California Dreamin' is a story of a culture clash, a colonial vs. native conflict that evokes humor among the bitter pain of the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia.
The story begins when a train full of American NATO soldiers carrying weapons gets stopped by a station agent in a small Romanian town. The agent claims he needs to see the appropriate customs papers to let the train pass. Neither the American Captain Jones on the train, nor his Romanian soldier counterparts, have such papers. The agent smugly shrugs his shoulders and offers an ultimatum: either they produce papers, or they don't pass.
So begins the slow acclimation of the NATO soldiers into Romanian village life, politics and all. At first, the NATO soldiers and Captain try to push back against what they see as podunk hillbillies. But soon, they realize that because of its remoteness, the village politics seem to win out over any will of theirs or any external help they may be trying to wrangle.
Soon, the NATO soldiers start intermingling with the locals, flirting with the women, drinking with the men, and partying thanks to the mayor's re-introduction of the village's anniversary celebration (despite the fact they had one just last month). And, as you watch the soldiers start to relate and empathize with the locals, you watch their will to leave trickle away.
One of the most delightful aspects of this movie is the candid way in which the actors and scenes are presented. All the major characters play their roles in an effortless, "I've lived this life for 10 years" sort of way. And the humor is mixed in at measured doses, never delving into camp or melodrama, and always keeping an eye at the painful backdrop of the historical setting of the movie.
Sadly, the director of the film, Cristian Nemescu, passed away before the completion of the movie. The only thing you really notice as a result of this is the film's length: at 2 hours and 30 minutes, it could have been edited down a bit more. But I respect the fact the producers left the film as is instead of wanting to finish editing it, and the film doesn't suffer at all because of this.
Overall rating: 8.5/10.0
Details:
Runtime: 155m
Country: Romania
Languages: Romanian, English, Spanish, Italian
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Review: Continental, A Film Without Guns (SIFF 2008)
It's night. An insurance salesman is riding the bus home. The bus arrives at a deserted stop, and he's the only one left on the bus. He gets out of the bus, stares out into the dark, and wanders off the road and into the forest.
So begins Continental, a film about death. But there's no funerals and caskets in this movie. Instead, the film portrays a set of characters, each experiencing their own version of death as part of changes happening in life, and shows how each character's story casually intertwines with others.
Take the wife of the aforementioned insurance salesman, dealing with the loss of her husband and an apathetic police force who suspects he ran off with a mistress. Or, take the guy who replaces the aforementioned salesman and is dealing with a shaky marriage while he lives out of a hotel room. Or, consider the shop owner with medical problems who's dealing with a gambling problem and trying to raise money for surgery. In each case, we have a death of some part of a character's life (husband, marriage, health) and we witness their struggle to deal with it.
But Continental isn't all doom and gloom. Surprisingly, it makes one laugh much more often than it makes one lament. There are several awkward situations that the characters are placed in that makes the audience first sigh, then snicker, and finally all-out laugh at the restrained reactions of the characters. This black-comedy approach balances the otherwise dark material that the film deals with, and thankfully so.
The acting of the film is spot-on. The pacing is a bit slow, but as long as you're in a casual, calm mood entering the film, the pacing combined with the musical overlays on some beautiful long landscape shots will leave you some breathing room and some time to ponder what's going on. Continental isn't a movie you'll talk about for years on end, but it does a decent job of making you care about the characters and their problems. And, the scenes of comic relief give you several chuckles to take home with you.
Overall rating: 6.5/10.0
Details:
Runtime: 103m
Countries: Canada
Languages: French / English
So begins Continental, a film about death. But there's no funerals and caskets in this movie. Instead, the film portrays a set of characters, each experiencing their own version of death as part of changes happening in life, and shows how each character's story casually intertwines with others.
Take the wife of the aforementioned insurance salesman, dealing with the loss of her husband and an apathetic police force who suspects he ran off with a mistress. Or, take the guy who replaces the aforementioned salesman and is dealing with a shaky marriage while he lives out of a hotel room. Or, consider the shop owner with medical problems who's dealing with a gambling problem and trying to raise money for surgery. In each case, we have a death of some part of a character's life (husband, marriage, health) and we witness their struggle to deal with it.
But Continental isn't all doom and gloom. Surprisingly, it makes one laugh much more often than it makes one lament. There are several awkward situations that the characters are placed in that makes the audience first sigh, then snicker, and finally all-out laugh at the restrained reactions of the characters. This black-comedy approach balances the otherwise dark material that the film deals with, and thankfully so.
The acting of the film is spot-on. The pacing is a bit slow, but as long as you're in a casual, calm mood entering the film, the pacing combined with the musical overlays on some beautiful long landscape shots will leave you some breathing room and some time to ponder what's going on. Continental isn't a movie you'll talk about for years on end, but it does a decent job of making you care about the characters and their problems. And, the scenes of comic relief give you several chuckles to take home with you.
Overall rating: 6.5/10.0
Details:
Runtime: 103m
Countries: Canada
Languages: French / English
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Review: Signal (SIFF 2007)
Some horror and thriller movies like to give you a back story before the real story begins. You know, the story line before the plot really gets going, that somehow is supposed to give you insight into the characters' psyches, before things start going bump in the night? I have to say I'm not a big fan of them. It's not because I don't like back stories. It's just that most of these movies don't do a very good job with this prelim stuff. The Signal doesn't go down this route. The story is told from three characters' perspective, but the timeline is continuous, and the weirdness starts right from the beginning.
The plot revolves around a mysterious transmission which pervades cell phones, radios, and televisions. It causes people to turn psychotic; they start seeing things and acting upon urges that the signal is seemingly telling them to do. Chaos soon reigns, and we witness some key characters trying to make sense of things as they try to escape people who are bent on doing very bad things to them. And, the thing that keeps one of the key characters going through it all is love.
Too touchy-feely? Nah, don't worry, there's plenty of gore, cat-and-mouse, and dark corners to keep you interested.
The movie does have a few touches of dark humor, with some scenes expertly juxtaposing quaint, normal city life with the weird, chaotic things that are going horribly wrong. These are mere dabs of color, though, as in the end The Signal is a true horror movie.
Throughout the movie, I kept noticing things that looked somewhat familiar. Near the end, it was confirmed: a good portion (if not all) of the movie was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia! That gives The Signal an extra point (I'm a sucker for familiarity).
