Fry in Edinburgh

A Mexican film about six unrelated people and the aberration that drastically alters them physically, and moves them to different locations. The main character, Mateo, begins the film as a 35-year-old man. He then experiences the change, and ends up in a completely different city, in a completely different life.

The concept of this film was great, but the film itself, not so much. The editing was choppy, and you weren’t with some of the characters long enough to care about them at all. In fact, some of the characters could be edited out entirely, and you wouldn’t lose anything. You never got an explanation of why this was happening, or how exactly. The film starts with the change of a character, but no understanding as to why he’s the chosen one.

In this film, the sound was so dynamic, it was a redeeming factor that echoes David Lynch’s first film Eraserhead. . Just before the change happens, the character has a premonition, and then there’s a wonderful burst of sound. At one point, when Mateo was in the last stage of his life, the sound disappeared entirely; no ambient noise, no dialogue, nothing. The musical soundtrack was really good, too. Electronic, and sparse, it filled the film with feeling.

I’ve seen a lot of International films in this festival, but this one I could’ve skipped. Watch it for yourself and tell me what you think.

Two trees out of 5

Twelve-year-old Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) is bullied in school, and unintentionally ignored at home. When Eli (Lina Leandersson) moves into the apartment next door, he takes an interest in her. However, she’s not what she seems to be, and Oskar has to decide whether or not to accept her.

Shot in Sweden, this film has won awards for cinematography. The outdoor scenes in the snow are beautiful. The snow is brilliantly white, and some of the locations are so stark looking. A shot that stands out to me even now is after Eli comes into Oskar’s apartment uninvited, and begins to bleed. She’s sitting talking to him, and the blood is still on her face. It’s pooled in her eyes like tears, and has run in tracks down her face. The way she’s lit just makes her look so beautiful.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about this film when we walked out of the screening, but the more my classmates and I discussed it, the more I liked it. I’ve already stated that I’m not a horror movie fan, so when I read the description and it said this was a horror film, I wasn’t too excited. However, I love vampires, so I enjoyed this very much.

Oskar and Eli’s friendship is a beautiful and pure thing. It’s completely innocent, even when he asks her to go steady. There’s no sense of wanting to be intimate or physical. He just wants a companion. She yearns for the same thing, but is hesitant to accept, because she knows that they probably won’t be able to have a relationship of any sort. He wants to be loved and accepted, and Eli gives that to him. In fact, in the end, they’ve saved each other from death, and end up being friends after all.

There wasn’t a lot of gore in this film; actually the only really gross part comes when her initial caretaker sacrifices himself for her. The blood that’s shown on necks and faces looks real, not like the stuff seen in B-grade horror films. Jump in your seat scary moments are few and far between, and the sound effects of her “creature” coming to the surface are creepy, but not scary.

If you get the chance to watch this film, and you like vampires, then this is the movie for you.

Five trees out of 5

All of these films are from the UK. In order of their appearance:

A Riff for Lazaro (Un riff para Lazaro), directed by Remi Borgeaud, takes place in Havana. It’s the story of a young male trumpet player, who borrows a mouthpiece for an audition, then has to return it because he can’t afford to buy it. After that, he tracks down his father, to ask him about his own playing days. I enjoyed this film. The music was wonderful, and the cinematography was beautiful.

In the Spotlight, directed by Stacey Bradshaw, was an animation about a tap dancing monkey. The timeframe is the 1930s, and the monkey resembles Fred Astaire. As the film winds down, and the dancing comes to its finale, the monkey turns out to be a bellhop in a posh hotel. This was cute, but not the best thing in this series of shorts.

Open Skies, directed by Rob Brown was sad. It’s a tale about a mother who goes to the beach with her son. During the afternoon, she falls asleep with her son by her side, and when she wakes up, her son is gone. I wondered if her son was dead, due to a red pail (seen earlier in the film) which is now rolling the surf. Did this signify her loss? Did she lose him earlier? And/or has she been able to cope?

Mari, directed by Yiorgos Moustakis, was almost completely dialogue free. She wakes up on the shore, and remembers being tossed out of a limo the night before. Walking underneath an overpass, she sleeps in someone’s camp. Mari walks into a mall and finds an Asian man, who isn’t pleased to see her. Discovering a barcode on the back of her neck, she runs away from the mall. What happened next was slightly disturbing. I found this film different. The lack of dialogue made the film stand out to me. I liked it for the most part, but the plot wasn’t entirely clear.

