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2017 Vancouver International Film Festival
Reviewer Ed Farolan

 

xMarlina the Murderer in Four Acts

Indonesia/France/Malaysia/Thailand 2017 Dir. Mouly Surya. 93 mins.

Dates and Venue 10 & 13 Oct Vancity

This reminds me of the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns of the 1960s. In four acts, we see Marlina defending herself from rapists and killing them all off. It's a big hurrah for the feminists out there who cry out "I'm not afraid of you, machos. I'm gonna kick your ass." 10/10ed Porfirio Díaz’s dictatorship to drugs and human trafficking in modern times. 8/10

xThe Party

UK 2017 Dir. Sally Potter. 71 mins.

Dates and Venues 30 Sep Rio, 9 Oct Playhouse & 13 Oct Centre for the Arts

I enjoyed the wit, the political convictions of the characters, and the dry but entertaining humour. Potter's film is shot in black and white reminiscent of the films noires of the 1940s. It's one of the best black comedies I've seen this year. 10/10

 

xTales of Mexico

Mexico/Poland 2016 Dirs. Carlos Carrera/Daniel Gimenez Cacho/Carlos Bolado/Ernesto Conteras/Alfonso Pineda Ulloa/Alejandro Valle/Ivan Avila Duenas/Natalia Beristain. 120 mins.

Dates and Venues 8 Oct 9pm SFU & 10 Oct 11am International Village 10

This anthology film was great until it came close to the two-hour mark and I noticed the audience trickling out one by one. The film should ahve been cut to six stories instead of eight, and that would have been perfect. The last two-stories which dealt with boys' gangs and a rehab centre should have been removed because they weren't as interesting as the first six. The eight stories take place in a studio apartment over a hundred-year span depicting the history of Mexico from the revolution that toppled Porfirio Díaz’s dictatorship to drugs and human trafficking in modern times. 8/10

xLa Tenerezza

Italy 2016 Dir. Gianni Amelio. 103 mins.

Dates and Venues 5 Oct Playhouse & 11 Oct at International Village 9

Amelio is considered one of Italy’s greatest living directors. This was a magnificent film,a story of two dysfunctional families. Renato Carpentieri plays Lorenzo, an elderly lawyer alienated from his children, who finds himself drawn to some new neighbours. They appear happy as a family but then, a different picture emerges. 9/10

 

xMotherland

Philippines/USA 2017 Dir. Ramona S. Diaz. 94 mins.

Dates and Venue 9 & 12 Oct at International Village 10

I was curious why award-winning filmmaker Diaz (She won best documentary at the Munich Filmfest and the Sundance Special Jury Award) entitled her film "Motherland" which sounds patriotic. Even the original Tagalog "Bayan Ina Mo" which translates to"Your Country Your Mother" does sound nationalistic. But then, you see this film and it's about an ovvercrowded and underfunded hospital ( Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital located in Metro Manila) giving us a slice of life of birth-related issues. The poorest of the poor, and uneducated, most of them living in the Manila slums, come here because it's free. The film takes snapshots of different scenes in the ward: a ward doctor announcing over the PA system, calling numbers for who's next in line: a technique called "Kangaroo Mother Care" because of a lack of incubators; mothers all bunched up with their babies, sometimes two in one bed; and so forth and so on. A unique film. 9/10

 

xIsmael's Ghosts

France 2017 Dir. Armaud Desplechin. 132 mins.

Dates and Venues 3 Oct Centre for the Arts & 11 Oct at International Village 9

The film starts off with what you'd think might be a James Bond movie, then it shifts to the disappearance of a director's wife. These disjointed and fragmented scenes confuse you at first, but then they start coming together like a puzzle that's being solved as the pieces go together. Superb screenwriting and mise-en-scene, getting the audience to say "Ahhh!", especially at the end where a somewhat summary of the finale is narrated by one of the main characters. 9/10

xThe Work

USA 2017 Dirs. Jairus Mcleay/Gethin Aldous. 88 mins.

Dates and Venues 8 Oct 9pm SFU & 10 Oct 11am International Village 10

Quite a moving documentary that won the top documentary prize at SXSW. Twice a year, members of the public are invited into California’s Folsom State Prison to join convicts—many serving time for brutally violent offenses—for four days of intensive group therapy. Here we see not only the convicts breaking down to tears, screaming and being held back by the participants to avoid violence, but also the non-convicts who also do break down and become potentially violent. The program seems to be successful because a lot of convicts who participated in the program never returned to prison. 9/10.

xBeauty and the Dogs

Tunisia/France/Sweden/Norway/Lebanon/Qatar/Switzerland 2017 Dir. Kaouther Ben Hania. 100 mins.