Overall rating: 8.0/10.0
Details:
Runtime: 99m
Countries: USA
Languages: English
The plot revolves around a mysterious transmission which pervades cell phones, radios, and televisions. It causes people to turn psychotic; they start seeing things and acting upon urges that the signal is seemingly telling them to do. Chaos soon reigns, and we witness some key characters trying to make sense of things as they try to escape people who are bent on doing very bad things to them. And, the thing that keeps one of the key characters going through it all is love.
Too touchy-feely? Nah, don't worry, there's plenty of gore, cat-and-mouse, and dark corners to keep you interested.
The movie does have a few touches of dark humor, with some scenes expertly juxtaposing quaint, normal city life with the weird, chaotic things that are going horribly wrong. These are mere dabs of color, though, as in the end The Signal is a true horror movie.
Throughout the movie, I kept noticing things that looked somewhat familiar. Near the end, it was confirmed: a good portion (if not all) of the movie was filmed in Atlanta, Georgia! That gives The Signal an extra point (I'm a sucker for familiarity).
Overall rating: 8.0/10.0
Details:
Runtime: 99m
Countries: USA
Languages: English
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Review: One Day Like Rain (SIFF 2007)
One Day Like Rain has a lot of great shots. Shots that contrast something strange with some common activity of daily life. Grainy, washed out images. Impressions of animals and plans in their natural environment. Time-lapse scenes of sunlight filtering through leaves on trees. Indeed, this movie is chock full of great shots.
Unfortunately, that's about the only good thing I can say about this film, which for me alternated between periods of vacuousness, pretention, boredom, and fogginess.
The film presents a very loose thread of a plot: Gina, a quirky teenage girl living in California, has somehow gotten wind of an impending doom facing the world, and she is working out how to save the world as a result. She invests time, effort, chemistry sets, crystals, and her friends in an effort to do this. She makes some sort of chemical concoction that she gives to her friend, Jennifer, who drinks it and later dies. She then goes off with her boyfriend and has a romantic night out in the woods before the world apparently ends.
You may think I'm overly summarizing a lot of plot details that go along to flesh out the above, but I'm not. This is more or less all the scaffolding you get for the overarching story. The rest is a series of ambiguous scenes and empty, needlessly opaque conversations that make up the whole of the movie.
The dialog revolves around fuzzy statements and endless repetition of lines that don't advance the story one bit. "She's got it", you hear over and over. "She's trying to save the world." But you're not really shown how, or why, or when, or what she's really doing. I suppose you're intended to guess. But after a while the guessing game gets really old.
OK, so if there's not much of a plot, there's at least characters and development, right? Wrong. With the exception of Jennifer, I found all the characters flat and uninteresting. They spring out of nowhere, say a few tired lines, sit and stare out into space, and then bam! you're onto the next scene. The movie fails to make me care about any of the characters, which leaves them to be just mindless agents trying to convey something falsely deep and meaningful to the audience.
What the movie lacks in plot, dialog, and character development, it tries to make up in symbolism. Unfortunately, the other extreme takes hold here: the symbols are in your face and practically crammed down your throat. During several scenes, I was almost expecting some subtitling to show up, pointing out, "Hey, look! Two clocks on the wall ticking away...time is running out! Oh wait, check it out, one of them stopped!".
I'm all about films that offer an "experience" of sorts, or have symbolism, or can be studied from many angles. Kubrick is a great example of this: you can watch The Shining as a horror flick, or you can break it down and study its use of symbols, or how the scenes are shot, or what the characters are saying. But it's still a feature, and it's still something you can sit down and watch and enjoy and not have to study. Not so with One Day Like Rain. Director Paul Todisco has made what is potentially a film to study in film school, but what he didn't make is something that a general audience can enjoy without deconstructing it on a white board in a lecture hall.
In the Q&A after the movie, Todisco mentioned that the film came to him in about a week or two. I have to say that it certainly shows. Todisco took his time with how the film was shot. Too bad that his efforts in the other aspects of the movie didn't pan out.
I'm disappointed in SIFF selecting this film for a premiere. I was seriously considering becoming a member this year. But if this is the sort of stuff SIFF will program throughout the year, then count me out.
Overall rating: 1.0/10.0
Details:
Runtime: 90m
Countries: USA
Languages: English
Unfortunately, that's about the only good thing I can say about this film, which for me alternated between periods of vacuousness, pretention, boredom, and fogginess.
The film presents a very loose thread of a plot: Gina, a quirky teenage girl living in California, has somehow gotten wind of an impending doom facing the world, and she is working out how to save the world as a result. She invests time, effort, chemistry sets, crystals, and her friends in an effort to do this. She makes some sort of chemical concoction that she gives to her friend, Jennifer, who drinks it and later dies. She then goes off with her boyfriend and has a romantic night out in the woods before the world apparently ends.
You may think I'm overly summarizing a lot of plot details that go along to flesh out the above, but I'm not. This is more or less all the scaffolding you get for the overarching story. The rest is a series of ambiguous scenes and empty, needlessly opaque conversations that make up the whole of the movie.
The dialog revolves around fuzzy statements and endless repetition of lines that don't advance the story one bit. "She's got it", you hear over and over. "She's trying to save the world." But you're not really shown how, or why, or when, or what she's really doing. I suppose you're intended to guess. But after a while the guessing game gets really old.
OK, so if there's not much of a plot, there's at least characters and development, right? Wrong. With the exception of Jennifer, I found all the characters flat and uninteresting. They spring out of nowhere, say a few tired lines, sit and stare out into space, and then bam! you're onto the next scene. The movie fails to make me care about any of the characters, which leaves them to be just mindless agents trying to convey something falsely deep and meaningful to the audience.
What the movie lacks in plot, dialog, and character development, it tries to make up in symbolism. Unfortunately, the other extreme takes hold here: the symbols are in your face and practically crammed down your throat. During several scenes, I was almost expecting some subtitling to show up, pointing out, "Hey, look! Two clocks on the wall ticking away...time is running out! Oh wait, check it out, one of them stopped!".
I'm all about films that offer an "experience" of sorts, or have symbolism, or can be studied from many angles. Kubrick is a great example of this: you can watch The Shining as a horror flick, or you can break it down and study its use of symbols, or how the scenes are shot, or what the characters are saying. But it's still a feature, and it's still something you can sit down and watch and enjoy and not have to study. Not so with One Day Like Rain. Director Paul Todisco has made what is potentially a film to study in film school, but what he didn't make is something that a general audience can enjoy without deconstructing it on a white board in a lecture hall.
