Week of September 24, 2009, Issue #727
FILM
Reel to reel to reel to reel...
The 23rd Edmonton International Film Festival fills the city to the brim with with films from around the world
Here are the reviews of every film we were able to get a hold of in advance of the first week of the 23rd Edmonton International Film Festival. Of course, there's an entire other weekend of films to follow—watch for our reviews of those next week—plus a number of films we didn't get in advance: shorts, the lunchbox series and more, so check out edmontonfilmfest.com for more details on the festival.
Reviews by David Berry (DB), Bryan Birtles (BB), Paul Blinov (PB), Josef Braun (JB), Jonathan Busch (JBU), Omar Mouallem (OM), Eden Munro (EM), Bryan Saunders (BRS), Adam Waldron-Blain (AWB).
Adrift in Tokyo (Tengen)
Directed by Satoshi Miki
Sat, Sep 26 (12 pm)
The premise—a debt collector forgives a delinquent client's considerable sum if he'll spend a few days walking around Tokyo with him—is pure filmic fiction, and writer/director Satoshi Miki doesn't stay as far away from flat, cartoonish surrounding characters as you'd normally like, but the chemistry between the two leads is palpable, and it makes for an ultimately winning story. Jo Odagiri's slacker student bounces off Tomokazu Miura's gruff collector with enough sparks that you'll be curious to see where it goes, even if Tokyo isn't nearly as richly drawn as has been done before. DB
Art & Copy
Directed by Doug Pray
Wed, Sep 30 (7:15 pm)
A documentary about creative advertising in print and television, Art & Copy, is the romantic rebuttal to No Logo. Through interviews with copywriters and art directors behind some of the iconic ads in the half-a-billion dollar a year industry, we learn how I (Heart) NY turned a scummy city into a glamorous one, or how Nike introduced jogging to North America. There is some glossing over of advertising as a pollutant, but by the end, the film is so persuasive and effective in making (good) advertising a societal asset that it could put Fidel Castro into an ad-specked NASCAR suit. OM
Best Worst Movie
Directed by Michael Stephenson
Fri, Sep 25 (8 pm)
Profiling the cultish rise of Troll 2, a 1992 movie infamous for bottoming out imdb.com's worst movies of all time list, Best Worst Movie is endearing largely due to its earnest characters. Seeing the cast and crew dealing with their delayed success almost 20 years later—going from an almost universal embarrassment to appearing at sold-out screenings and garnering rapturious applause for acting out particularly painful scenes—is genuinely warming to watch, as are the very human portraits of everyone involved that director/Troll 2 child star Michael Stephenson reveals. PB
Cole
Directed by Carl Bessai
Mon, Sep 28 (7:15 pm)
The village of Lytton, British Columbia used to be "Home of the Gold Rush." Now, it's home to just 350 people, and, Cole—one of those 350 people—can't wait to get away from the damn place and pursue his dream of becoming a writer. Unfortunately, he has to help his troubled sister run the family gas station, keep his brain-damaged mother from wandering out into the middle of the highway and protect Rocket, his six-year-old nephew, from an abusive stepfather. Add into the mix a goofball of a best friend, a bombshell of a romantic interest (and her elitist parents), and some absolutely fantastic cinematography and you have a story that is truly compelling to watch. BRS
Departures
Directed by Yojiro Takita
Saturday, Sep 26 (7 pm)
An aspiring cellist returns to his hometown when his orchestra dissolves and lands a job doing "encoffinment," or Japanese ceremonial dead body preparation. Departures is about accepting change and being humble. Dramaturgically embalmed, it's very nice and rather dull, overwrought, overacted by the wholesome, handsome, bland leads, and most especially overlong, squeezing the life out of every scene and occasionally employing an entirely superfluous voice-over. No wonder it won the Best Foreign Film Oscar—it feeds Western audiences every dated stereotype surrounding the Japanese you could ask for. What sad irony that Tsutomu Yamazaki, who starred in Ososhiki, Juzo Itami's terrific satire of Japanese funeral culture, should appear in this tasteful bore. JB
The Drummer
Directed by Kenneth Bi
Mon, Sep 28 (1:30 pm)
