No more MIFF (til next year)

What a slack blogger I've been. Instead of updating every day with a brief discussion of the films I'd seen, I ended up falling well behind. And because of other committments, the planned 60 films I'd scheduled ended up falling by the wayside as well. In the end, I only caught about 20 sessions at the festival this year, due to things such as art fair openings, theatrical committments, and recovering from hangovers taking precedent over film screenings.

That said, let me quickly recap on the remaining films I saw at the festival:

Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig
(Dir. Katherine Linton, USA, 2006)

MIFF said: "One record producer... The creators of the cult film and stage classic Hedwig and the Angry Inch... and some of the most influential indie rockers... They all come together to record a benefit album for a controversial high school in New York City supporting lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and questioning students.
Through a dramatic and vibrant combination of verité documentation, student video diaries and rare in-studio scenes of artists recording tracks, this film offers a powerful look at the intersection of youth, gender and rock."

I say: Great film! The performance by The Polyphonic Spree was superb, and brought tears of joy to my eyes; Rufus Wainwright was yearning and tender; and Yoko Ono was simply out there (and didn't the audience love her!). The way the film followed a range of gay, lesbian and transgendered students through their lives meshed perfectly with the unfolding saga of recording the benefit album, and succinctly illustrated what the Hetrick-Martin Institute is all about, and why the school it runs is so desperately needed. Seeing this film also made me want to go out and see Hedwig and the Angry Inch again too...

Em 4 Jay
(Dir. Alkinos Tsilimidos, Australia, 2006)

MIFF said: "Melbourne iconoclast, Alkinos Tsilimidos, teams up again with renowned playwright Daniel Keene (Tom White MIFF 2004) to create this unflinchingly confronting, romantic tragedy.
Together, young local actors Laura Gordon and Nick Barkla are revelatory as the doomed lovers of the tale, Emma and Jay, who descend into a criminal rampage to support their heroin habits. In keeping with Tsilimidos’ social realist leanings and disinterest in safe, middle-class stories, Em 4 Jay isn’t afraid to bury its audience in the characters’ unsympathetic (and pathetic) world… and it keeps you in a stranglehold until the very last frame."

I say: Sorry Alkinos, I've really enjoyed your earlier films such as Tom White and Silent Partner but you lost me with this one. Despite superb performances (from actors who were 100 x more convincing than Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish in Candy) this was, in the end, yet another addition to the tried, true and tired 'doomed junkie' drama. Apart from a poignant scene between Emma and her despairing older sister, and an hilarious attempted robbery when the ill-fated pair don pig masks, there was nothing new or engaging about this film for me. Others, of course, will disagree...

A Weekend in the Country: A History of the Meredith Music Festival
(Dir. Robert McCafferty, Australia, 2006)

MIFF said: "Drawing on a range of archival footage filmed by festival organisers and punters, A Weekend in the Country shows the growth of the festival over the past 15 years. In addition to cataloguing some of the more memorable moments during the festival’s history (including some obligatory footage of the Meredith Gift, the nude foot race that takes place on the final day of the festival), the documentary features electrifying concert footage and interviews from such Australian mainstays as the Augie March, Dirty Three, You Am I, Powdermonkeys, the Fireballs and Spiderbait.

I say: Loved this film, which was McCafferty's directorial debut. Despite some over-long performances, and dodgy sound and camerawork from the festival's early days (which were appropriate, in that they gave a real sense of the ad-hoc nature of the event) this doco perfectly captured the feel and fun of Meredith, complete with the Meredith Gift. I can't wait for the next festival!

The Descent
(Dir. Neil Marshall, UK, 2005)

MIFF said: "Pitched by its director as “Deliverance goes underground”, The Descent is the much-anticipated second feature from Neil Marshall who was attributed with sparking a resurgence in British horror with his exciting debut Dog Soldiers. It takes us on a chilling and thrilling spelunking adventure with a team of adrenaline-seeking women. Upon being trapped deep within an otherworldly cave, they face not only their own fears but a colony of flesh-eating sub-humans."

I say: I loved Dog Soldiers, and I really enjoyed Marshall's new film as well. He has an excellent ear for dialogue and characterisation, and manages group dynamics well. Superb sound and editing, coupled with strong performances and cinematography, meant that this film was already gripping and suspenceful long before the characters first encountered the carnivorous trogdolytes that are responsible for the gory deaths of most of them. Yes, it occasionally veered off into the predictable and the over-the-top, but I walked out of this film electrified and grinning wildly, so it definitely worked for me.