In the Q&A after the movie, Todisco mentioned that the film came to him in about a week or two. I have to say that it certainly shows. Todisco took his time with how the film was shot. Too bad that his efforts in the other aspects of the movie didn't pan out.
I'm disappointed in SIFF selecting this film for a premiere. I was seriously considering becoming a member this year. But if this is the sort of stuff SIFF will program throughout the year, then count me out.
Overall rating: 1.0/10.0
Details:
Runtime: 90m
Countries: USA
Languages: English
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Review: Paris, Je T'aime (SIFF 2007)
I'm a big fan of potluck dinners. Everyone goes off and makes something unique and different, and then everyone gets together and samples a bunch of dishes. Some are good, some are new, occasionally one isn't that great, but in the end you've tried a variety of dishes and you've filled your stomach in the process.
So it was with Paris, Je T'aime. 18 mini-movies, each no longer than five minutes, tied loosely together by the theme of love, and by characters who are only casually intertwined (in ways we don't learn until the end of the film). It's a movie-goer's potluck of sorts: you get a wide variety of small bites, and in the end you feel satisfied that you've seen a great overall movie that explores a topic through many dimensions.
The nice thing about the overall film is that the theme wasn't expressed in a singular way. Like the chefs and their secret ingredient in Iron Chef, every director has a unique style and approach to their mini-movie. Some were humorous, while others were more dramatic. Some were fast-paced, and others were more lingering. I believe there had to be an editor of sorts overseeing the project, as the spectrum of movies were carefully balanced in the entire work, as was the overall tone (it went from light, to dark, to light again).
Not every mini-movie received high marks from me (there was one quite surreal one with a salesman and an aggressive salon worker that caught me off guard and left me wondering whether someone had edited an incorrect portion of another film into the movie), but they were almost all interesting enough to deserve a viewing.
And, the best part about this project is that if you absolutely hate one of the mini-movies then, just like the weather in some parts, all you have to do is wait and something new will come along.
Overall rating: 9.0/10.0
Details:
Runtime: 120m
Countries: Lichtenstein / Switzerland / Germany / France
Languages: English / French
So it was with Paris, Je T'aime. 18 mini-movies, each no longer than five minutes, tied loosely together by the theme of love, and by characters who are only casually intertwined (in ways we don't learn until the end of the film). It's a movie-goer's potluck of sorts: you get a wide variety of small bites, and in the end you feel satisfied that you've seen a great overall movie that explores a topic through many dimensions.
The nice thing about the overall film is that the theme wasn't expressed in a singular way. Like the chefs and their secret ingredient in Iron Chef, every director has a unique style and approach to their mini-movie. Some were humorous, while others were more dramatic. Some were fast-paced, and others were more lingering. I believe there had to be an editor of sorts overseeing the project, as the spectrum of movies were carefully balanced in the entire work, as was the overall tone (it went from light, to dark, to light again).
Not every mini-movie received high marks from me (there was one quite surreal one with a salesman and an aggressive salon worker that caught me off guard and left me wondering whether someone had edited an incorrect portion of another film into the movie), but they were almost all interesting enough to deserve a viewing.
And, the best part about this project is that if you absolutely hate one of the mini-movies then, just like the weather in some parts, all you have to do is wait and something new will come along.
Overall rating: 9.0/10.0
Details:
Runtime: 120m
Countries: Lichtenstein / Switzerland / Germany / France
Languages: English / French
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Review: Severance (SIFF 2007)
We've all seen at least one instance of the horror predator-stalks-prey movie genre, right? Movies like Saw or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or The Hills Have Eyes? Well, what would you get if you mixed that type of movie with a whole bunch of dry British humor and wit, and stirred it all around? Severance, that's what!
The gist of this dark-humored gorefest is that employees of Palisade, a less-than-ethical weapons manufacturer, decide to take a team-building retreat at some luxury lodge up in the woods. You've got the typical cast of characters: the optimistic boss, the undying loyalist, the slacker druggy, and a few other stereotypes to boot. As the crew makes their way up to the lodge, they come upon a fallen tree on the roadway. Because their stubborn Hungarian bus driver refuses to go on (and summarily abandons them), they decide to hike it to the lodge. Eventually, they find shelter, but it's not the lodge they were anticipating. Little things seem off (like, you know, the place is kind of a dump, and looks like an abandoned house, and it gives people bad dreams), but the optimistic manager convinces everyone to make the best of the situation and to stick with it.
Soon, things get weird. One of the employees finds files of Palisade staffers in the "lodge". A cover up of sorts tied to the weapons biz, perhaps? The employees also suspect the place used to be an asylum. And, one of the employees finds a meat pie, bakes it, and someone promptly finds a human tooth in it. Not weird enough for you? Well, soon after the employees catch wind that something is seriously wrong with the place, the cat-and-mouse game begins: some well-shadowed forces stalk, hunt, capture, and kill the employees one by one, hell-bent on not letting them escape.
I liked that this movie kept presenting scenes of horror and drama, with music blaring and tenses running high, before switching to a bit of comedy to lighten the mood and remind people that this is a horror flick with a funny bone that's not to be taken seriously. And when the funny bone has a British sense of with to it, that makes it all the more hilarious.
Overall rating: 7.0/10.0
Details:
Runtime: 90m
Countries: Germany / United Kingdom
Languages: English / Hungarian / Russian
The gist of this dark-humored gorefest is that employees of Palisade, a less-than-ethical weapons manufacturer, decide to take a team-building retreat at some luxury lodge up in the woods. You've got the typical cast of characters: the optimistic boss, the undying loyalist, the slacker druggy, and a few other stereotypes to boot. As the crew makes their way up to the lodge, they come upon a fallen tree on the roadway. Because their stubborn Hungarian bus driver refuses to go on (and summarily abandons them), they decide to hike it to the lodge. Eventually, they find shelter, but it's not the lodge they were anticipating. Little things seem off (like, you know, the place is kind of a dump, and looks like an abandoned house, and it gives people bad dreams), but the optimistic manager convinces everyone to make the best of the situation and to stick with it.