Outcasts, directed by Ian Clark, started out a completely different way from how it ended. A famous pop star named Luke, visits a girl named Ashley, in the hospital. Her friend Elvis hits Luke over the head with his guitar, and they kidnap him. Ashley has horse teeth, and cerebral palsy, and Elvis is slightly retarded. They meet up with a man who has no lower body, a dwarf, and a blond woman who’s missing part of her left arm. Ashley wants Luke to be her boyfriend, and he’s ok on being her friend. The others don’t particularly care for Luke, but they want Ashley to be happy. The rest of the film involves trying to get Ashley laid. This film was hilarious. I got a bit uncomfortable for a bit, because I didn’t want the “outcasts” to be made fun of. However, the tables turn slightly, and the end is quite funny.

Geriatrics, the Musical, directed by John Douglas Dodds, was so politically incorrect it was kind of funny. It’s an animated film, involving elderly people in a nursing home. It’s also a musical. The patients have varying degrees of problems including an enlarged prostate, and someone who just wants to die. Then the maggots start singing. Wrong? Absolutely. Funny? Yes. Did I like it? Maybe, kinda.

The Problem with Pets, directed by Catriona Craig, was a very amusing little movie. Monica’s pets keep dying, and she suspects her mom’s boyfriend. While she is correct, they’re all accidents. The death scene of “Brian the Rabbit” was painstakingly funny. Monica conducts a CSI type investigation, and decides that “Brian the Boyfriend” has to go. I liked this one very much.

Empty Space,directed by Firman Machda wasn’t very good. It was animated well, but I didn’t really understand the plot. There was no dialogue to help you figure it out, either. It’s the story of a construction worker who walks through the city, and then decides to step out of reality. What happens next left me very confused.

Wings of Blue Angels, directed by Ong Chantarangkul, was the best short film in this collection. It’s the story of finding love in unexpected places. Set in Thailand, the movie follows two potential couples. One is a pair of business partners, who are working on a special project. The lady’s husband is ill and dying in the hospital, and the man in love with her asks her at one point if she’s staying with her husband because she loves him, or because she feels she needs to. The other couple consists of a blind man and a convenience store clerk/prostitute. The cinematography is beautiful, and the story was really good. A particularly great shot is in a nightclub with the business couple. As they dance, the camera does a slow pan around them, and goes into slow motion for the action. I loved this movie, and I’m hoping that SOAPPIFF can acquire this for their upcoming festival.

Keith Reynolds Can’t Make It Tonight, directed by Felix Massie, was a short animation about a man who forgets his hat in his car as he goes into work. He’s expecting a big promotion, and when he doesn’t get it, things start to go downhill. This one was funny. The characters were animated stick figures, and the offices in the building were simple.

I enjoyed this film, and laughed out loud, along with everyone else in the theater.

The Lovers is the story of a bourgeoisie woman who is unhappy in her marriage. In her frequent trips to Paris to visit a friend, she meets another man. When her husband invites her friend, and the other man to dinner at their home, a chance encounter starts the beginning of a significant change in her life.

This film is part of a retrospective of acclaimed French film actress Jeanne Moreau (Jules and Jim, The Bride Wore Black), and is directed by auteur Louis Malle (Au Revoir Les Enfants). Moreau’s face is so expressive, that you can tell everything she’s feeling. Her character Jeanne is a woman who doesn’t really know what she wants.  In the beginning, she’s not happy with her husband, but isn’t in love with the man she’s dating, either. When she meets Bernard (Jean-Marc Bory) the man who gives her a lift when her car breaks down, she begins to change. You can visually see her change as well. The film starts and she’s all made up, hair done, couture clothes on. By the end, her hair is down, she’s not wearing makeup, and the clothes are whatever she grabbed from her closet.

 For its day, this film was very controversial due to its love scene. In fact, the case surrounding the movie made it all the way to the Supreme Court. By our standards now, and as a result of the ruling, this movie is tame. There’s no frontal nudity or simulation of sex. Yes, the characters are in bed, but nowhere is there anything seen.

On a whole I enjoyed this movie. It kept my attention, the pacing was good, and Jeanne Moreau is a beautiful woman to behold. I’m glad we were offered the opportunity to see it.

