Blog Lovin'

I haven't blogged for a while so I thought I'd start with giving some blog loving to this awesome film clip made by some cool cats from my home-town.

These guys are cool and make a myriad of things from film clips to children's TV shows (fingers crossed). I'm doing a shameless plug here for y'all to be fans of the guys on FB and spread the word so that all cool people can have cool film clips like this. (And so they can pollute young childrens' minds with stop motion mayhem.)
They're called Oh Yeah Wow, BTW.

Day Twelve

Today I had the early session free again so I went online and booked in Under The Hawthorne Tree, a beautifully realised Chinese film featured in the Next Gen program, which meant I shared the cinema with a few school groups. I thought they would be disruptive on account of being on an excursion to see a film with subtitles but they were all surprisingly well behaved. The film told the tale of a young girl growing up in the 1970s Cultural Revolution of China which meant she and some of her fellow students had to leave the city and move to the country for some time for their re-education. There she met and fell in love with a handsome geology student, but due to her delicate position in the eyes of the empire she must tread carefully the line between love and duty. This film tells the most beautifully innocent love story set against the backdrop of political paranoia and social upheaval and I was captivated by the gravity of the situation and the humble nature of the story. This was the first film of the festival that had me truly weeping and my sleeves were quite sodden afterward.
But I had time to settle in before the next film which was at ACMI 2 again, a quirky and delightfully absurd American comedy called Natural Selection. Linda is a long suffering Christian housewife whose husband has suddenly suffered a stroke. While he is lying comatose in the hospital she discovers that he has been donating sperm to a bank every week for years whilst never allowing himself to be "lead into temptation" by her due to her sin of having an abortion. In her disillusionment she is lead to believe that her husband wishes for her to track down one of his children, thus begins one of the weirdest road-to-self-discovery movies I have ever seen. I can see why the audience at SXSW voted so vigorously for this film it was simply delightfully absurd. It was also quite funny, which is always good when seeing a comedy.
I ran off next to Greater Union for a film I couldn't remember anything about and after a short discussion with one of the vollies (the lovely Simon who showed me the ropes way back in '09) I was reminded that I was in for a "controversial" and "unsettling" viewing. Teamed with this absurdity was the sweet Belgian short Swimsuit 46, the story of a poor little chubby girl who only wants to swim her best at an upcoming competition but is being held back by her horrible family. She needs a new swimsuit because hers is in disarray, which means new goggles that don't leak are not on the cards. The girl works her heart out saving up for her goggles by washing cars and doing household chores and when she has enough her brother steals it. This film was too short for me to really feel anything substantial toward the characters or the events but it was a quaint story and peaceful prelude to the feature.
The program notes for She Monkeys were incredibly misleading. The film was odd and at times menacing but I did not know what was going on or why. The lead actress was remarkable stoic with seemingly no expression or care for unfolding events which made it extremely difficult to understand her actions. Her little sister was bizarrely delightful and extremely odd. I could not predict where the film was heading and then suddenly, it ended. Given the still provided and the program notes calling this film "claustrophobic" and a "deeply unsettling exploration of the jumbled parameters of teen sexuality", even going so far as to use the phrase "taboo breaking", I thought I was in for some real shlock and horror, confusion of teen sexuality and the intensity of desire in the mind of the adolescent but it was not like that at all. Disappointing.
Last up for the day was the light hearted comedy Our Idiot Brother, the tale of well-meaning man-child Ned, played endearingly by the wonderful Paul Rudd, whose good natured view of the world leads him to trouble. His family are a bunch of self absorbed misfits who plot and scheme, and patronise him for trying to do the right thing and only see the good in people, but he is the one who ultimately fixes their lives leading to a fuller and happier life for all. This film is a charming comedy with truly hilarious moments and wonderful cameos from the likes of Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer and Steve Coogan. The dynamics between the cast members was great and they delivered a lovely message in the end.
Pick of the day
Under the Hawthorne Tree was just beautiful and sweet beyond comprehension and I absolutely loved it.
Surprise of the Day
Our Idiot Brother. I can't generally see how Hollywood blockbuster types fit into the schematics of the film festival but this one was fun and the packed screening made the experience more enjoyable.
Film total so far
46

Day Eleven

I had the first slot of the day free so I booked in Buck purely based on the fact that it was at the Forum and I like the Forum. It was an interesting documentary about the man known as "the Horse Whisperer" but I guess you have to be a horse person to really get into this film. It is pretty dull if you do not like horses. The film spent a lot of time on his early life as a lasso jumper who was forced into the spotlight along with his brother by their physically abusive father, also a lot of time on his life as a professional horse whisperer running workshops for people with troubled horses but didn't spend too much time on how he went from a victim of severe domestic abuse to a celebrated folk hero and that's the part of the story I would have been really interested in. If you like horses you will probably like this but I didn't.
Across the road to ACMI for my second session of the day which was Polisse, the latest feature from French filmmaking star Maïwenn (the blue lady with the weird hair in The Fifth Element). This film is disturbingly based on actual case files and follows the many experiences of the Juvenile Protection Unit in Paris. Some of the crimes portrayed were so horrendous and the criminals unnervingly remorseless. The tension between the case workers was truly unimaginable and built to intense conclusions. The film was very fly on the wall and while at times humorous did make me want to visit Paris less given the kind of intolerable crap these poor people had to deal with on a daily basis. A greatly disturbing film.
Still at ACMI I settled into a central position for The Hungry Tide, a simple documentary following the selfless journey of Maria Tiimon, a Kiribati woman living in Sydney and working tirelessly to save her Island home of Kiribati which is slowly sinking under the rising tide caused by the melting ice caps as a direct result of global warming. Spreading the message one group of school children at a time Maria takes her country’s message to the Copenhagen Climate Conference but to no avail. The damage being done to this country is unmistakable but the world powers cannot commit to cutting carbon emissions. It felt a lot like a produced for TV doco because it was and while the message was one that should reach all people it felt out of place at a film festival alongside films by world renowned filmmakers. Was a very boring film.
I was too tired to see my last film and really needed food so I left that Monday at that.
Pick of the day
Polisse. A disturbing film but very cinematic and beautiful.
Surprise of the day
My lack of enthusiasm to seeing all my sessions despite having no illnesses or pressing engagements.
Film total so far
41