Soon, things get weird. One of the employees finds files of Palisade staffers in the "lodge". A cover up of sorts tied to the weapons biz, perhaps? The employees also suspect the place used to be an asylum. And, one of the employees finds a meat pie, bakes it, and someone promptly finds a human tooth in it. Not weird enough for you? Well, soon after the employees catch wind that something is seriously wrong with the place, the cat-and-mouse game begins: some well-shadowed forces stalk, hunt, capture, and kill the employees one by one, hell-bent on not letting them escape.
I liked that this movie kept presenting scenes of horror and drama, with music blaring and tenses running high, before switching to a bit of comedy to lighten the mood and remind people that this is a horror flick with a funny bone that's not to be taken seriously. And when the funny bone has a British sense of with to it, that makes it all the more hilarious.
Overall rating: 7.0/10.0
Details:
Runtime: 90m
Countries: Germany / United Kingdom
Languages: English / Hungarian / Russian
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Review: Them (SIFF 2007)
Them (Ils in French) is one of a new crop of horror and thriller movies coming out of France. And, like many of its predecessors, it doesn't fail to please those looking to get a rise in their blood pressure and finger marks on their neighbor's arm.
Them is light on character development, offering just enough to structure a premise for the plot. We encounter a young woman who's a French teacher in a school in Romania. We see her partner is a writer. They live in a big, old house in the middle of nowhere. She comes home, they have dinner, and they turn in for the night. Darkness descends over the forest surrounding their home. A perfect setup to a horror flick, right?
Soon, strange things begin to occur. A prank phone call gets them out of bed. Strange sounds raise their concerns. And, pretty soon, they fear that something is inside their house. They soon find out that they are right.
The real success of Them is that it doesn't try to shock you by portraying a lot of blood and gore. Instead, it puts you in the scene, right next to the main characters who are part of this cat-and-mouse affair, with very little knowledge of who "they" are and what "they" want. Are they people? Is it a paranormal force? Aliens? At the onset, you're not quite sure.
As the movie progresses, the true nature of the predator becomes known. But by then, a different fear takes hold, and the movie leaves you with a lasting suspense: you see that what the characters just went through is not out of this world, and is something that could indeed happen in real life.
Overall rating: 8.5 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 77m
Country: French
Language: French, Romanian
Them is light on character development, offering just enough to structure a premise for the plot. We encounter a young woman who's a French teacher in a school in Romania. We see her partner is a writer. They live in a big, old house in the middle of nowhere. She comes home, they have dinner, and they turn in for the night. Darkness descends over the forest surrounding their home. A perfect setup to a horror flick, right?
Soon, strange things begin to occur. A prank phone call gets them out of bed. Strange sounds raise their concerns. And, pretty soon, they fear that something is inside their house. They soon find out that they are right.
The real success of Them is that it doesn't try to shock you by portraying a lot of blood and gore. Instead, it puts you in the scene, right next to the main characters who are part of this cat-and-mouse affair, with very little knowledge of who "they" are and what "they" want. Are they people? Is it a paranormal force? Aliens? At the onset, you're not quite sure.
As the movie progresses, the true nature of the predator becomes known. But by then, a different fear takes hold, and the movie leaves you with a lasting suspense: you see that what the characters just went through is not out of this world, and is something that could indeed happen in real life.
Overall rating: 8.5 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 77m
Country: French
Language: French, Romanian
Friday, May 25, 2007
SIFF 2007
Ah yes, the first holiday weekend of the warm weather months is here: Memorial Day. And what do Seattleites do? Do they barbeque? Do they spend time in the park? How about a nice walk on the beach? No! They rush inside and watch movies, away from the scary rays of the sun!
That's right, it's time again for the Seattle International Film Festival. This year we're watching about 9 movies (I know, a bit more conservative than years past). And, as usual, I'll post my reviews. The fun begins tomorrow night!
That's right, it's time again for the Seattle International Film Festival. This year we're watching about 9 movies (I know, a bit more conservative than years past). And, as usual, I'll post my reviews. The fun begins tomorrow night!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
The Most Rotten Movies Of This Decade
I like the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes. It aggregates reviews from lots of sources and gives you a sense of whether most reviewers did, or didn't, like a movie. Anything above 60% positive is considered "fresh", and anything below is considered "rotten".
Today, I became curious: what are some recent movies (say, since 2000) that rendered no positive reviews? Zero. Zilch. In other words, a 0 % rating on Rotten Tomatoes, or the most rotten rating a movie could earn.
Thanks to the advanced search features on the site, it appears there are seven movies that fit this dubious distinction.
Apart from the National Lampoon's movie, I haven't heard of any of these. Has anyone had the unfortunate experience of seeing one of these?
Today, I became curious: what are some recent movies (say, since 2000) that rendered no positive reviews? Zero. Zilch. In other words, a 0 % rating on Rotten Tomatoes, or the most rotten rating a movie could earn.
Thanks to the advanced search features on the site, it appears there are seven movies that fit this dubious distinction.
Apart from the National Lampoon's movie, I haven't heard of any of these. Has anyone had the unfortunate experience of seeing one of these?
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Review: Evil Aliens (SIFF 2006)
Evil Aliens is gross. Not in a vomity sort of way. Rather, lots of fake-ish splattery gore that many "bad" horror movies include in their offering. If you're into the genre, though, the film won't disappoint.
Evil Aliens is a camp-horror-comedy where some Welsh farmers, a UFO geek, and a camera crew face of with a bunch of scary-looking and aggressive aliens. The aliens are set out to conquer and abuse, and the humans are out to defend themselves (sometimes with bats, sometimes with tractors). Honestly, that's really all you need to know to decide whether you want to see this movie or not. Like a Junior High dance, I think you've now divided yourselves against two sides of the room: either hell-bent to see it, or very sure to avoid it.
The best part of Evil Aliens is its references to other horror/thriller and action movies, such as Aliens, Predator, and Evil Dead. Movie junkies will probably get the most fun out of trying to catch all of these reference while watching the gore fly.
Overall rating: 7.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 93m
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
Evil Aliens is a camp-horror-comedy where some Welsh farmers, a UFO geek, and a camera crew face of with a bunch of scary-looking and aggressive aliens. The aliens are set out to conquer and abuse, and the humans are out to defend themselves (sometimes with bats, sometimes with tractors). Honestly, that's really all you need to know to decide whether you want to see this movie or not. Like a Junior High dance, I think you've now divided yourselves against two sides of the room: either hell-bent to see it, or very sure to avoid it.
The best part of Evil Aliens is its references to other horror/thriller and action movies, such as Aliens, Predator, and Evil Dead. Movie junkies will probably get the most fun out of trying to catch all of these reference while watching the gore fly.