Quinceranera
(Dir. Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland, USA, 2006))

MIFF said: "Young Latinos in Los Angeles struggle with life as outsiders when they find themselves at loggerheads with traditional family and Catholic values in this sensitive portrayal of Latino life in the USA.
Endearing and unpretentious, Quinceañera is an affecting depiction of life in West Coast Mexican immigrant communities, where the forces of gentrification are encroaching on their neighbourhoods. Winner of both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival."

I say: This is exactly the sort of bland crowd-pleaser that gives the Sundance Film Festival an increasingly bad name. Set in the predominantly Latino district of Echo Park in LA, the film is just left of centre enough to be considered 'edgy', in that its main character is a pregnant 14 year old girl. Magdelena (Emily Rios) goes to live with her hunky, rough-trade gay cousin Carlos (Jesse Garcia) and saintly old uncle Tomas (Chalo Gonzalez) after her preacher father kicks her out of home.

Characterisations were thin, although the majority of the actors did a lot with a little, and it was clear the gay film-makers (who also made the lacklustre porn drama The Fluffer) are much more interested in their wet-dream fantasy, Carlos, rather than Magdelena, whose coming-of-age 15th birthday ceremony is the quinceañera of the title. Attempts to establish the setting as one of the 'characters' of the movie were forced, and the film-makers' guilt at being part of the gentrification process documented in the film was was readily apparent, at least to me. Although occasionally sweet, Quinceañera was also slight and unsatisfying.

This Film is Not Yet Rated
(Dir. Kirby Dick, USA, 2006)

MIFF said: "In the USA, a shadowy, anonymous group controls what the population may or may not view. It isn’t the CIA or the Masons; it’s the Motion Picture Association of America.
Responsible for rating all films shown in the USA, the MPAA has never divulged its rating guidelines, refuses to disclose the identity of its board members and is essentially unaccountable for its decisions.
An insightful and comical investigation into an organisation accustomed to operating beyond the bounds of accountability."

I say: Instead of hard-hitting and interogative, this film opted for the quirky and humorous approach to documentary-making, and as a consequence failed to entertain. Despite engaging interviews with film-makers such as John Waters, Kevin Smith and Darren Aronofsky, the film spent too long with a lesbian private detective hired to discover the identity of the MPAA, and not enough looking at the means and consequences of their 'rating' (read censorship) of films. Too, its revelation that independent films were treated drastically differently to studio releases was delivered in an almost throw-away style. This doco could have been revelatory, but was instead relegated to light entertainment as a consequence of the director's stylistic approach.

***

I didn't bother trying to get a ticket for the closing night film, Paul Goldman's latest Australian feature Suburban Mayhem, as I'd already heard a number of bad reviews, and was less than impressed by the scenes from it that were shown at the MIFF media launch a couple of months ago.

Instead, I was lucky enough to grab a ticket for the film that squeezed almost unheralded into the 'To Be Confirmed' slot at The Forum on Sunday night; a film I'd been longing to see as soon as I heard about it....

Volver
(Dir. Pedro Almodovar, Spain, 2006)

Critics say: "The power of motherhood and the blessing of good friends run as themes through Pedro Almodovar's entertaining fantasy Volver, even though the central topics are abuse and death." - The Hollywood Reporter

"This is Almodovar's most sophisticated film to date: a joyous, touching, funny and thrilling account of the up-and-downs of family life." - Tiscali UK

"Peopled with superbly drawn, attractive characters smoothly integrated into a well-turned, low-tricks plotline, Volver may rep Almodovar's most conventional piece to date, but it is also his most reflective, a subdued, sometimes intense and often comic homecoming that celebrates the pueblo and people that shaped his imagination." - Variety

I say: Viva Almodovar! My favourite European director's new film won the Best Actress award for its ensemble female cast at Cannes this year, and it was easy to see why. Penelope Cruz, the delightful Carmen Maura (back with Almodovar for the first time since 1988's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) and many others are all in superb form, while the film itself is a superb balance of Almodovar's earlier, outrageous satires coupled with the warm observations of his more recent dramas. A flawless drama about love and death from a director at the peak of his powers. Although not opening until November, this film is not to be missed!

***

Afterwards, myself and some friends headed off to the closing night party, enjoyed several drinks (although the champagne ran out just after we arrived, unfortunately) and I slid happily into bed at about 2am.

So, that was MIFF for me this year: 19 sessions in total (including two walk-outs, which I haven't written up here, because quite frankly I couldn't be bothered) over 17 days of the festival, and bringing the total number of films I've seen at the cinema so far this year to a measly 55. Quite slack, really, when you think about!