Dates and Venue 10 Oct 1.15pm & 12 Oct 7pm at International Village 10

The film, based on true accounts, displays an outrage to the patriarchal society of Tunisia. When university student Mariam is raped by two policemen, she goes through a helluva lot of bureaucracy to file her complaint. But isn't this the same in Canada? You're a rape victim and it makes the woman the culprit instead of the rapists. This superb film is a wake-up call to not only to her home country but to all countries with rape victims. 10/10

xThe Hidden Sword

China 2017 Dir. Xu Haofeng. 136 mins.

Dates and Venue 4 Oct 9pm, Playhouse; 7 Oct 2.30pm, Centre for the Performing Arts; & 11 Oct 9pm at Rio

This film won an award at the Montreal Film Fest this year. During the Q &A session after the film, I asked whether some of the scenes were purposely humorous and according to the principal actor Zhang Aoyue, the director purposely made them funny.  The love scenes had martial arts which made them look funny a la Jackie Chan.  Another comment made was that this film didn't use special effects like ropes tied to actors while they were doing sword fights, unlike many of this type of movies where a lot of special effects are used.  I got a poster at the end signed by him and shook his hand to congratulate him. The only peeve I had were the subtitles. They were too little and hard to read especially when the background was white. But other than that, the cinematography and fight scenes were superb. 9/10

 

xCall Me by Your Name

USA/Italy/France 2017 Dir. Luca Guadagnino. 131 mins.

Dates and Venue 5 Oct 9pm, 8 Oct 9pm & 12 Oct 3.15 pm at Centre for the Performing Arts

I didn't know that this was going to be a gay film, but for all you gays out there, I think you'll enjoy this somewhat soft porn movie. It has some laughs, from the reaction I got from the opening night audience. The main protagonists are Elio (Timothée Chalamet), the 17-year-old son of an American archeology professor (Michael Stuhlbarg), and Oliver (Armie Hammer), his apprentice. There are other facets to this film, such as the Jewish context and a visit from young Parisian girls spending their summer in this small northern town of Italy in the early 1980s. The film is in English, Italian and French. 8/10

 

xFarewell

Austria 2017 Dir. Astrid Johanna Ofner. 80 mins.

Dates and Venue 8 Oct 1pm & 9 Oct 8.30pm International Village 8

This adaptation into film of the prose poem novel of Weiss chronicling his childhood and early adulthood was well-received during the opening by those familiar with his works. However, if you're not familiar with this 20th century author who came to prominence when he won a Tony award for his play Marat Sade which was later made into a film, then this film adaptation of his early work describing his early years may not be too interesting. In the Q&have session I asked Ofner (her first feature film) why she chose Weiss for her film, and she said that there was something inherently different about him.  He was an individual, very singular in his style, unlike many false and artificial writers who would just get on with the normal flow of life.

 

xHappy End

France/Austria/Germany 2017 Dir. Michael Haneke. 107 mins.

Dates and Venue 3 Oct 6pm, 5 Oct 3.30pm, 8 Oct 6.15 at Centre for the Performing Arts

This film starts off slow, almost boring, with long shots that last almost forever. However, it picks up towards the end with ironic dark comedy when Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant), is losing his wits and looks for ways to kill himself. The last scene, the engagement party of his daughter Anne (Isabelle Huppert) to a British Lawyer (Toby Jones), saved the film, because it was, truly, darkly funny. 9/10

 

xThe Florida Project

USA 2017 Dir. Sean Baker. 115 mins.

Date and Venue 7 Oct 6pm at Centre for the Performing Arts

Little Rascals, a series of short films in the early 1920s to 1940s, came to mind as I viewed this film. The Centre was jampacked because it was a one-time special presentation of VIFF. The film focuses on 22-year-old single mom Halley (Bria Vinaite) and her six-year-old daughter, Moonee (Brooklynn Prince). What a talented actress this young girl is! Motel Manager Bobby (Willem Dafoe) does what he can to help cash-strapped parents. Dafoe is surprisingly cool in his supporting role. Interesting slice of Americana life by filmmaker Baker. 9/10

 

xThe Queen of Spain

Spain 2016 Dir. Fernando Trueba. 128 mins.

