VIFF 2012 - Day 1 Report

Just got back from the opening day of VIFF 2012 and I am worn right out. Who ever knew watching films all day could actually be this draining? Add to that a 90 minute commute each way, and there's not much left in the tank at the end of the day to still competently blog. So I have decided it would be wise to limit my output until the end of the fest. Posting only brief impressions for now and I'll catch up with full reviews and ratings later.

Anyhow, it was a great day, saw three very good films and hats off to the organizers and volunteers. Was impressed how relatively smoothly things went with respect to lineups, all films running on schedule, no projection problems, and fortunately no encounters with idiot spectators.

Rust and Bone (De rouille et d'os)

directed by Jacques Audiard

France

Every single facet of the film bears the mark of a master filmmaker. Marion Cotillard reminds us again why she deserves to be an international superstar, and Matthias Schoenaerts proves for the second time in as many years why he should be one too. The cinematography is stunning, the soundtrack brilliant (yes even the Katy Perry), and the special effects are flawless. It's not a masterpiece like A Prophet, but even an average Jacques Audiard outing is miles ahead of most. He got robbed by the CNC.

Full Review

Long Live the Family! (Rodina je základ státu)

directed by Robert Sedláček

Czech Republic

Would you believe this is my first live action foray into modern Czech cinema? Either this is an anomaly or not so much has changed in 45 years. It's got professional actors, and a straight forward narrative, but all the other hallmarks of the Czech New Wave are here. Timely satire (just trade Communism for the financial crisis), lots of symbolism, natural characters, pitch black humour out of deadly serious situations, and even a direct reference to Ivan Passer's classic Intimate Lighting. Highly enjoyable.

Children of Sarajevo (Djeca)

directed by Aida Begić

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Emotionally powerful stuff. Shades of the Dardenne's, with long constantly moving eye-level shots that follow the lead for the entire film. Occasionally inserted archival footage is absolutely gut wrenching. Solid building of dramatic tension throughout, and brilliant sound design is used to parallel everyday noises with the sounds of war. Lead actress Marija Pikic is a force. But story probably too bleak and unresolved for any Oscar chances.

Full Review

The Seventh Day, the Eighth Night (1969)

The Seventh Day, the Eighth Night • Den sedmý, osmá noc (1969)

Genre: Drama

Director: Evald Schorm

Starring: Jan Kačer , Bohumil Šmída , Jan Libíček , Květa Fialová , Josef Bek

Language: Czech

Duration: 103 min.

Rating: 6.5

Summary:

Rumours escalate rapidly into fear and paranoia in a small Czech village following the visit of a wandering theatre troupe.

Helpless (2012)

Helpless • Hoa-cha • 화차 (2012)

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Director: Byun Young-joo

Starring: Lee Seon-gyun, Kim Min-hie, Jo Seong-ha

Language: Korean

Duration: 117 min.

Rating: 6.6

Summary:

A man frantically searches for his fiancée who vanished without a trace a month before their wedding ceremony.

2012 Vancouver International Film Festival: Preview

The 2012 VIFF (31st annual Vancouver International Film Festival), opens in just a few days, running from September 27 to October 12, with an exciting lineup of over 380 films from around the world.

This is my hometown festival, and I'm excited to announce that I've been fortunate enough to be granted a media pass to cover it! This means I'll be watching as many films as possible in the next couple of weeks, and providing ample coverage right here.

Opening VIFF 2012, will be Midnight's Children from Indian-Canadian director Deepa Mehta, a collaboration with British author Salman Rushdie, who adapted his own Man Booker prize winning novel of the same name into the film's screenplay. It had its world premiere last month in Telluride, and later screened at TIFF to a lukewarm reception, but it looks to be a visually stunning effort worth checking out.

The closing film, Holy Motors, is one I've been greatly anticipating. It's the long awaited return of French director Leos Carax, with his first feature film since 1999's Pola X, which has received lots of positive buzz since its premiere at Cannes back in May. It promises to be an intense can't miss cinematic experience.

Other highlights of the line-up include Cannes award winners: Amour, Reality, Beyond the Hills, and The Hunt; titles from this year's Berlinale: Barbara, Rebelle, Tabu, and A Royal Affair; and several recently announced contenders to the 2013 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film including: Lore (Australia), Our Children (Belgium), Children of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Hezegovina), and Sister (Switzerland).

The festival also holds two official competition categories:

The Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema, is a prize recognizing new and emerging directors from Pacific Asia. This year's line-up has eight eligible films and will be awarded by a three member jury comprised of Portuguese director João Pedro Rodrigues, Japanese director Shinozaki Makoto, and American film critic Chuck Stephens.

