Afterhours

VIFF - Oct. 15, 2009

I saw the last three yesterday, all pretty good.

Crackie I generally go to see films produced in Newfoundland, my home province, if only to see what's new. Usually it's a comedy, and a pretty good one. This one was more serious, and I found it surprisingly moving in places.

A crackie is a Newfoundland term for a small, yappy, snappy dog, and indeed, there was one such in this film. Yet the term could be applied to the main characters as well – the heroine and her grandmother. An interesting tale following a few generations of parental neglect and its inevitable consequences.

Today is Better Than Two Tomorrows A documentary that follows two Laotian boys on their way to becoming Buddhist novice monks. Engaging, and with magnificent scenery. An impressive film, especially since it was made made without a film crew.

Letters to Father Jacob Well acted and not a bad story, though I found the revelation of Leila's story a bit contrived and a little unconvincing somehow.

That's it for this year. While I saw more films than ever this year, oddly and gratifyingly, fewer of them turned out to be duds – I must be getting better at interpreting the advertising verbiage printed in the film guide.

VIFF - Oct. 12, 2009

Three pretty good films today.

Nora's Will Funny, with the humour coming from both the characters and the plot.

An Education. Funny and witty, with some choice comments on the purpose of education.

The White Ribbon. A somewhat grim story (in black & white) on the theme of social repression in Germany pre-WWI. A bit slow paced, but engrossing.

Three more on Thursday; then that's it for this year.

VIFF - Oct. 8, 2009

Todays films:

The Damned Rain. Strong plot, sympathetic characters; altogether an engrossing film. Worth the time spent watching it.

Unmade Beds. In contrast to the first film, boring, unsympathetic characters, little or no plot. A waste of time - I left before the end, as did many others.

The State of Old. Eight shorts about being old (more or less). Some were memorable (Danzak, A Glorious Morning, Invisible Old People, Irene); the others not.

Cow. The best of today's viewing. Very funny despite the extreme violence (which, in the context of war, did not come across as gratuitous). Definitely recommended.

The next three are on Monday (Thanksgiving).

VIFF - Oct. 3, 2009

Four films today:

Excited. A not bad story about a guy with premature, er, "excitement". Funny, and some good characters (the mother, especially).

Castaway on the Moon. Mostly funny despite the somewhat unbelievable premise and plot. The best bits are the main character's attempts to find enough to eat, and his fantasies of noodles with black bean sauce.

A Cargo to Africa. The best of the four by far. Good story, sympathetic characters and unforced humour. Definitely recommended.

Cooper's Camera. The dud of the day. The idea is good – a family Christmas from hell – but the film is vastly overblown. Basically, everyone gets drunk and yells and screams at each other. The humour, which could have been drawn more subtly from the characters and the usual tensions surrounding Christmas, is instead raucous, exaggerated slapstick based mainly on drunk gags. Still, the audience appeared to like it, judging by the laughter.

That's it until next Thursday.

VIFF - Oct. 2, 2009

Just one film today: A Shine of Rainbows. A disappointment, really. No believable conflict, no real character development or even real characters to start with. Predictable plot: as soon as it's hinted that the mother is ill, we know she'll die and her husband will have to come to terms with the kid. Nielsen is unbelievable as a mother and Quinn is not much better as her husband – the kid (John Bell) is a better actor than either. A sugary, feel good film, but not much else.

VIFF - Oct. 1, 2009

Saw three pretty good films at the Vancouver International Film Festival today.

Tales from the Golden Age. A very funny collection of stories from Ceausescu's Romania. The best of the three.

The Maid. Again, very funny, in a grim sort of way – a really good study of both character and class relations.

Jermal. More a study of characters than anything else, and well-done, if a bit slow in places.

The first two were "would see again"; the last, probably not – but then, I was a bit sleepy by the time I saw it, so ... .

Another one tomorrow, and 18 altogether in the next two weeks.