Day Ten

I stayed in ACMI 2 all day today and had a pretty cruisie, lazy day.
First up was the sweet short film The Accordion from the amazingly resilient Jafar Panahi who, in 2010, was jailed in Iran for six years and forbidden from making films for 20 years. The Accordion was a beautiful, subtly political film that shows a world so politically intolerant and foreign to me that I cannot comprehend how an innocent mistake by a child can lead an adult to steal that child's livelihood. A simple tale with a simple message and a complex tapestry of social injustice and resolve.
Following that lovely film was the amazingly powerful Mohammad Rasoulof film Good Bye. Arrested just before the films completion the film was finished underground and won the filmmaker a Best Director gong at Cannes this year. The film is a beautifully realised drama telling the painful story of an intelligent, well educated Iranian woman who is trapped in a life of uncertainty, persecution and the feeling of being a foreigner in her own country. Her husband has fled their home after publishing uncompromising articles in a newspaper that has since been shut down, leaving his wife behind in the predicament of being pregnant and unable to do anything. She is trapped in a world where women are not even allowed to see a doctor alone without written permission from a male partner of guardian, a world where she earns a living decorating cardboard boxes with wrapping paper, and where the only chance of escape is to break the law. Good Bye is Beautiful, subtle and utterly heartbreaking. I had tears in my eyes at the end and felt so exhausted with empathy at the end of the screening that I contemplated going home and having a sleep.
But I didn't, and the seat to my left that was filled in the previous session by Miff-Blog-a-Thon blogger Thomas Caldwell was filled by his lovely wife Sarah and we enjoyed the moving portrait Life In Movement of former Sydney Dance Company Director Tanja Liedtke whose life was painfully cut short in 2007 after a horrible early morning accident. Liedtke was quite a character and documented her creative processes thoroughly, this film is the painstaking amalgamation of clips from the vaults of her personal videos with interviews with her company and footage of the troupe preparing to reprise her most celebrated piece in a tribute tour of the world. This is an incredible portrait of a committed artist and the creative process lovingly told through the eyes of those closest to her. It was truly stunning and all artists and performers should see this film.
Those of us left in the cinema for Martha Marcy May Marlene had to leave before the screening due to a film test that may have spoiled the film. We were the first let back in however and I picked a great spot in the middle of the row half way down the cinema where the leg room is generous and the viewing is good. Pre-screening I met a fellow cinephile and MIFF member Jansen and we discussed our previous viewings before being warned by an official that security guards wearing night vision goggles would be surveying the crowd for anyone using electronic devices. This put an unnerving edge on the screening of a film documenting the emotional journey of a girl who has been lured into and brainwashed by a cult. I can see how this film would disappoint people however I found it to be a very affecting portrayal of the madness of life in a cult and how in affects a person after they leave. Elizabeth Olsen (sibling of the famous twins) was truly remarkable as the emotionally dysfunctional Martha who disappeared from her family for many years. Persuaded into a cult that is self sufficient and seems wholesome enough to begin with she adopts the pseudonym Marcy May after the cults leader bestows the name upon her. We pick up at a point in the story where Martha has run away and has called her sister from the nearby town. Cult members follow her and threaten and coax her to come back to the farm. The film cuts then between Martha trying to recover from the ordeal at her sisters house and flashbacks to her time at the cult. This film is a terrifying look into a world I could never comprehend or understand and was truly terrifying.
Film of the day
Good Bye was just absolutely perfect and I was so affected by it that I was still thinking about it at the end of the day.
Surprise of the day
I first read about Martha Marcy May Marlene a while back on geeky blog Bleeding Cool, where I normally go for Doctor Who news and expected something quite different. Given the thematic content of the film however I was surprised by how tenderly the film was handled.
Film total so far
38

Day Nine

Had a short day today, only three films, and the first of them was the documentary Pool Party which mixed live musical performances with interviews and historical footage, telling the story of the McCarren Pool in Williamsberg, one of the biggest pools in the world. It holds, at capacity, 6,800 bathers and was built in a public service frenzy in 1939. It became abandoned for quite some time but after a visionary choreographer saw the potential of the space it was redeveloped and has been hosting free live music events starring some of the neighbourhoods best artists such as The Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, The Breeders and Yo La Tengo, throughout the summer. It was an amazing history lesson of the Williamsberg area as well as an inspiring story of a small groups commitment to celebrating the culture of the area whilst entertaining the locals. One aspect of the film I found particularly intriguing was the case put forward that areas that are particularly run down and therefore cheap to live in, that then become infested with creative types suddenly become expensive and trendy areas to live with high rise million dollar apartments since the commencement of these parties being erected and a multi million dollar plan by the current New York government to redevelop the pool back into a pool for the rich locals to enjoy. I suddenly feel I've been taught something significant.
I had to get back to the office and welcome the second platform acting team back inside and therefore missed the short preceding Sodankyla Forever - The Century Of Cinema, and quite a bit of the film but I did catch a number of the interviews featured in this documentary which was basically just a huge collection of cinemas finest talking to film circles (I assume at the Midnight Sun Film Festival which filmmaker and film historian Peter von Bagh Directs) talking about films. I walked in as they were all discussing the significance of war films and seeing as I had to sit at the front and the angle from the front makes me feel a bit sick, I slept through quite a lot of it. What I did see was very comprehensive and quite intriguing. This felt like the love child of von Bagh and I wouldn't mind actually seeing it in full at some stage.
Finally for the day was the incredibly moving Autoluminescent: Rowland S. Howard, the documentary celebrating the life and art of the incendiary Rowland S. Howard. Lovingly compiled interviews with his nearest and dearest woven with intermittent readings of his unpublished novel. I don't want to say too much because this film really needs to be seen by anyone who loves music, art or film. I was moved to tears post film when Howard's long time lover Genevieve McGuckin could barely speak post film through her tears, it was a lovely portrait of a troubled soul with an incredible talent and unnerving style. I want to be really post punk so much more now. Went home to put on something cool before heading to the after party. I think I freaked out Richard Lowenstein; I kept staring at him waiting for a moment between conversations with others, to go and tell him how wonderful I thought it was, and how much I love He Died With A Felafel In His Hand and Dogs in Space, but I never got the chance. I did have a nice DnM with Genevieve and got a little kiss on the cheek from Mick Harvey after I told him I liked his Serge Gainsbourg album and he told me I was cool.
Pick of the Day
Definitely Autolumiscent, it was such a beautiful film and was also incredibly inspiring.
Surprise of the Day
Pool Party was surprisingly educational. I was expecting a collection of live performances from the artists but it was so much more.
Film total so far
34