A rock 'n' roll drummer escapes his life as the son of a crime boss to discover the world of Zen drumming, in a satisfying dramatic tale that captivates with both suspense and heart. Like Japanese director Takeshi Kitano, Bi contrasts the gangster theme with a sense of spirituality, with a more naturalistic and less Brechtian approach. Jaycee Chan, the handsome lead and son of action legend Jackie, has no trouble carrying the film with his charming screen presence. JBU
Getting Home
Directed by Zhang Yang
Sat, Sep 26 (4:35 pm) and Tue, Sep 29 (1:30 pm)
This is like the thoughtful, whimsical and emotional version of Weekend at Bernies. It follows Zhao, a man travelling across a big chunk of China with nothing but a paltry stack of cash and the body of his dead friend—disguised as alive to triumph over any faux pas—whom he'll deliver to his friend's family. Not much is known about Zhao, but the actor playing him (Benshan Zhao) is convincingly real, even with his facial expressions—whether he's having a real moment or faking one to bamboozle intersecting people. Getting Home is simple, modest and charming, and definitely worth seeing. OM
The Grocer's Son
Directed by Eric Guirado
Wed, Sep 30 (5:15 pm)
Set mostly in Paris and in the green foothills of France, this is the story of Antoine, the prodigal son who must return home, take care of his mother and run the family's grocery business. This, after a heart attack lands his father—a man with whom Antoine has not spoken to in 10 years—in the hospital. Accompanying Antoine on his journey from the city is Claire, a beautiful young divorcee who helps him deliver groceries to the countryside's aged—and hilariously quirky—residents. Furthermore, although the entire storyline is fairly predictable, the character-work in this movie is truly astounding and makes this film a pleasure to watch. BRS
H2Oil
Directed by Shannon Walsh
Sat, Sep 26 (2:15 pm), Thu, Oct 1 (1:30 pm)
Not so much making rallying cry as presentation of the whole, grim picture, H2Oil explores the environmental damage of the Alberta tarsands mining by zooming into the human side, revealing the cancerous effects of leaking tailings ponds that are wreaking havoc on nearby communities. Alberta health and the oil sands companies skirt the issues at town hall meetings while residents bury their loved ones. But balancing the human angle with the big stats, showing how our dependence on oil is an ultimately unsustainable lifestyle, keeps this documentary level-headed and all the more powerful because of it. PB
Inside Hana's Suitcase
Directed by Larry Weinstein
Sun, Sep 27 (2:30 pm)
A polished combination of firsthand interviews and dramatic re-imaginings, this sentimental documentary offers an in-depth look into how Fumiko Ishioka, a school teacher in Japan, pieced together the story of a young Holocaust victim named Hana Brady—a story that was eventually made into an internationally bestselling book. Though certainly not the first Holocaust documentary ever made, this film offers an interesting new perspective on the Second World War via interviews with a Hiroshima survivor, a number of Holocaust survivors and with George Brady—Hana's brother and the only surviving member of her immediate family. BRS
It Might Get Loud
Directed by Davis Guggenheim
Tue, Sep 29 (6:45 pm)
Three guitarists get together to chat about, well, guitars. Doesn't exactly sound like a thrill-a-minute ride—in fact, it seems more like a recipe for talking-head style documentary boredom. But when Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, U2's The Edge and the White Stripes' Jack White start talking, their shared love of the instrument pours onto the screen. Beyond that, though, filmmaker Davis Guggenheim digs deep and unravels the many layers that underpin each artist's music, using a non-linear approach to juxtapose The Edge's use of racks of effects with White's use of stomped-on floorboards, with Page's method to madness landing somewhere in the middle and bridging the two. In the end, it seems that creativity for these three is linked just as much with the specifics of their instruments as it is with their own life experiences. EM
Midgets vs. Mascots
Directed by Ron Carlson
Wed, Sep 30 (9:30 pm)
