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