Day Eight

A quick trip home to get some fresh (and more colourful, I have been wearing lot's of black) clothes and to see my mummy and back in time for a cosy 4.45pm session at Kino.

Curling was weird and I felt a little sick afterward. The film began veeeery slowly and felt like it was heading somewhere but just as I was worrying that there was a second theatre being used at Kino and I might miss the start of my next film, it ended. So many developments in the plot were left not only unresolved, but unattended to. It had me thinking of The Room, the way things like Lisa's mum getting cancer pop up and get a mild reaction and then are not mentioned again, but far less brilliantly terrible, just actually terrible. I felt nothing for these bizarre disjointed characters and a bit freaked out about ever going to Canada.

There wasn't another theatre at Kino so I jumped into a centre seat and bumped into some friends before settling down for Life 2.0, the documentary exploring the nature of gaming addiction through three vastly different experiences of people using Second Life. One of the stories involved a couple who met on Second Life and began a first life affair that destroyed both their marriages and had far more real world consequences than either seemed to realise. The second story was that of a virtual entrepreneur making and selling virtual wares on the site and making a very comfortable living which is stolen from her resulting in a real world lawsuit that blurs the lines between real and unreal worlds. The final story is of a young man who destroys his relationship with his fiance when his obsession with the site becomes hazardous and the revelation that his avatar is an 11 year-old girl brings unresolved issues to a head. The films also looks at the virtual reality from the perspective of the creators and what they aimed to achieve when creating Linden. While I enjoyed the film I think it may have benefited from a professional psychologists point of view exploring why people are so drawn to the escapism of alternate realities. Second Life seems really dangerous to me in its almost cult like ability to seduce and capture people and totally warp their worlds. On the other hand the positive relationships that develop through it are truly remarkable. This is a brilliant cautionary tale for addictive personalities and an enthralling portrait of escapism in the age of technology, and the blurred line between authenticity and artificiality.

I rushed off then to ACMI to see the wildly audacious and thoroughly Australian produced documentary of the underground sensation Shut Up Little Man. In 1987 two young graduates Eddie and Mitch moved into a dilapidated apartment in the heart of San Francisco, unbeknowns to them their neighbours were two aging alcoholics, a homophobic southerner and a real queen, who proceeded to scream and yell profanities at one another disturbing the sleep of the two young boys. After a scary encounter with the men Eddie and Mitch proceeded to record the arguments of the two men and after including snippets on mixtapes they had made for their friends and having parties where friends would come over and listen to the old men bickering, their recordings became an underground sensation. They compiled hours of material and started releasing tapes with popular zines and soon the obsession progressed into comics, plays and finally a war between various different groups vying for the rights to make a film. This film follows all of this madness through interviews with Mitch and Eddie and comic artists, zine editors, playwrights, and film producers all embroiled in the phenomenon. Pre-internet viral mania, absolutely incredible. This is an outrageous story and a wonderful film, "when" this gets a release you must see it.

Finally was Super which I thankfully had my late night movie buddy Alex to watch with. This film stars Rainn Wilson of The Office as a bumbling nowhere man whose wife is lured away from him by her ancient drug addiction by none other than Kevin Bacon (eating eggs, brilliant). He forms an unlikely friendship with comic book nerd Ellen Page and creates his own super hero to fight the crime in his city and take down the Bacon and get his wife back. This film seems on the outside to be pretty Hollywood but went off on some pretty fucked up tangents. Ellen Page was completely off the chain. This film was unexpected, funny, weird and had the most excellent guest appearance from Nathan Fillion whose appearance in the film made me (and only me) burst into hysteric laughter until I composed myself, whispered that it was him to Alex and a wave of whispers followed by laughter flowed through the cinema. Unexpectedly good, will possibly be a cult hit.

Pick of the day
Shut Up Little Man was just such an outrageous story of obsession, cult success and pre-internet virality. Bizarre and wonderful.
Surprise of the day
Super. I wasn't expecting much but I was surprised, shocked and quite disturbed.
Film total so far
31

Day Seven

I didn't get out of bed in time to see my first film and then I moved into an apartment on Southbank so I missed the next one as well, so the fist film of the day wasn't until 6.30pm.
Tiny Furniture is the latest from filmmaking wunderkind and my new favourite gal Lena Dunham. The film begins when Aura arrives back at her New York home after finishing her studies at film school, her younger, gorgeous, smart, successful still in high school sister has taken over her room and she is feeling the pressure of getting a job and working out what she wants to do with her life. She has also recently been dumped and when seeking the companionship of a youtube sensation Aura is reunited with her childhood friend Charlotte whose life philosophy is to live as much as she can until her father no longer wants to support her and she is forced to do something. This film is wonderfully complex, honest and completely familiar to me (also a recent film school graduate back in the family home trying to find some direction in life). At the same time I felt a little like this film was trying a little too hard to be "cool", but I absolutely loved Charlotte, played beautifully by the gorgeous Jemima Kirke.

