ve since discovered there is a very big skateboarding scene in Melbourne – who knew? This documentary follows three young women Hayley, Ava and Charlotte, pictured, as they work hard at trying to be picked to represent Australia in this sport at the Olympic Games. It was going to be in official competition at the 2020 Tokyo Games that were eventually abandoned because of Covid. We start in 2016 when the girls are 14,13 and 9 and finish seven years later in the run up to the 2024 Paris Games. It’s enthralling. Seeing initial enthusiasm wax and wane over that time. It’s a tough game! For the girls and for their families. Great film-making. It should be higher up on my lists of films really.

We Were Dangerous

Another New Zealand film with a great idea and great performances but there was a lack of courage in depicting the really tough time these girls endured. Set in the 1950s it depicts a group of girls considered dangerous, that is rebellious and refusing to conform to the strait jacket expectations placed on them. They’re sent to the equivalent of a reform school on a remote island where obedience to social norms is to be beaten into them. The trouble is the rebelling isn’t all that terrible and nor is the day to day punishment as bad as might be expected. Even when the ultimate punishment of enforced sterilisation starts the real horror of the girls situation is strangely muted.

You Burn Me

I couldn’t find a trailer of what is described by MIFF as a phantasmagoric experimental drama[putting] Ancient Greek poet Sappho in conversation with the nymph Britomartis. It was a bit more mundane than that consisting of discussions between women beside the seaside, images of a young woman wandering around a city on the edge of the sea, visiting a library meeting a friend. Interspersed with slides containing extracts of Sappho’s verse – which were the best bits. I learned quite a bit about Sappho including how little of her verse has been recovered and what little there is – as translated at any rate – is quite beautiful which I should have known. I quite liked it but it’s not for everyone.

My Sunshine

This was quite sweet about a boy wanting to be a figure skating instead of floundering around on baseball and ice hockey arenas. He joins a young woman, an up and coming star figure skater who is being coached by a former skating star. It’s a bit of a mystery as to why he’s returned to his remote home town in Hokkaido. The film’s writer, director, editor and cinematographer is a 28 year old former figure skater, Hiroshi Okuyama and it shows he knows his sport. Images of the young people training are beautifully shot. The young woman is attracted to the coach and when she finally recognises he is living with a male lover she turns on him to everyone’s detriment. Sweet but inconsequential really.

Flow

Rave reviews preceded this animation which is certainly beautifully shot but there was not enough story to hold my interest.

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These next ones were disappointing. I normally don’t include these in my MIFF blogs, but just for completeness and to counter-balance the very favourable reviews some of them have had.

Universal Language 

Including this one, I thought it was silly and boring. It’s a classic Iranian film transferred to Winnipeg which is known as Canada’s beigest city. There are apparently lots of references to various famous Iranian films but I can’t be bothered with these ‘in the know’ asides. There are three storylines which end up overlapping. One for the afficiandos.

As The Tide Comes In

This could have been an interesting exploration about the impact of climate change on a small island in Denmark but surprisingly that isn’t the major focus. Filmed over four years it follows the fortunes of a rather unattractive (in all senses) man as he goes about his daily life as the last remaining farmer on the island of Mandø. Clearly the place is threatened by rising sea levels which are worsening and its bird life is diminishing but references to these issues is made only in passing. Instead we focus on Gregor’s search for a companion, his previous wife having left him due to his lack of attention. This according to his mate with whom he shares anodyne conversations. We meet his parents who assist his work on the farm and his little son who visits for a holiday.There’s also a woman celebrating her 100th birthday who we later see being buried. All a little too diffuse to make much impact.

Magic Beach

I had great expectations which were sadly not realised. Different animators depict different parts of the book. None of which are as good as the original Alison Lester ones which is surprising as she was involved in the production of this film. Each section starts with a real child opening up the book but you never see the page they are reading – perhaps the idea is you have to be able to recognise it. Having loved the book despite the hundreds of readings of it requested by my children I found it all very disappointing.

Like My Brother

Very worthy but the story of young Indigenous sporting hopefuls coming South has been told better. The young women who feature are incredibly skilful and graceful footballers and iyou could watch them all day. As one of the coaches says, they play very exciting football. They are brought down by the Essendon Football Club to try out for the club’s AFL Womens team. They’re housed in Sunbury of all places! Unsurprisingly home calls them back. It’s unclear from the film whether any are likely to come back.

Occupied City

I hated everything about this. Having read glowing reviews about how moving it all was I found it boring. We are taken to various houses around Amsterdam as a narrator describes the fate of the Jewish people who lived there during the Second World War. The problem was you often didn’t see the original house, rather a warehouse or shop or some other structure that has replaced what was there. Or else you see a row of houses and its not clear which one is the subject of the narration. Then atomising these events into single instances seems to undercut the magnitude of what was done to the Jewish population. Not recommended.

Grand Tour 

So well reviewed – so boring! Described by MIFF as an Asian odyssey [that] spectacularly mashes up time and place, genre and form, to transport audiences somewhere sublime, it won the Best Director award at Cannes this year. Set in 1917 a British diplomat in Burma travels by train from Rangoon to Mandalay where he is to meet his fiancée of seven years. He inexplicably takes off instead of waiting for her. Thereafter we follow him to various Asian cities which I didn’t recognise but the blurb identifies them as Bangkok, Saigon, Manila, Osaka, Shanghai, Chongqing, Chengdu. The fiancée gets of her boat, missing him by minutes and immediately starts following him. Arriving each time just as he is leaving and again in each city missing him by minutes. I found it silly and, as indicated, over time, boring. Another that is, reviews notwithstanding, not recommended.