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.
I saw it this evening. I hadn't planned to, but I was in the mall on errands, and I only had to wait 20 min., so ... .
God, it was boring!! Flimsy to non-existent plot, cardboard characters only pale reflections of their original TV series counterparts; little but non-stop action and explosions from start to finish. What a come-down from the original TV show! While its story-lines were often silly and its special effects laughable by today's standards, the TV Star Trek managed to maintain audience interest with a relatively low level of action, and that action furthered the plot and developed the characters instead of replacing plot and character – ditto for the earlier Star Trek movies. The Trouble with Tribbles had much more substance than tonight's excuse for a story.
The replacement of plot and character by action and explosions seems to be the accepted method of generating box-office receipts nowadays; the Harry Potter series has also gone in this direction. Constant action appears to appeal to the current generation of kids who seem to need it to remain interested at all – I'm probably just too old to appreciate movies like this one. Give me and other old fogies like me a film like Cherry Blossoms any day.
3 Women Engrossing story with intelligent, reflective characters (reflective in the context of the plot, not as a philosophical overlay or something similar glued on to the plot). A clear plot, made so by several visual and verbal bits that clarified/focussed the viewer's attention (unlike many films where so much is going on that it's very easy to miss a detail essential to understanding what's happening). A well integrated and satisfying film.
I am Good A very funny and well-done film about a con to retrieve money conned away by the bad guys. Great characters.
That's it for this year. There were several others that, in retrospect, I wish I'd seen, but it's so hard to determine how good a film is from the guide the VIFF puts out – it reads mostly like advertising copy.
And a final note of appreciation to whoever writes the funny VIFF "trailers", not just this year, but in earlier years as well – I wish the festival would make them available online.
Addendum: I just did a quick search and found the trailers, at least those from this year.
Adhen Potentially interesting plot, but spoiled by a "realistic" style (all the ums and ers and conversation scraps irrelevant to the plot) and flat affect. No plot resolution.
The Equation of Love and Death Felt like an episode of a CSI show, with more violence (which bores me no end). One of those plots where you can't figure out what's going on until well into the film, by which time I didn't really care.
I wouldn't bother seeing either again. Waste of a Sunday evening.
Growing Op Funny comedy, set in a "family" grow-op. I definitely enjoyed it, but it started me thinking: to what extent is it legitimate to ignore or accept the moral and political assumptions of a film and enjoy it on its own terms? Though I don't really care if anyone smokes pot (as long as I don't have to smell the stuff), I don't think I'm as tolerant of grow-ops and the damage they cause, yet that premise didn't particularly bother me. But I was reminded of a friend who once couldn't enjoy a very funny film because the plot centered around an elaborate con job – she couldn't get past the dishonesty. So where are the boundaries here? Or is it a purely individual choice, and should I be asking where my boundaries are?
Happy-Go-Lucky A comedy, sure, with some very funny bits, but I got bored and irritated by the main character long before the end. There were a few bits thrown in supposedly to show her more sensitive and less whacky side, but at the end, my sympathies were more with the driving instructor who has to put up with her and is portrayed negatively partly because he can't. I really don't see why people find scatter-brained women endearing – a man with the same personality would be labeled a looser or worse pretty quickly.
Heaven on Earth Engrossing drama about an arranged marriage and the ensuing isolation and violence in an east Indian family in Brampton, with a bit of the supernatural thrown in. Good film. The director and some cast members were there for a Q&A afterwards.
I wouldn't bother seeing the second film again, but I would definitely recommend the other two.