Overall rating: 7.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 93m
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Review: Blood Rain (SIFF 2006)
Blood Rain is a period detective/crime/mystery movie set on a remote island in early 19th-century Korea. The film begins by showing a fire on one of the ships at the island destined to carry a paper tithe to the King. An investigator is sent to the island to figure out the cause of this fire. While there, the investigator is asked to help solve a series of mysterious deaths.
We quickly learn of a dark past on the island: a man was wrongly executed a long time ago, and now, the locals believe the spirit of this man is killing the informants who wrongly accused him. The investigator witnesses informant after informant dying a gruesome and unexplainable death, and is ever-pressed to figure out who or what is murdering these people.
Blood Rain takes a little while to start up, as you adjust to the period of the film and learn about the setting and the main characters (there are several, with similar-sounding Korean names to my Western ears). But once it does, it keeps your interest like any good murder-mystery does.
Along with the puzzle element of the movie, I enjoyed a glimpse into the societal pressures alternately guiding and forcing the investigator in his quest to solve the mystery, such as one's honor and "place" in society. I can't vouch for how accurate a depiction of 19th-century Korea Blood Rain really is, but the depiction of the characters and their role on this island was nevertheless a nice addition to the mystery element.
Overall rating: 7.5 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 119m
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
We quickly learn of a dark past on the island: a man was wrongly executed a long time ago, and now, the locals believe the spirit of this man is killing the informants who wrongly accused him. The investigator witnesses informant after informant dying a gruesome and unexplainable death, and is ever-pressed to figure out who or what is murdering these people.
Blood Rain takes a little while to start up, as you adjust to the period of the film and learn about the setting and the main characters (there are several, with similar-sounding Korean names to my Western ears). But once it does, it keeps your interest like any good murder-mystery does.
Along with the puzzle element of the movie, I enjoyed a glimpse into the societal pressures alternately guiding and forcing the investigator in his quest to solve the mystery, such as one's honor and "place" in society. I can't vouch for how accurate a depiction of 19th-century Korea Blood Rain really is, but the depiction of the characters and their role on this island was nevertheless a nice addition to the mystery element.
Overall rating: 7.5 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 119m
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Review: Black Gold (SIFF 2006)
Look down at your cup of coffee. Where was the coffee grown? How many hands touched the beans between field and barista? How much did the farmer get for those beans? What about the other food you eat; how does it measure up?
These are the questions Black Gold posits. While focused on the fair trade movement and its effects in a burgeoning Ethiopean coffee growers co-op, the theme resonates beyond coffee and forces you to question how and where the products we eat and buy come from, and how much the growers versus the middle men are earning for these products.
Black Gold reviews the efforts of Tadesse Meskela, the General Manager of the Oromo Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union. Tadesse's main focus is to remove the middle men between the coffee farmer and coffee roaster, and return more money to the farmer's pocket.
So, what's the problem with conventional coffee? In a sentence, the global price is set in commodities markets in New York and London, and no consideration is given to the local cost of living for a given farmer and his family. Currently, Ethiopian farmers get about $0.24 a kilo. A living wage for them would be about $2.00. That's still a very small price to pay to the grower given the cost of a pound of beans or an espresso drink here in the States, yet prices are kept low and farmers have to make do with a tenth of what they need. Furthermore, World Trade Organization talks in the past few years have failed to negotiate a fair price for coffee and other commodities for the Third World.
The result is that coffee, one of Ethiopia's most abundant natural resources, is sold for very little money. Farmers as a result don't have clean water, enough food, or good schools to send their children. Ironically, the film shows the amount of aid we give to countries like Ethiopia, and contrasts it with the little money we purchase their resources with. It also shows how a very small boost in the GDP of these countries would overshadow the amount of aid that we currently give them.
As a film, Black Gold is very well made. Excellent camerawork, editing, and a comfortable pace, combined with moving images of farmers and their families struggling to survive, make for a great documentary. Add to that the overall message and the information the documentary provides, and Black Gold becomes a movie most any Western consumer should watch.
Overall rating: 9.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 82m
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English, Ethiopian, Italian
These are the questions Black Gold posits. While focused on the fair trade movement and its effects in a burgeoning Ethiopean coffee growers co-op, the theme resonates beyond coffee and forces you to question how and where the products we eat and buy come from, and how much the growers versus the middle men are earning for these products.
Black Gold reviews the efforts of Tadesse Meskela, the General Manager of the Oromo Coffee Farmers Co-operative Union. Tadesse's main focus is to remove the middle men between the coffee farmer and coffee roaster, and return more money to the farmer's pocket.
So, what's the problem with conventional coffee? In a sentence, the global price is set in commodities markets in New York and London, and no consideration is given to the local cost of living for a given farmer and his family. Currently, Ethiopian farmers get about $0.24 a kilo. A living wage for them would be about $2.00. That's still a very small price to pay to the grower given the cost of a pound of beans or an espresso drink here in the States, yet prices are kept low and farmers have to make do with a tenth of what they need. Furthermore, World Trade Organization talks in the past few years have failed to negotiate a fair price for coffee and other commodities for the Third World.
The result is that coffee, one of Ethiopia's most abundant natural resources, is sold for very little money. Farmers as a result don't have clean water, enough food, or good schools to send their children. Ironically, the film shows the amount of aid we give to countries like Ethiopia, and contrasts it with the little money we purchase their resources with. It also shows how a very small boost in the GDP of these countries would overshadow the amount of aid that we currently give them.
As a film, Black Gold is very well made. Excellent camerawork, editing, and a comfortable pace, combined with moving images of farmers and their families struggling to survive, make for a great documentary. Add to that the overall message and the information the documentary provides, and Black Gold becomes a movie most any Western consumer should watch.
Overall rating: 9.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 82m
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English, Ethiopian, Italian
Monday, June 05, 2006
Review: Huldufolk 102 (SIFF 2006)
Huldufolk 102 is a captivating documentary about the superstitions that permeate Icelandic culture. The movie involves interviews with several people from various ages and walks of life, and offers slices of opinions, personal histories, and stories of the "hidden people" that abound in Iceland.
Who are the hidden people? Think fairies, elves, trolls, leprechauns, and other little people who are typically unseen but often talked about. They can be good and they can be mischievous. They live in rocks, but you can't see their homes in the rocks unless you're young or you have a gift of "seeing".