I jumped into the queue with my friend and boyfriend for the much anticipated debut feature from The IT Crowd star Richard Ayoade Submarine. Josh showed me the trailer for this film a bit over a year ago and I have been waiting with bated breath for it to arrive on our shores ever since, for if you watch the trailer you will be enticed by the quirkiness that makes up the kind of film I like to see. Oliver is a confident lovable loser who knows who he is, what he wants and how to get it, or so he thinks. This is a beautifully wonderful piece of cinema and literary adaptation. The characters are genuinely disconnected, bizarrely wonderful and awe-inspiring. The issues of the film screamed honesty and although it was quaint and quirky it was also full of perfectly imperfect people and relationships without the perfect ending, it was just unapologetic and true, which I didn't expect but which I loved. I wish I was as sure of myself as Oliver although I think he spends far too much of his time living inside his head and not in the real world. I can't wait for it to come out so I can see it again.

Pick of the day
Submarine, need I say more?
Surprise of the day
Tiny Furniture was surprisingly good. I have had Lena Dunham at the back of my mind since glancing her name in a "one to watch" article in Vanity Fair and I was pleasantly surprised when I finally got to see her work.
Film total so far
27

Day Six

First up today was the heartbreaking documentary Project Nim about the monkey brought up like a human and taught to use sign language. Nim is an absolutely adorable monkey and full of energy and personality, ripped away from his mother at birth and bought up in the house of a liberal hippy with lot's of children and a professor husband. Initially the film is a blending of quaint home movies of Nim's "childhood" and interviews with his "family". Nim's life was documented with amazing comprehension and filmmakers had a treasure trove of stock footage to tell Nim's story. The interviews were fantastic and the characters that emerged through these discussions were compelling. The film was composed chronologically so as each individual interview came to an end and the interviewee left Nim's life for good, for one reason or another, the camera panned away from them and lead into the next stage of his life, which I really loved as it made it a lot easier to keep track of all of the people coming and going from his life. The film became quite disturbing and incredibly sad. A fantastically heartbreaking tale of animal cruelty and a devastating warning for people who work with animals about how receptive and aware they are.

My next session was accidentally The Guard so in the morning I looked at the other films in the time slot and decided to see the Israeli film The Matchmaker, and I absolutely loved. The matchmaker is the incredibly sweet and moving coming of age story following the adventures of crime novel aficionado and 16-year-old Arik when in the summer of 1968 he is hired by a childhood friend of his father, Yankele, to spy on potential love matches at his matchmaking agency. When his best friends beautiful cousin comes to stay, love is in the air and his life becomes a lot like the plots of his favourite Dashiell Hammett books as he and his friends work to understand what Yankele actually does for a living and also understand what he and Arik's father went through in the Holocaust. The music and costumes are brilliant, I loved it.

Next up was the documentary Tabloid, exploring the bizarre life of Joyce McKinney, the "Mormon sex in chains" girl embroiled in a bizarre mystery in the late '70s. She is quite the character and I can see how this story captivated the attention of the British public so fervently. Some words I used in my post film notes were; insane, very dry, hilarious, twisted, unbelievable and utterly engaging. I don't want to say too much because although this story was huge in Britain at the time it never really got here, so part of the joy of the film is not knowing what is coming next. Errol Morris is an inventive story teller, presenting each perspective of the film but managing to make an uproarious tongue in cheek film that is incredibly enjoyable. McKinney is a lively, vivacious character and I was left thinking how nobody could write a person and a story so delicious as this.

In the same cinema again I picked the perfect spot to sit and saved a seat for my friend. I like watching all the people pile into the cinema, seeing how diverse the crowds flocking to the film festival are, and there were quite a variety of Melbournian film buffs coming to see the latest from Miranda July, The Future. I am not an avid follower of the bizarre career of Miranda July but I have seen Me and You and Everyone We Know and although it was weird and left me in an odd mood, in a weird way I enjoyed it. This one however felt completely unfinished, not as a film but as a script. The plot was bizarre and disconnected with intermittent voice overs from the perspective of a cat the leads were supposed to adopt. It did have some redeeming elements, such as the cat, but ended in an unresolved and unbelievable way (within the context of the film). I thought it was going in one particular direction and then went completely off the rails and I was left wanting more. If it had have gone where I'd thought I might feel differently but I actually hated it.

Pick of the day
The Matchmaker was just so beautiful and lovely and quaint and I absolutely loved it despite it being one of the "kids films". One of my favourite films from a previous film festival was Son of Rambow and that was a kids film too. Maybe I'm not as mature as I think.
Surprise of the day
Tabloid was just so outrageous beyond belief and was an absolute joy to watch, especially with such a receptive audience.
Film total so far
25

Day Five

Got out of bed in time to see my first one today, although I kind of wish I hadn't.
The Piano in a Factory was a sweet but unfocused tale of a working class man so desperate to hold on to his child after his messy divorce from his self absorbed wife that he asks his friends to help him make a piano so she can practice. Complete with non-sequitor musical sequences and shots that made little to no sense, panning away from the action mid sentence to focus on nothing in particular, not even anything beautiful, just nothing. But the film was very sweet, quite simple, lovely, but unfocused. An odd film for the beginning of the day that I found hard to pay attention to constantly, but at the heart of it the story was lovely.

I had a free space next so in the morning I booked in the Elvis/Ann-Margret 60s classic Viva Las Vegas as I have never seen the whole film start to finish and I really wanted to see some Ann-Margret big screen style. This film is a guilty pleasure of mine. OK, so I'm not even guilty about it, I LOVE THIS FILM! I love films with singing and dancing and gorgeous red heads outshining Elvis in his own film. If you haven't seen Viva Las Vegas, then shame on you. I haven't seen too many Elvis films but this one is great. Director George Sidney was already an old hand at musicals when he directed to two (secret) love birds in this rambunctious adventure, so you know you're in capable hands. Go and see this film. And fall in love with Ann-Margret. I dare you not to.

