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September 7th, 2002 Day Three |
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Its amazing how easily you can forget about work and switch into festival mode. I am already beginning to forget what day of the week it is, and am only thinking in terms of which day of the festival it is. Some good fair lined up today, and the hottly anticipate (by me anyway) documentry Lost in LaMancha. On with the reviews...
Title: Bad Guy [Nabbeun namja] Summary A violent criminal becomes obsessed with an innocent college girl who he entraps through a series of events eventually forcing her into prostitution. As he wears down her self-esteem, an unusual bond between the pair develops. I saw director Ki-duk Kim's film The Isle at the festival in 2000 and was struck by the power of the film. There are a lot of a parallels between Bad Guy and The Isle , most notably virtually mute characters that express their feelings through their actions instead of words. The director also has a knack for depicting scenes of violence and suffering that are painful to watch, but are nearly impossible to turn away from as they reveal so much about the characters and the world they inhabit. What I liked about the film As repulsed as I was by the main character's behaviour, I found myself fascinated with him as he walked through the entire film virtually mute, allowing his eyes and body language to speak for him. You get the sense of a man driven by a lost love and trapped by a criminal lifestyle. I wondered at times if the girl he forces into prostituion not only reminded him of a lost love, but also of a lifestyle he could not have. Great performances and well directed, I thought the film gave a unique glimpse into that sort of lifestyle. What I didn't liked about the film The main thing I didn't like about the film was some of the false turns that the story took. We are repeatedly shown that the main character is industructable, but several scenes of his near demise are just too over the top to be believeable and do little to further the narrative. I felt such scenes greatly undermined the power of the story. The were also a few plot points towards the end of the film that got a bit muddled for me, namely the relationship between the Bad Guy and his hencemen. Several scenes of the two of them in prison seemed to be trying to say something about their relationship, but the significance of the scenes was lost on me. Enjoyable but Disappointing -- I enjoyed elements of the movie, but was disappointed with some aspects.
Title: Lost in La Mancha Summary A fascinating documentary about director Terry Gilliam's stalled effort to bring to the screen his adapation of Don Quixote. Directors Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe had set out to document the pre-production of Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote and got a lot more than they bargained for as the set was plagued by injured actors, acts of god and a NATO jets. What I liked about the film Well besides the fact that Terry Gilliam was present for a Question and Answer session following the film, the film had a lot to offer. Perhaps the longest teaser of a film never made, the documentary gave a unique inside peak at the business side of getting a production of the ground and a taste of what Gilliam is capable of should the film ever get made. While Gilliam's artistic vision is unquestionable, you do sense a lack of leadership on the set from Gilliam as his assistant director is left to make the hard decisions and ultimately the blame for the troubles plaguing the set. Directors Fulton and Pepe have also filmed a behind the scenes documentary of Gilliam's 1996 film 12 Monkeys . The documentary "The Hamster Factor and Other Tales of Twelve Monkeys" which is available on some editions of the 12 Monkeys DVD. What I didn't liked about the film Its hard not to like this film. In comparing the directors two efforts, I would have to say that while "Lost in La Mancha" is a more mature effort its not nearly as fascinating as "The Hamster Factor" since in "Lost in La Mancha" the film making process is the focus and not Gilliam. I sincerely hope that this film can help to secure the funding Gilliam needs to by back the film from the insurance company and to get the project back on track. Fantastic! -- Wow, a film that left me wanting more. Definitely one that I will be talking about for sometime.
Title: Intacto Summary Luck can be a blessing as and a curse as the central characters in Intacto discover. Sam (Max Von Sydow) runs an underground casino in Spain where he can control people's luck. When his protege and right-hand man Fredrico decides to leave Sam steals his luck. Years later Fredrico is seeking revenge on Sam and encounters another survior Tomas with seemingly uncanny luck as he is the sole survior of a plane crash. Fredrico teaches Tomas to use his power and in a bizarre underground game of chance the pair work to increase their standings by collecting photos of people who they have beat. What I liked about the film The premise is inventive and hints at an interesting subculture, but quickly goes off the tracks. It's one of those movies that will eventually get remade by Hollywood. What I didn't liked about the film The premise doesn't really work for me in the long run as I had a hard time believing that these characters had this incredible "survival" luck, but no "dumb" luck. For example when two of the lucky ones are surprised by the police during a break and enter their "luck" should have prevented they from being caught off guard. Enjoyable but Disappointing -- I enjoyed elements of the movie, but was disappointed with some aspects.
Title: Bubba Ho-tep Summary An over the top genre bender that tries too hard to be a cult film. In a twist of events Elvis switches places with an impersonator only too fall on hard times in a nursing home called Shady Rest Convelesance Home when he can't reclaim his throne after the impersonator dies. And that's only the set up! The King with the aid of another nursing home resident who claims he is JFK (Ossie Davis) must defeat an ancient mummy that is sucking the life out of the residents. Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, Army of Darkness, Jack of All Trades) stars as Elvis. What I liked about the film Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis carry the film. Campbell was in attendance and was as lively as ever. Bruce was also in town promoting the paperback release of his autobiography If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a "B" Movie Actor. What I didn't liked about the film As I mentioned earlier that I felt the film tried to hard to be a cult movie. While several Americans I attended the screening with roared at the jokes and the jabs at American politics, I just didn't get it. No I understood all the references, I just didn't find it funny. [I guess I am not the only one since this movie has yet to see a theatrical release since its screening in September 2002] Enjoyable but Disappointing -- I enjoyed elements of the movie, but was disappointed with some aspects. |