Dates and Venues 4 Oct 6pm Centre for the Performing Arts & 6 Oct 3.45pm at Playhouse

Penelope Cruz is so versatile. She's so zany in this film set during Franco's early dictatorship in the 1950s and Hollywood’s Golden Age. She plays the role of .Macarena Granada, a Spanish actress now a Hollywood star who’s back in her native country to shoot a picture about Queen Isabela of Spain. Enjoyable and entertaining film. 9/10

 

xLos Perros

Chile/France 2017 Dir. Marcela Said. 94 mins.

Dates and Venue 4 Oct 12.30pm & 9 Oct 9.30 pm at International Village 10

Up till today, the "desaparecidos" during Pinochet's dictatorship still echoes in the minds of Chileans. This film is another example of some of the "perros" who are still alive and being investigated for these crimes. A disturbing film about Chile's dark past. 8/10

 

xWestern

Germany 2017 Dir. Valeska Grisebach. 119 mins.

Dates and Venues 2 Oct 10.45am at Vancity; 4 Oct 6.15pm & 13 Oct 9pm at SFU

You'd think this were a cowboy movie, another western, but actually it's not. It takes place in the hinterlands of Bulgaria near the Greek border where an all-male German construction crew has arrived as neo-colonial conquerors, setting up camp, flying the national flag, and preparing for infrastructure improvements. Our protagonist here is Meinhard Neumann, and like the entire cast, is a nonprofessional actor, but somehow, Grisebach manges to deliver a quality film. 9/10

xThe King's Choice

Norway 2016 Dir. Erik Poppe. 130 mins.

Dates and Venues 30 Sep 11am at International Village 9; 5 Oct, 3:30pm at Playhouse; and 12 Oct, 9:30pm at International Village 10

Outstanding film which chronicles the days before and after the Norwegian monarch King Haakon VII (Jesper Christiansen) made the decision to resist the invading German army during WWII, It's a well-acted drama and it was short-listed for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar earlier this year. 9/10

 

xAva

France 2017 Dir. Lea Mysius. 105 mins.

Dates and Venues 29 Sep at 3pm, International Village 8 & 1 Oct at 6.45 at International Village 9

The movie is filmed on the beaches of Médoc, in western France, and it's about the rebellious 13-year-old Ava, (Noée Abita who was 17 years old when the film was shot). Superb directing by Mysius and acting by Abita and her "beach-bum bad-boy" Juan (Juan Cano). 9/10

 

xIn the Fade

Germany/France 2017 Dir. Fatih Akin. 95 mins.

Dates and Venue 1 & 4 Oct at Centre for the Arts

Stellar performance by Diane Kruger who won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Festival. Akin’s film is timely, as it deals with the resurgence of Fascism in Germany as a reaction to the millions of refugees that have been coming in. 9/10

xBitch

USA 2016 Dir. Marianna Palka. 97 mins.

Dates and Venues 29 Sep at 6.15pm & 7 Oct at 3:45pm at RIO

Writer-director-actor Marianna Palka (Jill) is a tour-de-force as she metamorphoses into a real "bitch", a vicious junkyard dog, in this Kafkaesque thriller. This indeed is well-labeled under the film heading "altered states". 9/10

 

xThe Venerable W

France/Switzerland 2017 Dir. Barbet Schroeder. 100 mins.

Dates and Venues 29 Sep at 12.30pm & 6 Oct at 6.15 at International Village 8

If you're an Islamophobe and a Trump admirer, this film is for you. Schroeder documents Ashin Wirathu, a Myanmar Buddhist monk, a nationalist who wants to keep out Muslim immigrants. In this film, we see interviews and speeches by this monk, a powerful public speaker, inciting crowds to anti-Islamic violence. 8/10

 

xMeditation Park

Canada 2017 Dir. Mina Shum. 94 mins.

Dates and Venues 28 Sep 7pm at Centre for the Performing Arts; 30 Sep 12:30pm at Playhouse; and 11 Oct 6:15pm at Rio

Excellent film from our very own Vancouverite, filmmaker Mina Shum. The actors (Cheng Pei Pei, Sandra Oh, Tzi Ma, Don McKellar, Liane Balaban and Zak Santiago) were superb. But the one who stood out was Cheng Pei Pei (Maria) mother of Sandra Oh. She was funny, and got the audience laughing. But in some scenes, she was bitter because of her husband's infidelity and bossiness. A must-see film. See interview. 10/10

 

xDon't Be Afraid of the Light

USA 2017 Dir. Jason A. Rostovsky. 15 mins.