Full of dick jokes, fart jokes and an astonishing number of very, very, very uncomfortable sex scenes, Midgets vs. Mascots is the kind of movie that would definitely appeal to people who won't take in a movie without taking in a few bong hits first. For most other people, however, this half-baked competition/road movie will seem like the kind of idea that was really funny last night, but upon waking up with a really dry mouth and incredibly red eyes, you might realize that it's sort of a one-note symphony dragged out for nearly 90 minutes. BB
Outrage
Directed by Kirby Dick
Mon, Sep 28 (6:45 pm)
Director Kirby Dick trains his camera on as many closeted republicans—known or suspected—as he can in Outrage, pointing out the ones who pass anti-gay bills while indulging in their own homo-erotic fantasies on the side. There's some scathing material here, and the most interesting bits deal with "outed" politicians (including a democrat), but Dick falls into the doc-trap of getting way too interview heavy. He captures a lot of angry, talking people in Outrage, but the methods of presentation get a little tedious by the end. PB
The Pool
Directed by Chris Smith
Sat, Sep 26 (2:30 pm)
It takes a little while for The Pool to get moving, as it assembles itself out of the wanderings of its characters which at first seem aimless, but its quiet start makes the film feel meaningful. It's beautiful to look at and its exploration of class and family is more sensitive and complicated than I expected. It's a very well-put-together-but-simple story about people who really just want to be nice to each other if they can manage it. Best of all, everyone on screen seems like a perfectly reasonable and likable person, which is an accomplishment itself. AWB
The Snake
Directed by Adam Goldstein and Eric Kutner
Sun, Sep 27 (10 pm)
A womanizer in San Fran begins to stalk a bulimic girl by following her to her body-image support group, then provides her with junk food to scarf and barf in exchange for sex. The crude humour and obnoxious performance by Adam Goldstein (FYI: not DJ AM) at first suggests the film has nothing to teach us, though by dragging the anti-hero and his lack of morals to its wits end, light is eventually shed on the psychotic bind of eating disorders. In this case, said feat is accomplished by being funny, or at least telling itself that it is. JBU
Sodium Babies
Directed by Julien & Benoit Decaillon
Sat, Sep 26 (9:45 pm)
The low-budget horror film is not what it used to be—a flair for vampires and comic books drives the visually engaging Sodium Babies to foresee newcomers the brothers Decaillon turning heads at EIFF. Though more inspired than original, the film seemingly borrows from the right sources (Timur Bekmambetov, Frank Miller, and 30 Days of Night) and is hard to pull one's gaze from. The story, following a former soldier who overnight becomes a gangster vampire lackey, is appropriately geek-ridden, though all in all, time is never wasted. JBU
Son of the Sunshine
Directed by Ryan Ward
Sun, Sep 27 (9:15 pm)
Director Ryan Ward marks his feature debut with the compelling if darkly overwrought tale of Sonny (also played by Ward), who suffers from Tourette's but also carries a strange gift for healing. He undergoes an experimental surgery to cure his disease (and subsequently loses the power), and then finds himself involved with the unstable Arielle. Ward seems capable enough, both behind and, in particular, in front of the camera, though there's a little too much on his plate, plot-wise, and too often the overall sense of drama is created via shouting matches. But there's also some strange, compelling ideas and twists to help buoy the script along. PB
Songs from the Southern Seas
Directed by Marat Sarulu
Tue, Sep 29 (5:15 pm)
A subtle character-driven foreign drama, Songs from the Southern Seas delves into the tale of two families interwined by their children: Russian Ivan's wife gives birth to a darker child, while neighbour Kazakh Assan's own son turns out to have Ivan's ginger locks. It takes 15 years for the full story to come into light but the characters who bring us there remain a little too drab and emotionally elusive as they try to move on and reconcile with the past, or leave it behind, though director Marat Sarulu has a sharp eye for some beautiful symbolism. PB
Strigoi
Directed by Faye Jackson
Mon, Sep 28 (9:45 pm)