Five trees out of 5

Billed as a South Korean psychodrama this is the story of a group of medical students and their first autopsy class. After performing a Buddhist ritual to honor the dead who’ve donated their bodies to science, things begin to go terribly wrong. En-Joo goes back to the autopsy room to get some practice late one evening, and she ends up becoming a cadaver instead of performing on one. The students come to realize that they’re all having the same recurring dream, and they want to solve the mystery of their classmate’s death.

The catalogue listed this as a horror film. Actually, the exact description says, “A portentous mix of claustrophobic menace and good old-fashioned gore, Cadaver takes a zombie march through the corridors of an apparently cursed medical department in a South Korean university” (Edinburgh International Film Festival Catalogue). As I am not a particularly big fan of horror films, I didn’t want to see this one. In fact, I dreaded it. Unintentionally, a friend and I missed about the first ten minutes of this due to another screening running overtime. However, I loved “Cadaver”. It’s not a horror film in the sense of say “Saw” or “Nightmare on Elm Street”. It’s more along the lines of Alfred Hitchcock’s works. There are deaths, but they’re not on screen. There is blood, but not buckets of it.

The story is a bit like other stories of this genre, but the killer turned out to be someone I didn’t expect. There are other little twists tossed in, and so it has a new feel to it. Released last year, Cadaver will probably be available on DVD soon, if it isn’t already. And, as is the American way, a remake is probably in the works. I really hope not, because this is such a wonderful film, and I don’t think a “translation” needs to be done.

Four trees out of 5

This was a collection of short animated films. I enjoyed several of them and a few not so much. In order of appearance:

Pecatum Parvum, directed by Asya Lukin was a bit confusing to me. It was mostly Claymation, with some computerized stick figures in it. Using the late Russian poet Daniil Kharms’ writings, this film attempts to describe the life of a man in St. Petersburg. The writings were confusing. They lacked linear thought so it made the overall story a bit jumbled.

Siu Siu, directed by Matthew Cooper was one I didn’t particularly like. The story involves a man who is in love (from afar) with a red-haired woman. He wishes to be with her, so some hairy caterpillars help him out. Never really explains how the caterpillars got there to help.

And Life Went On, directed by Maryam Mohajer was set in Iran during a bombing. The animation had the appearance of pen drawings, being all black lines and shading. Some color was included, particularly a little girl in a red sweater. The ending took me by surprise, and I think helped shape my opinion of this film. I liked it, a lot.

It, God, directed by Michael Zauner made me think. I like it when a film does that. Again, this was ink drawings, with color (lots of rich color). The story involves a man’s fall from the skies, and finding God (quite literally) underneath a piece of his ribcage when he puts himself back together. He puts God in his left armpit, and the film goes from there. At one point, he wants to take God home, so he goes to a church. Upon this decision, he says, “I visit a place we both before have never set a foot in”. I found this fascinating. Overall, I liked this work. It’s very thought provoking.

What’s fufu?, directed by Greg Villalobos I didn’t really like. It’s an autobiographical piece of work, and had the potential to be something better than it actually was. The story is about a young woman from Nigeria who has been adopted by a white British family, and has grown up in England. I thought it should’ve been longer, and in turn, better.

A-Z, directed by Sally Arthur was a fun little piece of work. Mrs. P gets lost around London (as does everyone), because there are no street guides. While getting lost, she writes down everything from a-z, and ends up with the first ever London street guide. I loved this one.

Don’t Let It All Unravel, by Sarah Cox, was alright. Not the best piece here, but not the worst either. It’s pretty much a film about taking care of our planet and what we have right now. The animation was yarn; very neat.

Landing Lights, directed by Graham Young was unusual. I liked it, but didn’t necessarily get it. A plane goes right through a building, not destroying, but more like a knife through soft butter, and comes out the other side. And then it happens again. There’s a chair on a patio this time. The next time it comes through, there are two chairs and a walkie-talkie. As the plane arrives at the second chair, it moves it. Then the film ends. You see it, and tell me what it means.

The Life Size Zoetrope, directed by Mark Simon Hewis tells the story of a man’s life. All these people get on a graviton machine (the ones at the fair that spin you so fast you don’t fall out), and they all have 8×11 cards. As the machine gets to top speed, the film is shown on the cards. It was very neat, and a great concept. I liked this one very much.