Next up I went an settled in for a double up at Kino, two doco's from the same era back to back, beginning with Bobby Fischer Against The World. Bobby Fischer became the undisputed king of chess after battling Russian and world champion Boris Spassky in Iceland. At the height of the Cold War this tournament was important for both the Russian's and the American's, and as stock footage of news updates showed, the outcome was so integral to the American people that the announcement of Bobby winning was the number one story on the news that day, even bigger than the Watergate scandal. The film was amazingly insightful and I had never heard of this guy before, but he was such a powerful figure of the 60s and 70s and the filmmakers had found so much footage. The latter part of the film focused on his eventual fall from grace and I found what they tried to fill the film with was inventive, as he was pretty underground and there was little footage to use. The world of chess baffles me and this film did wonders in explaining the mindset of people that excel in it.

I got a great middle back spot for Magic Trip and I absolutely loved it. The film was the result of Ken Kesey and his friends getting on a trippy looking bus, taking hallucinogenic drugs and driving across America to the World's Fair in New York in the 60s and film everything that happened along the way. Interviews with the people involved explaining, or trying to explain, what was happening on the screen gave a world of perspective to the experience. When they arrive in New York City they party with Allen Ginsberg; recordings of him reading his beat poetry give the film a real "things I love" vibe. I understand the Bono rolling into NY on a bus, ranting about freedom and acid and driving the cast of Across the Universe out to the mansion of weird, sterile, institutional East Coast acid heads and leaving some people behind now; that part of the film was meant to be these guys (although I don't see Bono as Ken, Kesey is much more charismatic and far less pretentious). I absolutely loved this film, including the insane ramblings of the real Dean Moriarty (I hated On The Road). If this gets a release I highly recommending seeing it, it is a fun filled journey and a great hour and a half of escapism.

Pick of the day
Magic Trip, it was just so much fun. In the notes I wrote right after the screening I wrote "love it love it love it".
Surprise of the day
Bobby Fischer Against The World was super surprising, I had no idea that someone who grows up in Brooklyn with a Jewish mother and a Jewish biological father could become such an anti-Semite.
Film total so far
21

Day Four

Today I decided to sleep in a bit, sitting in a perpetually dark room all day starts to get to you after a while, so I missed my first film which meant that I didn't have a film until 6.30 and could only fit two in for the day, and they were both Australian.

First up was 33 Postcards which I booked in purely based on the fact that I saw very few Australian films at last year's festival and I wanted to remedy that, and also it starred Guy Pierce and I love me a bit a Guy. The film was a sweetly dark tale of the nature of redemption and what, if anything, can you do to make up for crimes committed. A co-production between Australia and Japan the screening was attended by star Guy Pierce, who gave an outstanding performance. The film was a beautiful tale of the simplicity of human connection and the complicity of love. The films director was supposed to come to the screening too but was stuck in a hospital bed in New York after tripping down some stairs and breaking her neck. She sent an email through however thanking the film festival and apologising that the only thing that would keep her from coming did. The film was pleasantly surprising and just simply wonderful.

I can't say the same of the next film. Swerve was preceded by a rousing speech from some of the films stars and the director, leading me to believe we were in for an action packed outback thriller along the same lines as Wake in Fright or Road Games but instead what I viewed was a shambolic mess of plot, terrible acting and more and more ridiculous outcomes to simple problems. The characters were terrible, the premise was fine enough but the plot just completely lost it in the middle. I liked the twist at the end but that didn't make up for everything that happening in between. The film would have done well to take itself a little less seriously, but after the directors introduction it actually became embarrassing and I would have loved nothing more than to just leave. The film was laughable but with cast and crew in attendance it didn't seem appropriate. There is no more perfect word to describe this film with than 'lame'. A friend of mine attended a different screening without the intro and enjoyed it thoroughly as the audience was in bouts of rapturous laughter the whole time. If you see this film please do not take it seriously.

Pick of the day
33 Postcards was the best of the two, as you can tell. It is a beautiful film and definitely worth while.
Surprise of the day
My not being able to get out of bed. What a lazy git I am, and I think that the film I missed would have been really good.
Film total so far
17

Day Three

First of the day was a short film made up of clips submitted by Australians to Youtube for a project documenting the many experiences of an Aussie Summer. The first word I wrote in my notebook was "dreadful". The premise, as we know because this film precedes Life in a Day, is not exactly original, but the chosen sequence of clips are sometimes beautiful and poignant, sometimes amusing, sometimes amazing, often times a sad portrait of the decay of youth in this country. Obviously a portrait of Summer needs some partying and drinking, but as the clips show, some people, actually a lot of people, take partying too far. The repetition of certain clips indicates that there was a lack of material to work with, although without knowing what was submitted, it is hard to know what was omitted and I absolutely hated the product. It may not necessarily have been a case of misguided creative choices, but I can only judge what I see.

Life in a Day was the exact opposite. The filmmakers had over 4000 hours of content to work with and the result was awe-inspiring. The clips were submitted to Youtube by users from all over the world, displaying events from their day on July 24th last year, so it was only fitting that the premiere screening in Australia be played on July 24th 2011. The film was beautiful, brutally honest, often times scary, heart breaking, and sometimes disgusting. Shocking, hopeful, funny, amazing, truly a unique view of the world. If you want to see just how varied, how individual and how amazing this world truly is then see this film. It is absolutely incredible how much happens around the world in one day and some of the characters that appeared throughout were incredible. I loved it.

The Solitude of Prime Numbers started off well as a portrait of two emotionally scarred characters who through a series of misguided events become entwined in each others madness and just spun out of control. Little secrets about their past are revealed slowly throughout and the film jumps between the future and various moments in the future. The film got a little better as it went on and then just plateaued and then lost it all together. Once the major reveal occurred the film became a bleak portrait of two brutally flawed people who see nothing in their lives to cling to but their sadness, solitude and each other. I have seen films that better handle manic depression and in-distinguished mental illness so this didn't fly with me. I don't like being really depressed after watching a film.