A horror comedy that rarely manages to be either funny or scary, there is nevertheless a peculiar charm to Strigoi, mostly in the form of Faye Jackson's evident stylistic talents and the lackadaisical charm of Catalin Paraschiv as a prodigal son investigating the shady goings-on of a small Romanian town. The film works as a tweaking of the increasingly popular vampire trope, as the eponymous bloodsuckers mess with the town leaders' best-laid plans, but there isn't a tight enough narrative, nor enough individual moments, to really sustain a whole lot of interest. DB
Tales From the Golden Age
Directed by Razvan Marculescu, Hanno Hofer, Christian Mungui, Constantin Popescu, Ioana Uricaru
Mon, Sep 28 (9 pm)
The tales collected offer scenes of frantic propaganda creation, egg smuggling as foreplay and the gassing to death of a pig in somebody's kitchen, so rest assured that this omnibus film's vision of life in Communist-era Romania will be buoyant and inventive, a string of satirical urban myths with political undercurrents that bears little resemblance to 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, the harrowing abortion drama helmed by Christian Mungiu, who functions here as a sort of curator, as well as the director of one episode and writer of the whole shebang. Of course nothing in Golden Age is nearly as resonant, focused or captivating as 4 Months, but there are wonderful moments and a compelling overall portrait of a lost world. JB
William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet
Directed by Patrick Buckley
Sun, Sep 27 (4:30 pm)
While clips of the titular ballet—choreographed entirely to Shatner's Has Been spoken word album—play out in song-length chunks here, this light doc is really more about Shatner and his album—the interviews with Ben Folds (who wrote the bulk of the music), Henry Rollins (who guests), and Shatner himself are given much more screen time and development in the 50-minute documentary than the dance side of it. So it seems a bit of an ego rub for Shatty, who also has the exeutive producer credit here, but it's also engaging enough to watch the oft-ridiculed icon trying to show that he can make legitimate art too. PB
Winnebago Man
Directed by Ben Steinbauer
Sat, Sep 26 (7:15 pm)
Director Ben Steinbauer has a number of annoying tics, not the least of which are a brutally literal visual sense and a penchant for overcooked narration, but he's found a winner in the story of Jack Rebney. You might remember Rebney as a foul-mouthed RV salesman from the popular viral video; Steinbauer's goal is to show us the man behind the clip, and the result is a documentary that not only examines what it's like to have your life reduced to an online clip, but gives us a frequently moving portrait of an odd, bombastic, loquacious and thoroughly fascinating individual. DB
Zooey and Adam
Directed by Sean Garrit
Sat, Sep 26 (4:30 pm)
Zooey and Adam has so much potential with its poignant story of a young married couple trying to conceive until their wish is sadistically granted after the wife is raped by goons before her restrained husband. There's so much potential to be unforgettable, but it's too unrefined like pure crude bitumen. The sound peters in and out at key moments, the acting is dubious and the camera operator seemingly lacks opposable thumbs. Over the six years in which we watch Adam attempt to reconcile with his troubled son's paternal origin, the plot does improve, however, the depth of character and raw dialogue doesn't. OM
Broken Embraces
Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Tue Sept 29 (9pm)
A smooth and scenic ride with a master director on Cruz control. Blind screenwriter and former director Harry Caine (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0392913 /Lluís Homar) recalls a doomed film he shot in 1994 Madrid, where Lena (Penélope Cruz) played the comic lead while trying to break free of her seriously obsessive lover.
A pleasant enough melodrama with some poignant notes and striking scenes—mostly in its latter half—of fate, recovery and self-reconstruction through film. By Almodóvar standards, though, disappointing. The story sometimes drags, themes don’t dovetail and there’s stale tale-telling where there should be secret-showing. Even Cruz, the story’s bruised heart, seems posed when the film gets a little stifling and self-loving in its allusions, homages and filming-a-film storyline.
“Films have to be finished, even if you do it blindly,” says Caine, but Broken Embraces is wrapped up with a bit too much of a wink and a pat on the back. Passion needs fire, not smoke and mirrors.
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