Dates and Venues 4 Oct 11.15 at International Village 10 & 7 Oct at 6.45 at Vancity

This horror short could possibly be a full-length film if developed properly. It's got the Stepehn King elements of suspense and blood-gushing violence in it. Hope to see it soon as a full-length feature.

 

xThe Kodachrome Elegies

USA 2017 Dir. Jay Rosenblatt. 11 mins.

Dates and Venues 6 Oct at 8.45pm International Village 8 & 10 Oct at 12.45 at Vancity

For us seniors who are over 70, this short brings back memories of the 50s and 60s when we were growing up. I still remembery my dad with the 8 mm. kodak camera and taking home movies of the family. This is definitely a must-see for oldies like myself but also for the young ones who can see how home movies were made in those days.

 

xReseba: The Dark Wind

Kurd/Qatar/Germany 2016 Dir. Hussein Hassan. 92 mins.

Dates and Venues 29 Sep at 6.45pm & 2 Oct at 1.30pm at International Village 9

Aren't we lucky we live in this part of the world? Unlike our world of comfort (count our blessings), this film reflects the heart-rending happenings in Kurdistan. Based on a true story, this hard-to-swallow film is about the ISIS genocide of the Yazidis. It focuses on a woman who is kidnapped by ISIS and rescued by her fiancee. I was moved by the love of this man. Despite being rejected by the community, he's still there for her. This award-winning film was well-done by Hassan, but you'll need a strong heart to watch it. 9/10

 

xAnarchist from the Colony

South Korea 2017 Dir. Lee Joonik. 129 mins.

Dates and Venues 30 Sep 2pm & 2 Oct at 9pm, International Village 9

Superb biopic. Almost like a Romeo and Juliet tragedy. Inspired by true events, Anarchist is about Japan's barbaric treatment of its Korean colonials. But what makes the film interesting is in Joonik's treatment, not at all heavy, in fact, the acting was light, with free spirited humour. I like the last part when the photo of the two actors was juxtaposed with the original. 9/10

 

xLowlife

USA 2017 Dir. Ryan Prows. 96 mins.

Dates and Venues 30 Sep at 4.30pm at International Village 10 & 2 Oct at 9.15pm at RIO

Another "altered states" film full of violence and carnage. Ryan Prows’ crime drama depicting an illicit world of organ harvesting, human trafficking and vengeance, is not meant for the weak of heart. It has, however, its comic,dark moments with the character Monstruo whose legacy must go on. 8/10

 

xThat Trip We Took with Dad

Romania/Gemany/Hungary 2016 Dir. Anca Miruna Lazarescu. 111 mins.

Dates and Venues 30 Sep at 6.15pm & 11 Oct at 12.15at International Village 8 & 8 Oct at 9.30pm at International Village 9

I thought at first that this was a comedy. It does ghave some funny moments and dialogues, but as the movie progresses, we see conflicts of ideolgies here. From the very depressing and totalitarian countries the two men and their sick dad traverse, i.e.,Romania, Hungary, East Germany to the very laxed West Germany where you are treated with goodies such as freedom and all kinds of commodities, the film questions whether freedom-loving countries are better off than totalitarian statesw. 9/10

 

xThe Departure

USA/Japan 2017 Dir. Lana Wilson. 88 mins.

Dates and Venues 1 Oct 8:30pm & 2 Oct 1:30pm at Vancity

During the chat session after the movie, director Wilson said that the role of Buddhist priests these days in Japan is to deal with social issues. In this case, formerly a punk rocker, now a Buddhist priest, his role is that of a suicide counsellor. Nemoto is the focus here. He tends to people who are at the verge of killing themselves. The title is drawn from retreats he gives referring to death as departure, and according to Wilson, in the past 10 years since he's been counselling, only one has committed suicide. 8/10

 

xIndian Horse

Canada 2017 Dir. Stephen Campanelli. 100 mins.

Dates and Venues 30 Sep at 6.30pm at Playhouse & 2 Oct at 1.45 at International Village 10

The Canadian government and the Catholic Church have already apologized to the Aboriginal Nations of Canada over and over for the abuses committed in residential schools in the last century, and yet, we see films like this one reminding Canadian whites how bad they were. Shouldn't we put all this to rest? In fact, everytime an announcement is made during the VIFF and other events, we are always reminded that we are on aboriginal soil. It feels like we're squatting on land that isn't ours. And don't the aboriginal peoples of Canada get more benefits from the government than a regular Canadian? So I think filmmakers who would like to do more films about the first nations of Canada should do more positive films expressing unity and a happy-comingling of whites, immigrants, and peoples of the First Nations, instead of the moaning and groaning in films such as this one. 6/10

xShut Up and Say Something

Canada 2017 Dir. Melanie Wood. 82 mins.