13 Assassins was great fun, a perfect Samurai film if ever I saw one. Complete with a tyrannical, sadistic, murderous young lord who is threatening the peace that has been reached in Japan, it is up to a group of real Samurai to stop this bastard where he stands, for as he is the brother of the Shogun he is politically protected by the Samurai who believe that the Samurai's job is to protect the lord, not the people. A group of 13 are assembled and a plot is set in motion. Great action sequences, inventive ways to illuminate anonymous henchmen, dramatic, funny, pure evil bad guys, truly honourable good guys and a wonderful ending. The fight scene was epic and an absolute classic. I was put off at first because I could not read the subtitles due to a very tall man sitting in front of me and Greater Union 3 being the worst cinema ever, but I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would definitely watch it again.

Pick of the day
Life in a Day was just too good for words and left me with such an overwhelming feeling of joy and awe and sadness and "what am i doing with my life"ness that I couldn't help but keep thinking of it all day.
Surprise of the Day
13 Assassins, I'm not a huge Asian movie buff and I haven't seen too many Samurai films but I absolutely fell in love with the genre after seeing this one.
Film total so far
15

Day Two

Today started in the office. One of the projects I was coordinating required some supervision, unfortunately I missed a considerable chunk of my first film. However I did hear that the film messed up a bit (as 3D seems to do so often) so I wasn't too wigged about it. That meant that my first film of the day was Bunce.
Bunce is a short film written by Steven Fry. I love Steven Fry so it was an obvious choice for me but an enjoyable. I don't know for sure but seeing as the main character is referred to as Fry I assume this is a somewhat semi-autobiographical film about Steven's misadventures at boarding school as a child. Bunce refers to a new kid whom Fry takes under his wing somewhat and teaches him how to avoid the bullies whilst substantially expanding the boys vocabulary and showing him what not to do if you don't want to be in and out of the prinicipal's office (played by Fry himself with absolute precision). But Fry has ulterior motives and the film is a beautiful tale of misguided youthful abandon and friendship.

The Guard screened with Bunce and as I simply wanted to see Bunce I didn't read up on The Guard and was pleasantly surprised. The Guard is hilarious. I haven't laughed so much at a film since the final sequence of Hot Fuzz. The beginning is fast paced, unexpected and made the theater erupt into laughter. A perfect blend of humour, action, violence and drama, this film has everything. The characters are original, unaffected, refreshing and so, so, so funny. A small town cop becomes embroiled in a drug smuggling saga and does his best to help the FBI bust the mules. Starring Don Cheadle, Mark Strong and Mad-Eye Moody from Harry Potter, Brendan Gleeson as the greatest don't give a shit cop ever. It comes out in cinemas on August 25th and I will definitely be heading along to see it again. If you like a good laugh I suggest you do too.

Next up was the much anticipated Australian drama The Eye of The Storm, the Fred Schepisi adaptation of the 1973 novel by Australian Nobel Laureate Patrick White. Starring Geoffrey Rush, Charlotte Rampling and Judy Davis the film tells the tale of the two spoiled and un-appreciative children (Rush and Davis) of dying eccentric (Rampling), come home to ensure their inheritance is not being swindled by the house staff as their ailing mothers mind starts to unravel. An interesting story of flawed human character, with insightful but ultimately inconclusive flashbacks that reveal little about the reasons for their depravity, but perhaps add a little to the insecurity of Davis' foreign princess character. Schepisi's own daughter plays the sweet house nurse who stars in a very awkward sex scene with the twice her age Rush (directed by her father). With these people sitting in the row in front this screening was very awkward, but pretty good. I didn't love love love this film like I thought I would, but it was pretty good.

Next up was the quirky, odd, hilarious Spanish film Finisterrae, the tale of two Russian ghost, which as you can see in the picture are just two guys in sheets with eyes, who want to be mortal again and seek guidance on how to do this from a mysterious fire spirit who directs them on a journey to their goal. This is by far the most original road movie I have ever seen. At turns hilarious, bizarre and odd, this would have to be a highlight of the festival. The visual humour alone is enough to make you laugh until you cry but then they go so far as to read out, in their slow, deep, monotonous voice, all the credits from the actors, to the gaffers to the names of the animals who appeared throughout. Complete with a forest of trees with ears, an opera singing hippy, a stripteasing lady ghost and stuffed animals arranged into bizarre scenes in mysterious caves along their journey.

Last of the night was The Innkeepers which I saw with Volunteer Coordinator of MIFF 2010 Alex. I don't remember why I chose this film, maybe because it was billed as being Clerks meets The Shining. While I haven't seen Clerks, I know enough about it to know that this would be an interesting combination. The Innkeepers tells the tale of two hotel clerks whose hotel is about to close. They are paranormal enthusiasts and spend the last weekend working at the hotel trying to record proof that the hotel is haunted by the spirit of a bride who killed herself a hundred years (or there abouts) ago in the hotel after being stood up at the alter. The film is relatively predictable but still made me jump out of my skin. It is funny, scary, sweet, weird, the two leads are greatly unaffected and natural. I enjoyed the film, it was not altogether unexpected but full of great suspense. I was however left with a lot of unanswered questions which bugged me, but not enough to make it un-enjoyable.

Pick of the day
Finisterrae was so so funny and I spent the whole trip home acting out and remembering every moment of the film to my boyfriend in the hope that he would go and see the next screening.
Surprise of the day
The Guard, which I only booked in to see Bunce, but it was so laugh out loud funny and I absolutely loved it. SEE THIS MOVIE!
Film total so far
11

Day One

Film number one today was Footnote which I got up bright and early to go and see at 1.30pm at ACMI. Not the most comfortable seats for the first film of the day, and I was off to the side, but what a great film. From director Joseph Cedar, this film is comedy meets family feud, a tale of unappreciated hard work, heartbreaking mistakes and a rivalry between father and son. We're given all of the facts from opposing points of view in this film, shown the creed of each character and left with the decision of a lifetime for Eliezer; will he or won't he? A beautifully written film, a wonderfully hilarious jaunt, but boy do Israeli people talk fast. Those subtitle's were flying thick and fast, don't stay out late the night before you see this film.