Seemingly everyone has an opinion about hidden people. The documentary does a good job drawing from various walks of life in interviewing locals about the Huldufolk. Both Christian and Pagan religious leaders are represented, as are farmers, teachers, scientists, political representatives, and villagers. They each have their own stories to tell and opinions to share.
Do people in modern Iceland believe in these people? Here's the interesting bit: while most people don't say they believe in them outright, at the same time they don't deny their existence. The reason? Many people have stories of unexplained phenomena, which drives the belief forward. For example, there are stories of people being cured of illness after asking for help, road equipment breaking down while trying to move large rocks to make way for asphalt, things disappearing only to reappear days later, and people seen running across a road only later to be seen in dreams.
One of the most gripping facets of the documentary is its depiction of the natural environment of rural Iceland. Rocks abound in valleys, jutting out here and there like miniature mountains. Mist is common in the mornings, adding a translucent light to the air. In one scene, an apparently real-time rolling of fog over a meadow is captured (which was shot in the glow of a midnight sun, we later found out from the directory).
The documentary doesn't set out to answer any of the questions posited regarding the existence of these little people, but does an excellent job immersing the viewer in the folklore and natural beauty of Iceland.
Overall rating: 8.5 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 80m
Country: Iceland, USA
Language: English, Icelandic
Who are the hidden people? Think fairies, elves, trolls, leprechauns, and other little people who are typically unseen but often talked about. They can be good and they can be mischievous. They live in rocks, but you can't see their homes in the rocks unless you're young or you have a gift of "seeing".
Seemingly everyone has an opinion about hidden people. The documentary does a good job drawing from various walks of life in interviewing locals about the Huldufolk. Both Christian and Pagan religious leaders are represented, as are farmers, teachers, scientists, political representatives, and villagers. They each have their own stories to tell and opinions to share.
Do people in modern Iceland believe in these people? Here's the interesting bit: while most people don't say they believe in them outright, at the same time they don't deny their existence. The reason? Many people have stories of unexplained phenomena, which drives the belief forward. For example, there are stories of people being cured of illness after asking for help, road equipment breaking down while trying to move large rocks to make way for asphalt, things disappearing only to reappear days later, and people seen running across a road only later to be seen in dreams.
One of the most gripping facets of the documentary is its depiction of the natural environment of rural Iceland. Rocks abound in valleys, jutting out here and there like miniature mountains. Mist is common in the mornings, adding a translucent light to the air. In one scene, an apparently real-time rolling of fog over a meadow is captured (which was shot in the glow of a midnight sun, we later found out from the directory).
The documentary doesn't set out to answer any of the questions posited regarding the existence of these little people, but does an excellent job immersing the viewer in the folklore and natural beauty of Iceland.
Overall rating: 8.5 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 80m
Country: Iceland, USA
Language: English, Icelandic
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Review: The District! (SIFF 2006)
The District (Nyócker in Hungarian) takes a classic Shakespearean love story, adds some interesting animation, and covers it with a load of obscenities and vulgarity. The result is a visually appealing, if somewhat silly, animated feature that includes lots of tongue-in-cheek commentary on modern politics.
We begin with an overview of life in a district of Budapest, complete with corrupt policemen, rivals between whites and gypsies, and kids who emulate their elders and want to be gangsters. Music ensues, and the kids begin some rapid-fire rapping and describe their situation in musical form.
Soon, a plot emerges: one of the kids wants to get money to win his true love, so he and his science friend build a time machine, and a bunch of the kids go back in time. There, they put a bunch of dead mammoths in a crater, and (flash-forward) you now have oil! Now, you can sell the oil in the world market and make money. Right?
If you have oil under you, people take notice. Enter folks like George W. Bush, Tony Blair, and Vladimir Putin and you have a political smorgasbord in animated form all wheeling and dealing to get a handle on that precious natural resource. If my review sounds scattershot, that's because the movie is as well.
Frankly, I think the most interesting part of this movie was the animation. The bodies of the characters were 3-dimensional and moved in a smooth fashion, while the heads where rapidly-changing still images, which changed to represent the characters speaking, staring, or smirking. The effect was quite captivating, and it waffled between the construction-paper effect of animation like South Park versus the fluid movements of 3D rendered animation.
The movie's fairly explicit, and definitely not designed for children. That said, if you're into animation, this one's unique (and funny) enough to warrant a viewing.
Overall rating: 6.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 87m
Country: Hungary
Language: Hungarian
We begin with an overview of life in a district of Budapest, complete with corrupt policemen, rivals between whites and gypsies, and kids who emulate their elders and want to be gangsters. Music ensues, and the kids begin some rapid-fire rapping and describe their situation in musical form.
Soon, a plot emerges: one of the kids wants to get money to win his true love, so he and his science friend build a time machine, and a bunch of the kids go back in time. There, they put a bunch of dead mammoths in a crater, and (flash-forward) you now have oil! Now, you can sell the oil in the world market and make money. Right?
If you have oil under you, people take notice. Enter folks like George W. Bush, Tony Blair, and Vladimir Putin and you have a political smorgasbord in animated form all wheeling and dealing to get a handle on that precious natural resource. If my review sounds scattershot, that's because the movie is as well.
Frankly, I think the most interesting part of this movie was the animation. The bodies of the characters were 3-dimensional and moved in a smooth fashion, while the heads where rapidly-changing still images, which changed to represent the characters speaking, staring, or smirking. The effect was quite captivating, and it waffled between the construction-paper effect of animation like South Park versus the fluid movements of 3D rendered animation.
The movie's fairly explicit, and definitely not designed for children. That said, if you're into animation, this one's unique (and funny) enough to warrant a viewing.
Overall rating: 6.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 87m
Country: Hungary
Language: Hungarian
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Review: The Death Of Mr. Lazarescu (SIFF 2006)
Lazarescu is a movie that begins and ends in the middle of things, and focuses on the last day of a man's life as both his health and his familiar surroundings slowly decline. We open to see an ill-feeling Dante Lazarescu who, after feeding his cats, decides to call an ambulance to aid with his headache and stomach pain. We learn from the phone conversation that Lazarescu has had an ulcer surgery 14 years ago, that he drinks copiously (much to the dismay of the people on the other end of the line), and that he clearly needs some form of help (judging by the etched lines of pain in Lazarescu's face, and his fits of vomiting).