Dates and Venues 4 Oct 6.15pm & 8 Oct at 12.30 Playhouse

Excellent biopic of one of our own, a British Columbian star. Shane Koyczan made a hit when he did his slam poetry at the Vancouver Olympic Games in 2010, and since then, has risen to stardom. Even David Suzuki praises him to high heavens! Wood did a great job filming interviews with him, his poignant poems about being bullied when he was a child, his search for his parents who left him with his grandmother when he was a child, and his reconciliation with his father. I heard sniffles from the audience in the scene when his long-lost father listens to a poem dedicated to him. Wood's engrossing documentary is a must-see. In fact it just won an award for the must see BC Award. I interviewed Melanie Wood but didn't ask questions about the film since you can get all these answers from interviews with VIFF's Alex Magdi and also the Q & A from the Calgary Film Fest earlier this year. My questions dealt more with her personal life and journey as a filmmaker. Here's the interview. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vzsr1RJKXY)

xNo Bed of Roses

Bangladesh/India 2017 Dir. Mostofa Sawar Farooki. 86 mins.

Dates and Venues 6 Oct at 7.30pm at International Village 10, 8 Oct 1pm at Vancity

This film dragged quite a bit mostly because the shots were too long and there was a lot of repetition of dialogues and scenes. Editing seems to be the problem here. I'm also surprised why the main character is guilty about taking another wife. I mean, he's Muslim, isn't he,and aren't Muslims allowed to take as many as four wives? Why divorce his first wife? So, from the religious point of view, I see a contradiction here. 5/10

xBecoming Who I Was

South Korea 2017 Dirs. Moon Changyong, Jeon Jin. 95 mins.

Dates and Venues 30 Sep at 4.45pm at International Village 9, 8 Oct 8.15pm at Vancity & 11 Oct at 6:15 Vancity

This is a touching film not so much because of the reincarnation aspect but more so because of the relationship of Angdu to his mentor, the elderly Urgyan. I could hear a few sniffles from the preview audience towards the end of the documentary. Both directors did an amazing job with the cinematography, but what impressed me the most was taking the right shots during those beautiful moments of interaction between the young master and his mentor. 9/10

 

xDirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey

USA 2016 Dir. Dave O'leske, 96 mins.

Dates and Venues 29 Sep at 6.30pm Playhouse, 1 Oct at 3:30pm Rio & 13 Oct at 4pm at Vancity

An excellent biopic about a dirtbag climber who still is climbing mountains in his ripe old age of 94. O'leske's portrait with archival footage and old photos going back to the 1940s makes this documentary a must-see. Unlike the more sophisticated climbers who made it to Mt. Everest, Beckey's individualism is reflected in interviews, and why he's not a team player. He's also a ladies' man but on the other hand, the German in him shows discipline as he takes notes climbing mountains, does research and publishes his mountain-climbing books. 9/10

 

 

xAmerican Psychosis

USA 2016 Dir. Amanda Zackem, 15 mins.

Dates and Venues 8 Oct at 6.30pm Rio & 11 Oct at 9pm at International Village 9

This 15-minute short is more like a lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges. It could be the start of a longer documentary with perhaps interviews from others. The language is a bit highfalutin and you could get lost with the kind of language Hedges uses. Basically, what he's trying to tell us is that unlike totalitarian governments, Americans are prone more into delusion and fantasy, perhaps something like hoping for the American Dream. 7/10.

 

xThe Bolshoi

Russia 2017 Dir. Valery Todorovsky, 132 mins.

Dates and Venues 6 Oct at 10.45am International Village 10, 8 Oct at 6pm & 13 Oct at 6.15pm at Playhouse

Interesting film showing the goings-on of the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow. It could easily pass as a documentary, but it's not, although I'm almost certain it's based on true events happening in this company. The main focus of this North American Premiere is the bittersweet lives of two ballerinas, one from an affluent family, and the other, from a poor one. There's also petty politics when an old ballerina who teaches at the academy and once was famous gets her way because she knows a higherup in the Kremlin. This is a must film to see if you don't mind reading subtitles most of the time, unless you understand Russian. 9/10

 

 

xShadowman

USA 2017 Dir. Oren Jacoby, 83 mins.