The Best Canadian Feature Film Award, a $10,000 cash prize awarded to the director of the best film in the Canadian Images section of the festival. This year there are twelve eligible films and will be awarded by a three member jury comprised of Canadian actor Jay Brazeau, Canadian director Anne Émond (winner of last year's award for her feature Nuit #1), and Colombian-American journalist/media personality Claudia Mendoza-Carruth.

Read on for a closer look at the films in competition at this year's VIFF:

Two Years!

Today marks the 2nd anniversary of Bonjour Tristesse!

Just like that, another year has come and gone, and it's been an interesting one. At times it's been difficult juggling all my various interests and responsibilities while still maintaining the blog, and for awhile I had to take a break from it; but don't worry, my love for cinema is as strong as ever, and I plan to keep doing my part in bringing attention to films nobody's heard of for as long as I can.

Looking at my stats as I write this, I'm up to over 650 posts, the vast majority of them being reviews. Most amazingly there have been over 530,000 pageviews from 308,000 unique visitors, and in the last year there have been visits from 190 different countries. That represents almost the entire world, save for North Korea, plus a small handful of countries in Central Africa. I never expected my little niche to have this kind of reach or popularity when starting out, so its a bit staggering to see.

Big shout outs go out to my most frequent and loyal commenters. Some of whom have been around since almost the beginning, and some who I've sadly not seen or heard from in a long time:

• The Angry Lurker
• D4AM
• A 1Tofu Life
• Front Room Cinema
• The Reel Foto
• Never Too Early Movie Predictions
• Jack L. film reviews
• Rorschach Redemption
• Blah blah blah gay
• Le Mot du Cinephiliaque
• Beasts in Human Skin
• 365 Movies and Songs
• Film Master Journal
• Lime Reviews and Strawberry Confessions
• A Vegetarian Mind
• Genkinahito's Blog
• Lisa Thatcher
• Impassioned Cinema
• Anomalous Material
• Cinematic Corner

and also to those who visit and send traffic my way but prefer to lurk on the sidelines:

• Southern Vision
• Danzon
• Jackie Sekar
• The Film Emporium
• The Droid You're Looking For
• A Hero Never Dies
• Croissant au Chocolat 
• Cinematic Paradox
• Deadly Doll's House of Horror Nonsense
• Duke & The Movies
• Big Thoughts from a Small Mind
• The Velvet Café
• Inspired Ground
• Cinemascope
• FilmScope
• Myfilmviews
• Cinema JZ
• Cinemart
• Goregirl's Dungeon
• 1001Plus

and a few other important blogs/bloggers who provide endless amounts of awesomeness, inspiration, entertainment, and valuable insight:

• Aidy Reviews
• A Potpourri of Vestiges 
• Can You Dig It? 
• Cinematic Katzenjammer  
• Deny Everything  
• Dr Blood's Video Vault  
• Fille Sourires
• Flights, Tights, & Movie Nights 
• Fogs' Movie Reviews
• French Toast Sunday 
• Hollywood Spy  
• Love & Squalor  
• The Most Beautiful Fraud in the World
• Movie On  
• Mettel Ray Movie Blog  
• Surrender to the Void  
• Virginie's Cinema 

and to everyone else I forgot, including the hundreds who stop by daily for whatever reason. Thank you all!

It's been a great adventure so far, I've seen and learned so much, and made a lot of cool friends from all over. Hopefully more of these great things are in store for the coming year.

Cheers!

 

Thale (2012)

Thale (2012)

Genre: Fantasy, Horror

Director: Aleksander Nordaas

Starring: Erlend Nervold, Silje Reinåmo, Jon Sigve Skard, Morten Andresen

Language: Norway

Duration: 76 min.

Rating: 6.0

Summary:

Two men discover a mythical huldra living in the basement of a home.

Nameless Gangster (2012)

Nameless Gangster • Bumchoiwaui junjaeng • 범죄와의 전쟁 (2012)

Genre: Crime Drama

Director: Yun Jong-bin

Starring: Choi Min-sik, Ha Jung-woo, Cho Jin-woong, Kim Sung-kyun

Language: Korean

Duration: 133 min.

Rating: 7.7

Summary:

On the verge of being fired, a corrupt customs official finds a haul of drugs and teams up with a vicious gangster to become the most powerful crime partnership in Busan.

Our Daily Life (1969)

Our Daily Life • Deň náš každodenný (1969)

Genre: Documentary, Drama

Director: Otakar Krivánek

Language: Slovak

Duration: 88 min.

Rating: 7.1

Summary:

A documentary reconstruction of an average family's everyday life.