With the help of his neighbors, a paramedic arrives. At first, she is fairly indifferent, and attributes Lazarescu's problems to his drinking. She starts suspecting a more serious issue is at hand with his health, however, after witnessing his condition, and decides to take him to the hospital.
Thus begins a night of medical red tape and doctor-patient conflicts for Lazarescu and the paramedic. They get shuttled from hospital to hospital, in part because of a serious bus accident eating away at all available hospital resources, and in part because no one wants to deal with an apparent drunkard who just needs to sleep things off. As Lazarescu moves from doctor to doctor, we slowly learn that his condition is quite serious, and we watch him deteriorate to the point of needing emergency surgery. At which, the movie, rather abruptly, ends.
Death is certainly a main theme of the movie. The entire movie takes place at night, with on-again off-again rain smattering the windshield of the ambulance that Lazarescu and the paramedic use to drive from hospital to hospital. We witness the horrible aftermath of the bus accident as patients are shuttled through the hospital hallways. We learn that Lazarescu's wife has died several years earlier of cancer. And, we witness Lazarescu's own decline into apparent death.
However, another theme is the sarcasm of the modern medical profession, and the attitudes and behaviors between doctor and patient, and doctor and non-MD medical staff. We witness the paramedic initially being indifferent to Lazarescu and assuming he's just a drunkard having a bad night. But as she suspects something more serious is at hand, she becomes the voice of Lazarescu to the various doctors she encounters. The doctors are constant skeptics, and they purvey a caste system of "doctor knows right", despite the fact that the paramedic has been with Lazarescu all night and has a history with him (and with prior doctors). The doctors are portrayed very negatively in this movie, with their attention spent mostly on moving people through the medical machinery, making personal phone calls, and fetching food. I could hear the audience utter frustrated sighs as we witnessed doctor after doctor trying to hand off Lazarescu to someone else rather than really focus on him, his condition, and his history like you would expect a doctor to do.
Visually, the style of this movie is similar to a documentary, with most of the camera work appearing to be hand-held. However, the lines are clearly scripted, with actors rarely interrupting each other or being at a loss for words as a "real" documentary would portray. Still, the movie does an effective job of capturing the moment without intruding into it, and without trying to be overly poetic or romantic about the situation (music is almost completely devoid from the movie, save for opening and closing credits and an ambient television here or there). Lazarescu isn't a feel-good movie and doesn't have a clear beginning-middle-end that a traditional story-arced film would, but it's nevertheless worth a viewing, if only to contrast those forms of filmmaking with an interesting alternative.
Overall rating: 6.5 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 153m
Country: Romania
Language: Romanian
With the help of his neighbors, a paramedic arrives. At first, she is fairly indifferent, and attributes Lazarescu's problems to his drinking. She starts suspecting a more serious issue is at hand with his health, however, after witnessing his condition, and decides to take him to the hospital.
Thus begins a night of medical red tape and doctor-patient conflicts for Lazarescu and the paramedic. They get shuttled from hospital to hospital, in part because of a serious bus accident eating away at all available hospital resources, and in part because no one wants to deal with an apparent drunkard who just needs to sleep things off. As Lazarescu moves from doctor to doctor, we slowly learn that his condition is quite serious, and we watch him deteriorate to the point of needing emergency surgery. At which, the movie, rather abruptly, ends.
Death is certainly a main theme of the movie. The entire movie takes place at night, with on-again off-again rain smattering the windshield of the ambulance that Lazarescu and the paramedic use to drive from hospital to hospital. We witness the horrible aftermath of the bus accident as patients are shuttled through the hospital hallways. We learn that Lazarescu's wife has died several years earlier of cancer. And, we witness Lazarescu's own decline into apparent death.
However, another theme is the sarcasm of the modern medical profession, and the attitudes and behaviors between doctor and patient, and doctor and non-MD medical staff. We witness the paramedic initially being indifferent to Lazarescu and assuming he's just a drunkard having a bad night. But as she suspects something more serious is at hand, she becomes the voice of Lazarescu to the various doctors she encounters. The doctors are constant skeptics, and they purvey a caste system of "doctor knows right", despite the fact that the paramedic has been with Lazarescu all night and has a history with him (and with prior doctors). The doctors are portrayed very negatively in this movie, with their attention spent mostly on moving people through the medical machinery, making personal phone calls, and fetching food. I could hear the audience utter frustrated sighs as we witnessed doctor after doctor trying to hand off Lazarescu to someone else rather than really focus on him, his condition, and his history like you would expect a doctor to do.
Visually, the style of this movie is similar to a documentary, with most of the camera work appearing to be hand-held. However, the lines are clearly scripted, with actors rarely interrupting each other or being at a loss for words as a "real" documentary would portray. Still, the movie does an effective job of capturing the moment without intruding into it, and without trying to be overly poetic or romantic about the situation (music is almost completely devoid from the movie, save for opening and closing credits and an ambient television here or there). Lazarescu isn't a feel-good movie and doesn't have a clear beginning-middle-end that a traditional story-arced film would, but it's nevertheless worth a viewing, if only to contrast those forms of filmmaking with an interesting alternative.
Overall rating: 6.5 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 153m
Country: Romania
Language: Romanian
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Start Your (SIFF) Engines
It's SIFF time! And, it's rainy, so I don't feel TOO bad spending some time seeing movies during Memorial Day weekend. Let's go!
This blog will take on a bit of a movie-review tone during the next few weeks, as we watch and then talk about some of the movies in the festival. Fear not, after the movie craze is over we'll return to regularly-scheduled programming.
This blog will take on a bit of a movie-review tone during the next few weeks, as we watch and then talk about some of the movies in the festival. Fear not, after the movie craze is over we'll return to regularly-scheduled programming.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
SIFF 2006
Yes, the Seattle International Film Festival is coming. Yes, just when the weather is warming up, Seattleites rush indoors to watch movies. Anyway, we're heading down today to purchase our tickets.
We're being a bit more reserved this year, scooping up on the order of 10 films (rather than our usual 16-18).
As with last year, I'll write up some reviews of the movies we watched, after the fact.
We're being a bit more reserved this year, scooping up on the order of 10 films (rather than our usual 16-18).
As with last year, I'll write up some reviews of the movies we watched, after the fact.
Friday, July 29, 2005
Review: Junebug (SIFF 2005)
Junebug is a film about opposites coming together. Urban and rural. Northern and southern. Cosmopolitan and folk. Uptight and relaxed. Happy and sad.