I wasn't so lucky with my next film. I stayed in ACMI cinema 2 so I picked prime positioning for Silence Of Joan the story of the betrayal of Jeanne D'Arc when the French handed her over to their enemies the English, for a sum, to be executed at the stake as a witch. I thought Clemence Poesy did well with the material she was given but that didn't save this film for me. The cinematography was cheap and tawdry and made the whole thing feel like a bad tele-movie, complete with weird slow motion sequences of seemingly random details, non-sequitur sequences featuring unrelated characters and weird inter-titles. I wish I had have fallen asleep in this film but I didn't hit the hump until the next film.

Le Havre told the wonderfully sweet tail of a poor old man who once lived the Bohemian lifestyle and now cleans shoes for a living while his wife, whom many believe to be too good for him, stays home cleaning and cooking and awaiting his return. When his wife becomes ill and takes leave of her homely duties to spend some time in the hospital, our hero shoe shine man takes an illegal immigrant under his wing and with the help of his friends in the small French port town of Le Havre successfully hides him from the police and raises enough money to help the boy across the sea to England where the rest of his family are waiting. A sweetly told tale of the warmth and humanity, the fact that I fell asleep for a portion of the film is no indication of it's quality, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment, the characters were true and delivered a gentle twist on the issue of illegal immigration.

Face to Face I chose simply for the fact that it's an Australian film but I really thoroughly enjoyed it. A simple, contained story of a group of work mates and family called together to have a discussion regarding a disgruntled employee who maliciously rams his car into his boss' right out the front of his own home. You may think you have all the characters worked out at this point but as the layers of the onion are peeled a bizarre (and true if you can believe) story unravels to reveal workplace revelry gone wrong, lying, cheating, pranking and more. a wonderfully delivered tale that is simple, funny and full of wonderful performances, including a pitch perfect Matthew Newton as the mediator of discussions. some of the issues may seem like they would have upset him considering his recent misgivings, but this film is a wonderful example of just how good Australian comedy/drama can be when you have a good writing team that don't get bogged down in the bullshit so many of them do, trying too hard for action or a laugh and not letting it just happen organically. I skipped out on the q&a to see my next film.

Hobo With A Shotgun is a crazy, wild, action packed gore fest. Crazy gratuitous gore, terrible acting, terrible dialogue, and totally new and inventive ways to die. With lines like "baby you make me do hot I wanna cut off my dick and rub it all over your face", you know you're in for a guilty pleasure. Not as good as the recent grindhouse spoofs flying onto cult cinema screens around the world such as Tarantino's Death Proof or Rodriguez's Planet Terror and Machete, or even the MIFF 2008 hit Black Dynamite but this film sprung up from a trailer competition run by Rodriguez for SXSW and has all of its roots in bad, grindhouse spoof origins so you really can't expect great quality. I normally love this kind of film however there was something missing that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it was the fact that this was a predominantly Canadanian production and for some reason the can't do bad good, maybe it was the poor cinematography HD cinematography that let it down, maybe it's because there wasn't enough of the hobo using his shotgun, or maybe it's because the trailer was better. But if you love ridiculousness and Rutger Hauer then you'll love this film.

Pick of the day
I'm going to go with Footnote, it was a great start to the festival and I really felt for the characters. It was sweet and funny and I loved it.
Surprise of the day
Face to Face was hugely surprising. I don't generally go into Australian films with too many expectations, which left me pleasantly surprised by this one.
Film total so far
6

Opening Night

The opening night of the 60th Melbourne International Film Festival will be one I shan't easily forget (mostly because I got to go for free and rub shoulders with some of the coolest, best dressed, chicest film people in Melbourne) but also because of The Fairy. I'm sure many will agree that it was an odd film to open the festival with, but an enjoyable one none the less. Harking back to the simpler days of film when Monsieur Hulot waddling around and getting himself into mischief was enough to send a cinema full of people into hysterics, The Fairy is a quaint enjoyable romp full of visual gags, quirky characters, beautiful French scenery and oddness of the best European kind.
I don't care what everybody else has been saying, I love Tati, Keating and Chaplin, and I loved The Fairy. If you also love these directors then you will too. Specifically I loved the underwater dance sequence, the butch female rugby player musical sequence and the birthing scene.
But Opening Night is really all about the party and I'm pleased to say that Old Mout Cider, sponsors of the festival, were on hand with all their fancy flavours and therefore I wasn't bloated from too much beer or dry mouthed from too much wine (or risking a terrible morning after too much champagne). Andrew McClelland provided some funky beats for us all to dance to and with my trusty crew of Bacchus Marshians we took over the dance floor and danced the night away.
After being felt up by the sleezy Russian's from the MIFF trailer, taking more than enough free photo booth photos, talking to everyone I possibly could (and you think I'm talkative sober!), getting snapped by more than one photographer, receiving compliments for the dress I had only just finished making that day (one person even called it "outfit of the evening") and dancing so much I had to take my shoes off, we headed to Cherry for Soul Night where we continued to dance the night away.
I got snapped by one photographer as I was coming up the stairs at GU and it made the cut to be sent through, yay. I jumped a little as the flash went off because I was intently looking at someone I thought I recognised and didn't realise he was taking the picture. He asked if I was ok and I said I was fine then he looked at the picture and went "Woah, gorgeous". His words, not mine. But I do like it. I only wish I had a picture of my dress to show y'all.
Film total so far
1

Tomorrow

Tomorrow the festival kind of officially starts with opening night at Greater Union/The Melbourne Town Hall and I am super psyched. I have never been to this fancy a party before and I am super duperly looking forward to it.

So for the next 17 odd days I shall be spending my days watching movies and my nights sleeping in anticipation for the next days parties.

I will blog about each of the films on the days they occur so if you would like to know my humble opinion of many of the films playing at this years Melbourne International Film Festival then watch this space.

I will be post scripting my posts so that they appear on the date the day upon which I am referring to corresponds.

still reeling

receptionist for a day

Today I was Angie in the office as she was away today, and volunteer James was me from last year, going out to get the mail and doing odd jobs etc. So I had a little bit of a power trip and was allowed to boss him around. Not really though, I was interviewing actor's all day and he was helping out the volunteer/venues peeps.