Mikky and Me, directed by Chris Halls is the story of an elderly man who depends on his wife to get him through the day. He watches Mickey Mouse cartoons on the couch, and she makes his food, and takes care of things. When he finds out she’s seeing a neighbor across the way, he goes to get her back. I didn’t really like the story here. The animation was good, but the picture didn’t really interest me.

Cyren, directed by Tom Mead I wasn’t sure about. I liked parts of it, like the look of the animation, but the story had me a bit confused. (The animation looked a bit like the cartoon in Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”.) The story involved rich people living up among the sun and clouds, and the poor people practically underground. A man with paintbrush arms finishes his work, and then becomes the work. Not really any dialogue here, but sound effects.

Space Travel According to John, directed by Jamie Stone and Anders Jedenfors was a delightful little work of animation. John is 10-years-old, and fascinated over space travel. The look of the film was created with soap powder. SOAPIFF has acquired this for their upcoming festival, so you should definitely see this if you’re in the vicinity.

Josie’s Lalaland, directed by Eb Hu almost made me cry. It’s beautiful to look at, with lots of color, and movement. The sad part comes with the dialogue. It’s a posthumous depiction of a young girl’s battle with Leukemia. I liked it a lot.

The Weatherman, directed by Will Becher, was so cute. There’s no dialogue, and the story only involves a weatherman and a bird, but it’s lots of fun. The man in question goes to work in a building right outside his front door, and has a machine to tell him what the weather will be like for the day. When this machine breaks down, hilarity ensues. Definitely worth a look.

This was a collection of Scottish short documentaries. One is lighthearted; the others are varying degrees of seriousness. Listing in order of appearance:

Christmas with Dad, directed by Conor McCormack was an interesting piece of work. The father in question is 23 years old, and the biological father of two children, with a third on the way. He’s also stepfather to five others, ages ranging from fifteen to six. The setting of this piece is Christmas time, and the dad discusses his childhood, his own father, being father to all seven of the children in his home, and the uncertainty of his future. I enjoyed this film, and found it a bit sad.

Irene, directed by Lindsay Goodall was extremely sad for me to watch. The title subject is the 92 year old Grandmother of the filmmaker, and she suffers from Alzheimer’s. I found this to be very personal to me, because my own Grandmother suffers from Dementia. While the majority of the audience laughed at certain things that Irene said or did, I couldn’t because I’ve been there. Irene’s daughter is a caretaker for her, and she’s very patient and gentle with her mother. My own mother looks after my Grandmother with the same patience and gentleness.

Ma Bar, directed by Adrian McDowall and Finlay Pretsell was a subject matter I’m not that familiar with. Bill McFadyen, is 73 years old, and a Masters IV World Champion power lifter. His goal is to break a new world record by lifting 175 kilograms (_____lbs). The competitors in his competition were late teens to early twenties women, and mid twenties to mid thirties men. The straining of the bodies and the bulging of the necks in these people was really something to behold. Not the best documentary in this program, but a decent one.

half way home (lowercased by director’s preference), directed by Paul Gray was a very well done film. Melanie is in her mid thirties, and dying from an autoimmune disease. In 1999, while living in Edinburgh, she became incontinent and then developed septicemia. In 2003, during a check up, her doctor discovered a hole in her colon, and told her to put her affairs in order. She currently lives in Inverness, which she feels has given her a bit longer in her quality of life. She has about ten years left, and is coping with the knowledge that she won’t be here very much longer.

Karelian Cowgirls (Oudoille Oville), directed by Minttu Mantynen takes place in Finland. It’s the story of a group of elderly ladies, who during World War II, after the Soviet Red Army invaded, were forced to march their families’ cows deeper into the country. This would have been better if it had been longer. At the length it is now, I didn’t really get into their story, and didn’t feel for them like I could have.

Niddrie Bricks, directed by Julian Schwanitz and co-directed by Nina Topp and Andrew Steen was the least interesting of this whole selection of shorts. A man who grew up in a house that is about to be demolished comes back to see it one last time. I couldn’t really get into this story at all. Maybe if they fleshed this out I’d care more about it.

Skeins, directed by Paul Gray was a lighthearted bit of fun. Set in Sofi’s, a pub in Scotland, this involves a group of ladies who get together at least once a week to knit and socialize. One of the ladies in the knitting club said that she found the group after a bad relationship and a move to a new city. These knitters became her friends. Another lady in the group fondly remembers her Grandmother knitting her things while she was growing up, and she now carries her Grandmother’s knitting bag inside her own. I enjoyed this little bit of fun, and it made for a nice ending to the selection of films in this category.