The story is straightforward; two newlyweds travel from Chicago to North Carolina in search of a folk artist and his work. The wife is the urban art gallerist in search of the next big thing, while the husband is returning to his hometown in rural NC. As part of this trip, the husband's family has a chance to meet his new wife. In short order, we see how both of the newlyweds are outsiders; the wife because of her education and upbringing, and the husband because of his departure from his hometown.
The real joy from this movie is not in the story or even in its message, but in its delivery. Hailing from the South, I could relate to most scenes in the movie. A question about local customs, an uncomfortable moment while sharing one's past, a potluck dinner that includes a gospel song, and sibling rivalry all come through with honesty and clarity. The acting is very casual, and the actors' candid work makes you feel like you're just another person in the room, watching the confused looks and the awkward moments pass by. I came away from the film feeling I had been reintroduced to several people I have known, in situations I have seen them be part of.
Overall rating: 9.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 107m
Country: USA
Language: English
The story is straightforward; two newlyweds travel from Chicago to North Carolina in search of a folk artist and his work. The wife is the urban art gallerist in search of the next big thing, while the husband is returning to his hometown in rural NC. As part of this trip, the husband's family has a chance to meet his new wife. In short order, we see how both of the newlyweds are outsiders; the wife because of her education and upbringing, and the husband because of his departure from his hometown.
The real joy from this movie is not in the story or even in its message, but in its delivery. Hailing from the South, I could relate to most scenes in the movie. A question about local customs, an uncomfortable moment while sharing one's past, a potluck dinner that includes a gospel song, and sibling rivalry all come through with honesty and clarity. The acting is very casual, and the actors' candid work makes you feel like you're just another person in the room, watching the confused looks and the awkward moments pass by. I came away from the film feeling I had been reintroduced to several people I have known, in situations I have seen them be part of.
Overall rating: 9.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 107m
Country: USA
Language: English
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Review: Vital (SIFF 2005)
I have to admit, when we bought tickets to see Vital, we were expecting a horror movie. We were wrong, but in a good way.
Director Shinya Tsukamoto weaves a fairly intricate, slow-to-reveal tale about a Japanese medical student and his attempt to uncover his past. Recently, this student was involved in a car accident that left him an amnesiac, and killed his girlfriend. The accident caused the student to become a recluse, until an anatomy textbook brings his fervor for his studies back to life. As he and his fellow students work on dissecting human bodies, the student discovers he is operating on his dead girlfriend. As he dissects more of the body, the lines blur between dreams and reality, as the student tries to reveal his opaque memories of himself and his girlfriend.
What's most interesting about Tsukamoto's treatment of the film is its almost casual pace in building the emotions in the main character. There's no direct impact, no horror shots, no ghosts around the corner to surprise you, and no gruesome scenes to drive the points home. Instead, this tale focuses on the student's evolving emotions to create the sense of loss and discovery that the film ultimately conveys.
Overall rating: 7.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 86m
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Director Shinya Tsukamoto weaves a fairly intricate, slow-to-reveal tale about a Japanese medical student and his attempt to uncover his past. Recently, this student was involved in a car accident that left him an amnesiac, and killed his girlfriend. The accident caused the student to become a recluse, until an anatomy textbook brings his fervor for his studies back to life. As he and his fellow students work on dissecting human bodies, the student discovers he is operating on his dead girlfriend. As he dissects more of the body, the lines blur between dreams and reality, as the student tries to reveal his opaque memories of himself and his girlfriend.
What's most interesting about Tsukamoto's treatment of the film is its almost casual pace in building the emotions in the main character. There's no direct impact, no horror shots, no ghosts around the corner to surprise you, and no gruesome scenes to drive the points home. Instead, this tale focuses on the student's evolving emotions to create the sense of loss and discovery that the film ultimately conveys.
Overall rating: 7.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 86m
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Review: Frozen (SIFF 2005)
Frozen focuses on the story of Kath, a woman living in Lancaster, and the mysterious disappearance of her older sister, Annie, two years ago. Kath lives a relatively normal working woman's life in a relatively small city, but seems to be haunted by Annie's disappearance, so much so that she's seeking help from a therapist.
Kath's last living memory of Annie is some Closed-Circuit Television footage of Annie walking down an alley, away from the camera. In reviewing the footage one day, Kath notices an odd image on the tapes. She travels to the alley, and there she begins to have visions of an alternate reality in which clues of Annie's existence appear.
The movie oscillates between Kath's daily life, her therapy sessions, and her increasing exploration of the alternate universe she's discovered. As is expected, not many people believe Kath's experiences to be true, including her therapist, but this doesn't stop her explorations. Eventually, we find the answers to Kath's visions as the movie builds to its climax, and we see Kath's alternate universe collide with her reality.
Shirley Henderson does an excellent job playing Kath in the film. Her passive, shy, yet obsessive characteristics come through exceedingly well, yet she doesn't overdramatize or overplay the character's emotional state. The result is a very honest, believable performance.
The camera work in the film is equally superb. Some excellent shots during the alternative reality sequences clearly indicate a "dream-like" world, but a sinister one at that with a very defined blue and white color palette and striking contrasts in the exposure.
Overall rating: 9.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 90m
Countries: United Kingdom
Languages: English
Kath's last living memory of Annie is some Closed-Circuit Television footage of Annie walking down an alley, away from the camera. In reviewing the footage one day, Kath notices an odd image on the tapes. She travels to the alley, and there she begins to have visions of an alternate reality in which clues of Annie's existence appear.
The movie oscillates between Kath's daily life, her therapy sessions, and her increasing exploration of the alternate universe she's discovered. As is expected, not many people believe Kath's experiences to be true, including her therapist, but this doesn't stop her explorations. Eventually, we find the answers to Kath's visions as the movie builds to its climax, and we see Kath's alternate universe collide with her reality.
Shirley Henderson does an excellent job playing Kath in the film. Her passive, shy, yet obsessive characteristics come through exceedingly well, yet she doesn't overdramatize or overplay the character's emotional state. The result is a very honest, believable performance.
The camera work in the film is equally superb. Some excellent shots during the alternative reality sequences clearly indicate a "dream-like" world, but a sinister one at that with a very defined blue and white color palette and striking contrasts in the exposure.
Overall rating: 9.0 /10.0
Details:
Runtime: 90m
Countries: United Kingdom
Languages: English
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