I have been answering and forwarding calls and I'm getting the hang of it. There are some very rude and insistent people out there.

"When will ***** be playing at the festival?"
"I'm not sure yet, the festival guide isn't due out for another week."
"but I just want to know when one film is playing."
"I couldn't tell you until the program is finalized and printed, which won't be until next week."
"But it's just one film."
"I'm a volunteer filling in for reception today, all I know is that you can get the program, with dates and times and venues and reviews and everything, online, in The Age and at the Box Office at The Forum as of next Friday."
"[Grmupy and short] fine then, I guess I'll wait... *beep, beep, beep, beep...."

Truth is, although I do know when and where some films are playing because I was given the arduous task (Cough cough) of trying to break the offline version of the ticketing system yesterday and reporting any problems, there is no way I can check and no way I can remember off the top of my head.
I don't know how Angie deals with such rude people every day.
Speaking of which a delivery man came to the door earlier and I buzzed him in and he wouldn't come in so I picked up the phone to talk to him and he said he had a delivery, so I told him to come in and he got so angry that I had the gall to assume he would bring that delivery up to us (we have an elevator by the way). So I went to find someone who could help me and he demanded a permit because the loading zone was full and the parking inspectors weren't being reasonable. Somewhere in the thick of it he left and later he came back and said he'd contacted his boss who had told him that it was his job to bring the delivery up to us. Somehow two people from the office still ended up doing it instead. Ridiculous. That article on the Yahoo front page today about political party members whose job it is to predict future economic trends saying Australians need to work harder or face declining living standards is sitting pretty ominously in the forefront of my mind right now.
They may be onto something there.

working hard or...

One of the requirements of living off government money when one is unemployed is that you have a job services case worker who meets with you occasionally to discuss why you think you are still unemployed, ask you what skills you have and what you are doing to make yourself more employable etc. My jobs services provider is in one of the poorest parts of the state meaning that someone with a degree is new to them and they do not really know how to work with someone who wants a career and not just a job and has as many qualifications as me and is still unemployed. So they haven't contacted me in 6 months and now, since I got myself a job placement, they are all bamboozled and instead of sending me to vocational school for two weeks they are letting me do my internship full time for two weeks and no one will bother me about going to job interviews etc. so I have been getting up early every day this week (something very new to me, and I trend I can hopefully continue beyond these two weeks) and it has meant I am getting to do a lot more stuff in different departments of the festival.
I got my invitation to the opening night the other day. It's pretty exciting, the festival is less than a month away. So now, because the invite said Red Carpet and Film Screening, I am going to have to make myself a really awesome dress. The trouble with working every day however is that I don't have a lot of time to go material shopping, which will mean I will have less than two weeks to make said dress.
I figured I'd make a full round, pleated skirt dress that comes about to me knees, a ruffled, layered under skirt with a love heart bodice covered in black lace up to my neck and down my arms to my hands but only around and under my shoulders, around my neck leaving my back completely bare. That's fancy right?
I hope I get the chance to speak to Geoffrey Rush. I saw him on a train at Camberwell once so at least I'll have a conversation opening. I'm meant to be helping the volunteer co-ordinator guy right now but the system is being crappy so I'm waiting for him to figure out what he is going to do so that when we are putting in details of volunteer hopefuls we do not overlap numbers and thus delete people out of the system.
I was thinking of writing a love letter to one of my genius's but I've been reading Sandman and I can't think of anyone but Neil Gaiman.
Man that is a good series. I was so wrapped up in it on the train yesterday that I didn't even notice that my friend had gotten on the train and sat next to me. When I noticed we had a good laugh and then started talking about 100 Bullet's because I have read it and he hasn't but he wants to.
I'm listening to two playlists on my ipod that kind of merged, so it's half Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd songs that make me feel really calm and that I put together the other night when I couldn't get to sleep, and part poems, fables, songs and skats from beat generation artists. I'd really like to transcribe some and pop them on here because I think they are beautiful and everyone should enjoy them.
Perhaps that will a project for me the next time I get super bored.

putting it off

I haven't been able to bring myself to blog for a while because I want to blog about Doctor Who and I'm still wrapping my head around how brilliant part one series seven was, and how good the surprise was. We finally know who River Song is, YAY! I'm so glad I completely stayed away from all spoilers and forced myself not to think about it because it was such a shock and such an amazing feeling when it all came together. I started off watching from the couch and ended up about half a metre away from the TV, with my knees kind of bent as if I were sitting on an invisible chair, hands clenched into fists, and an extraordinarily excitable look on my face. Then when the ep was over and I had that weird excited squealy thing going on in my throat and ears, I paced around my living room for a goo five minutes saying "oh my god oh my god" and "Steven Moffat is such a genius" over and over. Then I started to think "I have got to talk to someone about this", but Josh decided he had too much work to do to watch it so I called him tentatively and he had watched it, the last part at least. So we talked in hushed excitement until my chest stopped fluttering and my eyes closed slightly to resume normal sizing, and my sister was no longer afraid to enter the living room for fear of getting in the way of one of my fist pumps into the air, and we went down the street to buy alcohol in order to play the Iron Chef drinking game.
I scared the check out girl at the super market. She must have thought I was nuts but I didn't care, I still could not wipe the insane expression off my face or stop breathing "oh my god".
I can't talk about the show properly though because I think if I think about it too much, analyse is, I'll lose this amazing feeling and stop thinking that it was so wonderful and I don't want to because that is what being a nerd is to me; getting so involved in such an epically geeky show that some weeks you can't wait for it to air and you download it and read all the magazines and books and comics and when something really epic happens you're half a metre away from the TV sitting on an invisible chair and absolutely loving being unashamedly lame and being in love with someones writing brain, so that's enough from me on that one.

WATCH DOCTOR WHO SERIES 5 AND 6. IT'S THE BEST.