Dates and Venues 30 Sep at 6.45pm International Village 10, 2 Oct at 2pm International Village 8 & 1 Oct at 8.45pm at VCT

An excellent biopic of Vancouver-born painter Richard Hambleton who was known as The Shadowman for painting shadowy figures all over New York. Archival footage of Hambleton as well as recent interviews are well documented and presented by Jacoby. What is most interesting about this documentary is that the artist is still alive in New York, probably in his 60s, and living in abject poverty. Despite his rise to fame and earning millions of dollars, he refuses to hobnob with the rich and famous. He does it for a while but then, faithful to his alias "shadowman", disappears from the glitzy scene and ends up in the streets with nothing. 9/10

 

 

xAlphaGo

USA 2017 Dir. Greg Kohs, 90 mins.

Dates and Venues 2 Oct at 11am International Village 9 & 3 Oct at 6.30pm Playhouse

Artificial Intelligence which used to be a thing for science fiction flicks is now a reality, thanks to high tech nerds who have devised through algorithms and numbers, this reality. One case in point is AlphaGo, an AI program based on Go, the ancient Chinese board game of strategy. Lee Sedol, the world's greatest player of Go, plays with AlphaGo. He is confident that he'll win all five games, or maybe he'll win 4-1. Guess who wins at the end? I won't be a spoiler. Go watch this excellently made documentary. 10/10

 

 

xBad Genius

Thailand 2017 Dir. Nattawut Poonpiriya, 130 mins.

Dates and Venues 6 Oct at 10.45am International Village 10, 8 Oct at 6pm & 13 Oct at 6.15pm at Playhouse

I find this a somewhat modern morality play where at the end, the film concludes ethically that good triumphs over bad. This is a good film, well-directed, and well-acted. At first you'd think this was a comedy of sorts, with music and acting in comedic fashion. But as the film progresses, it gets suspenseful. There's the thriller element added especially towards the climax where our female protagonist is being chased in the metro of Sydney. Unlike most of the films today where the bad guy gets away with stealing, this one still has the ethical streak in it. I'd vote for it for a Dragon Award this year. 9/10.

 

 

xYou're Soakin' In It

Canada 2016 Dir. Scott Harper, 77 mins.

Dates and Venues 2 Oct at 7pm International Village 10 & 4 Oct at 11 am at International Village 9

Gone are the Mad Men days of the 20th century when advertising was glamorous and simple. Advertising was radio, TV and billboards. Today, in the new millenium, it's gotten complicated. Internet has taken over television, as stated in this documentary. Social media is the thing today, with Trump himself using twitter all the time. Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube--these are the in-things. Even kids in elementary school are more techno-savvy than their parents and grandparents. Privacy is gone, and that's the threat we see in this documentary. With the new technology, advertising can invade your privacy and brainwash you into buying products. It's scary, but that's the new wave. Even hiring has changed. Since everything in the internet is algorithms and computing, it's the mathematicians who are the new salesmen-- the computer nerds. And as the documentary ends, we are told this is just the beginning. 8/10

 

 

Disappearance

Netherlands/Norway 2017 Dir. Boudewun Koole, 92 mins.

Dates and Venues 30 Sep at Rio Theatre 8.45 pm & 7 Oct at 12pm at Playhouse

Two things about this film: landscape is very Canadian, especially in the Yukon and NWT, with sled dogs, snow all over, etc. The days are long because the film was shot most probably in April somewhere in northern Norway. Secondly, so much influence from Swedish director Ingmar Bergman: close-up shots, very long; pauses; innuendoes. A sad story, very perceptive, a complex relationship between mother, daughter and young son, familial love/hate relationship. The end is quite touching as we see our heroine walk towards what I think is a fjord. 8/10.

 

 

x7 Minutes

Italy/France/Switzerland 2016 Dir. Michele Olacido, 92 mins.

Dates and Venues 4 Oct 1.30pm at International Village 9 & 6 October 9.45pm at International Village 10

A Canadian Premiere. Now that Horgan is now the Premier of BC, this union-related film is a good watch for him and those who voted for the NDPs who are pro-Union. I believe this is based on a true story about not giving in to management just to keep the workers' jobs secure. Reminds me of 12 Angry Men starring Henry Fonda when the one negative vote starts winning after heated discussions. Good, gutsy actresses. 9/10.

© 2017 Ed Farolan