This is an American film, starring Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, Pierce Brosnon, and Rachel McAdams. A period piece set in the post was 40s, it’s the story of a man who wants to start a new life with his girlfriend. The problem lies with his wife, and so he “humanely” plans to get rid of her in order to be with his girlfriend. His best friend becomes attracted to his girlfriend, and his wife has a secret as well.

I very much enjoyed this film. The casting was spot on, particularly Chris Cooper. He seems to get roles that show how extensive his range is, and this is one of those. Pierce Brosnon is wonderful as his playboy best friend, and a platinum blonde Rachel McAdams does a fine job of  playing a grown up. Patricia Clarkson is wonderful as always, and period pieces seem to suit her well.

The costumes, and the cars, and the sets were all gorgeous. Rachel McAdams in particular, had some wonderful pieces. All of them were colors that suited her, and the fabrics were rich. The green dress she’s wearing the first time you see her on screen, is a perfect fit in every way. Patricia Clarkson’s costumes were darker in color, and just as rich, but looked a bit more matronly, as this was her roll. Chris Cooper and Pierce Brosnon both were dapper in their suits.

I felt that the pacing of this film was just right, and the overall look was sumptuous. The story is a bit predictable in places, but there are enough teasing bits thrown in to make it feel fresh. Will Harry (Cooper) go through with his plan? Is the narrator Rich (Brosnon), just a voiceover, or does he make it to the end?

Five trees out of 5

This is an Argentinean documentary about the tango. The film covers more of the music and musicians, than the actual dance itself.  Several well known vocalists, and Bandonean players are interviewed, as well as some famous maestros. Gustavo Santaolalla, an Oscar winning composer, and well known producer, helps guide the focus of the film.

While this documentary had the potential to be really good, it fell a bit short of the mark. My favorite moments of the piece were the beginning when the filmmakers showed some older photos of the musicians and gave a bit of history, and then a specific clip of tango dancing. This dancing was in an outdoor bandstand, and involved several dance partners. A particular pair of dancers stood out though. The man was dressed in black jeans, and a black t-shirt, and his female partner had on a black dress. They moved as one, and fluidly at that. You couldn’t help but watch them, even though the camera went around the bandstand and followed all the pairs.

Other than that, this documentary was disjointed, and a bit confusing. You didn’t really get a proper introduction to the subjects, as what we’re used to in documentaries. There wasn’t an historical timeline of the development and evolution of the tango. While this focused mostly on the music, there wasn’t a lot said on the dancing element.

Two trees out of five

A documentary shot over seven years, this follows the band Gorillaz and it’s creators Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. Full of the animation that the band is known for, the music that made them famous, and interviews with the members, this is a collaboration of minds and sounds. This is an insightful look into a band that has the intentions of getting back to their musical roots.

As a fringe fan (i.e.-someone on the fringe), I enjoyed this very much. I went with a group of people to see this, some of whom are very big fans of the band Gorillaz. They didn’t particularly care for the film, mostly due to them having already seen the majority of the footage presented. They’ve seen it on the Gorillaz website. I had not seen any of this before; therefore, I walked away with a better understanding of the group.

Fronted by former Blur lead man, Damon Albarn, Gorillaz is his move away from the icon status brought on by his position as a rock performer. This band is all about the music. They don’t even perform in public. Well, not really. A live performance of the Gorillaz consists of projections on a screen, with the band playing behind it. This is fascinating, and they give just as much effort and heart as if they were actually in front of the crowd.

While a few of my friends felt that this didn’t give you a good idea of what the Gorillaz stand for, and what they are, I beg to differ. Damon does a fine job of telling you how the group wants to be known for their sound, and what they’re trying to do. In an early phone interview, they attempt to be the “characters” of the Gorillaz, and then Damon breaks out and explains it so that the interviewer will understand. The interviewer is American, and Damon says that if they want the fans to stay, they have to explain who they are. “Americans like it if you tell them what’s going on. If you explain things clearly to them.” He’s right. This film was my explanation, and now I get it.

SOAPIFF has plans to acquire this film for their festival, so if you’re a fan of the band Gorillaz, you may want to see this.

Five tress out of 5