Motorway (2012)

Motorway • Che sau • 車手 (2012)

Genre: Action

Director: Cheang Pou-soi

Starring: Shawn Yue, Anthony Wong, Guo Xiaodong, Barbie Hsu, Josie Ho

Language: Cantonese, Mandarin

Duration: 90 min.

Rating: 6.0

Summary:

A rookie cop takes on a veteran escape driver in a death defying showdown on the motorway.

Rosetta (1999)

Rosetta (1999)

Genre: Drama

Director: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

Starring: Émilie Dequenne

Language: French

Duration: 95 min.

Rating: 9.1

Summary:

A poor young woman's struggle to hold on to a job in order to support herself and her alcoholic mother.

V/H/S (2012)

V/H/S (2012)

Genre: Horror Anthology

Director: David Bruckner, Glenn McQuaid, Radio Silence, Joe Swanberg, Ti West, Adam Wingard

Language: English

Duration: 115 min.

Rating: 6.5

Summary:

When a group of misfits is hired to burglarize a desolate house and acquire a rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they bargained for.

The Tall Man (2012)

The Tall Man (2012)

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Director: Pascal Laugier

Starring: Jessica Biel, Jodelle Ferland, Stephen McHattie

Language: English

Duration: 106 min.

Rating: 6.1

Summary:

In an isolated, slowly dying mining town, children are vanishing without a trace - abducted, the townsfolk whisper, by a mysterious entity known locally as "The Tall Man."

322 (1969)

322 (1969)

Genre: Drama

Director: Dušan Hanák

Starring: Václav Lohniský , Lucyna Winnicka , Josef Abrhám , Ferdinand Mazal , Zdenek Blažek , Miroslav Machácek

Language: Slovak

Duration: 95 min.

Rating: 7.9

Summary:

A psychological drama contrasting the illness of an individual with the illness of the society.

69th Venice Film Festival: Award Winners

The 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival has now come to an end, with the closing awards ceremony held Saturday (September 8) evening in the famed Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema.

The winner of this year's Golden Lion for Best Feature Film was Pieta from South Korean director Kim Ki-duk, a story about a ruthless debt collector and the woman who claims to be his mother, starring Cho Min-soo and Lee Jung-jin. This is the first Korean film to win the Grand Prize at a major international film festival.

The Best Director trophy went to American director Paul Thomas Anderson, for his film The Master, which also saw stars Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman sharing the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.

The Volpi Cup for Best Actress went to Israeli actress Hadas Yaron, for her role in the film Fill the Void, directed by Rama Burshtein.

Read on for the full list of award winners from Venezia 69:

Christmas with Elizabeth (1968)

Christmas with Elizabeth • Vánoce s Alžbětou (1968)

Genre: Drama

Director: Karel Kachyňa

Starring: Vlado Müller, Pavla Kárníková, Zdena Hadrbolcová, Mnislav Hofmann, Svatopluk Skládal

Language: Czech

Duration: 91 min.

Rating: 6.9

Summary:

A middle aged delivery truck driver is reluctantly partnered with a twenty year old girl recently released from prison.

The Mill and the Cross (2011)

The Mill and the Cross (2011)

Genre: Drama

Director: Lech Majewski

Starring: Rutger Hauer, Michael York, Charlotte Rampling

Language: English, Spanish

Duration: 96 min.

Rating: 6.6

Summary:

The imagined story of the figures in Pieter Bruegel the Elder's 16th century masterpiece The Procession to Calvary.

A Pact With The Devil (1967)

A Pact With The Devil • Zmluva s diablom (1967)

Genre: Comedy

Director: Jozef Zachar

Starring: Sylvia Turbová, Ivana Karbanová , Marta Rašlová, Viera Šimeková , Zuzana Kocúriková

Language: Czech, Slovak

Duration: 89 min.

Rating: 7.6

Summary:

Five students are unjustly suspected of trying to lose their virginity before their graduation. But when the five girls try to defend themselves, they find out that nobody believes them, so they decide to accomplish what they have been falsely accused of...

69th Venice Film Festival: Report

The 69th Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia better known as the Venice International Film Festival opened this past Wednesday so it's time to catch up with the strong line-up of some of the year's most anticipated titles.

The festival runs until September 9, and as always, you can find the latest info and developments right here.

85th Academy Awards (2013) Foreign Film Submissions

The official Best Foreign Language Film submissions to the 2013 Oscars have been announced by their respective countries.

The final official list, revealed on October 8 2012, consists of a record number of 71 films.

This is the first time Kenya has taken part, and the second time for Cambodia with its first submission since 1994.

Iran, who won last year for A Separation, originally selected Reza Mirkarimi's A Cube of Sugar, but later announced that they would boycott this year's awards.

No other films were withdrawn or disqualified.

Read on for the list of films in competition for the 85th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film: