VIFF: mime-mime

my rating: awesome

my blurbie:
a japanese woman directed this film about a slacker woman in her early 20s who works part-time and avoids her family and has occasional sex with her former teacher.

interestingly, this film starts with this woman giving her former teacher a blow-job. but there's no gratuitous nudity or showing of body parts.

i think it was good mumblecore with lots of ambience and awkward family scenes. the director was in the theatre and she looked like she was 20 years old herself. she said that she took a part-time job to make the film.

i'm pretty impressed and although the film was a little uneven, i liked where she was going and how she filmed it all.

..............................

so at mime-mime, the guy sitting beside me was all friendly and chatting up the woman sitting on the other side of him and said hi to me. he was telling the woman that he volunteers at the 'english clubs' for some japanese and korean language schools in town.

i could tell he wanted to ask if i was japanese but i made sure not to look in his direction much so as to prevent further discussion.

so, here's the thing: this is the SECOND GUY who, at a japanese film screening, seems to be wanting to be friendly to me and ask me if i'm japanese.

i am so not impressed by this approach.

also, this dude was breathing rather loud.

yuck.

VIFF: Dancing with Time

my rating: meh

my blurbie:
a documentary about 4 german ex-ballet dancers in their 70s who are brought together to put on a dance piece. i thought it sounded cool. the doc was structured with the performance piece inter-spliced with interviews of the 4 dancers.

but i never felt that we really got to know the dancers. and so i never got emotionally attached/involved with them at all.

the part i liked most in the film was when the 4 were doing the basic movements in ballet and the close ups of their feet showed how much our bodies remember certain things.

VIFF: Sweet Food City

my rating: walkout

my blurbie:
so i didn't walk out even though rob whispered that he wouldn't mind leaving. this was horrible horrible wanna be autuer shit.

let me start with the sound: all the sound was reproduced afterwards which can sound fine IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING. in this movie, the girl's footsteps sound like men's shoes and they weren't synced up. the dialogue was all redone and it sounded like the actors spoke too close to the microphone.

then there's the visual quality. THERE WASN'T ANY. clearly shot on the cheapest consumer brand camera, all the whites were blown out and all the blacks had no detail. my eyes were burning. and the cinematography? really bad; don't be fooled by the nice film still above.

when i came home, i re-read the film outline in the VIFF book and it sure sounds wonderful: "brilliant use of cinematic space" and "director who thinks in 3D." the main girl's story took up half the screen time, the other half was made up of indiscriminate, random, unrelated (except they happen in her ghetto complex) scenes of poor people being bored, kids with no pants on, and many minutes of cute kittens sleeping.

here's a line i though was special: "a real man should smoke"

about 10 minutes into the film, all us non-mandarin speakers were wondering where the subtitles were. if you squinted and looked at the bottom of the screen, you could see the subtitles were just off the screen. suddenly, during the scene when the girl is putting on her bra, the film stops and the projector menu comes up and we all watch as the projectionist adjusts the film image so we can see the subtitles.

wtf.

VIFF: Three Monkeys

my rating: awesome

my blurbie: by the same turkish director that made Climates and Distant; both films i have not seen but read many good reviews about. Three Monkeys did not disappoint.

every single frame of the film was cinematic eye candy for me. EVERY ONE.

it's a heavy duty dramatic film about a father who accepts the bribe of his employer (a politician) in exchange for confessing to accidentally running over someone. during his year in jail, his wife cheats on him with his boss and his 18 year old son fails college exams. when he gets out of jail, a contest of raised voices and burrowing stares between the family members ensue.

despite it looking freaking fantastic, i had trouble believing some of the character's motivations.

VIFF: JCVD

my rating: okay

my blurbie: sold out screening. saw some peeps there (martyn, ken) and settled in for a super saturated/filtered yellow green looking action drama. there's this very-long-no-edits shot that makes fun of jean-claude van dame's roles in films.

i liked how the director was this 20 something dude from taiwan who was throwing darts at a dartboard with the word hollywood on it. jc's monologue near the end of the film was truly impressive and showed his range as an actor and proved he's not just a martial arts machine.

even though this was a nice concept film, i found the plot and the acting inconsistent and somewhat poor.

VIFF: Still Walking

my rating: transcendental

my blurbage: despite the horrible film still, i went to see this movie. the director's previous film, Nobody Knows, was great although i have yet to see it. but i didn't need to worry because holy freaking god was this movie excellent. echoes of Ozu's generational divide and gorgeous cinematography and great natural acting and believable writing and superb pacing make this film a MUST SEE.

the second (and last) screening is this wednesday (oct 1) at 6:40pm.

VIFF: party

after watching Orz Boyz, i caught up with Rob, Terry and Casey who were about to go to a party at Insight's renovated theatre on Main Street. they managed to sneak me into my first ever film fest party.

oh man, is it nice in there with over a hundred lipstick red leather club chairs that can be configured in any way possible. last night, they had them in small groupings with 4-5 chairs in each to facilitate conversation.



and there were platters of deliciously prepared lebanese food from Nuba and not expensive booze ($5 per drink). PLUS, i noticed an actor from BATTLESTAR GALATICA!!!

ok, so she has a minor part but still. her real name is Jen Halley and she plays Diana Seelix who started as a deckhand and became a pilot later on. in real life her hair is super long and she's very tall and skinny. so cool.



and then i spoke with matt dentler who is big in the indie film community as he was the head of SXSW up until this year. he was nice and very tall.



and i wish i could say i saw/talked/gawked/shook the hand of don mckellar but he didn't show.

VIFF: Orz Boyz

my rating: awesome

my blurbage: this movie met my expectations from the film still and more! at first i was put off by the largely taiwanese audience that kept on laughing at every cute little thing but when the film gradually morphed into more dramatic tones, they quieted down. it's a beautifully shot and naturally acted with simple dialogue film about two boys (12 and 9) who seem very unattended by their parents.

the playfulness of childhood was really well conveyed in a scene where the boys plugged in 15 fans and wore swimming goggle and flippers and pretended they were taking off into space. the slow motion was a really good choice for this scene; i felt drawn back to a time when it was all about your imagination and fun. this scene was transcendental for me.

the ending was a little disney-manipulated-emotional and, yes, i succumbed but also a bit resentful that the device was used. but i'm so glad i watched this film.

VIFF: What The Heart Craves

my rating: meh

my blurbage: i knew i was taking a chance on this one because i've watched this director's first film, Soup, One Morning and wasn't particularly impressed. however, the film still plus Tony Rayns' seal of approval convinced me i should give this director another try. but it kinda sucked. for me, i found it be a bad japanese mumblecore piece about young adults and relationships and angst. i particularly found the female character in the film still above especially confusing.

VIFF: my rating system

i like how fatal strategies is trying something different when rating movies or music.

i feel inspired to do something different this year for all the VIFF films i'm catching so here's what i'm contemplating.

i'll offer an overall score based on the following:
- transcendental (i.e. into great silence, edge of heaven)
- awesome (i.e. ploy)
- okay (i.e. the elephant and the sea)
- meh (i.e. secret sunshine)
- walkout (i.e. mr. cinema)

then some blurbage about the film or director.

Claire Denis_director

i stumbled upon a review of Claire Denis' new film "35 Rhume" which played at the Toronto International Film Festival.

i immediately searched (in vain) for the listing on the Vancouver International Film Festival website. luckily, Happy Bat, had a copy of Denis' "Friday Night" from 2002.



last night i watched the movie and tonight i'm listening to the director commentary.

essentially, Claire Denis is making the type of films that i've been picturing in my mind; films that are ambient, atmospheric, melancholy, full of intense undertones, and have almost no dialogue.

the camera zooms in on and caresses the characters' hands, legs, mouths, and flirtive glances. she delights in the little movements and small gestures.



listening to Denis talk about an intimate scene and what it means to her has, literally, put me on the verge of tears.

i'm utterly inspired.

VIFF

i picked up the Vancouver International Film Festival catalog today and have finalized my list of films.

this year's catalog is kinda neat looking. here's the cover.



one thing i'm already thinking about is to remember to bring the catalog with me EVERYWHERE while VIFF-ing.

if you are a film geek then it's a must-have accessory not unlike some people who insist on carrying their phones/blackberries in a holster attached to their belts; belts that tend to hold up slacks with pleats. oh yeah, that's right, i said it.

and, perhaps, carrying a catalog around might deserve the same stigma as the holstered phones. SO BE IT. look at all the films i'm planning on watching.


Sep 25 - What the Heart Craves
Sep 26 - Orz Boyz
Sep 27 - Still Walking, The Desert Within, JCVD
Sep 28 - RR, Three Monkeys
Sep 29 - Wonderful Town, Sweet Food
Sep 30 - mime-mime
Oct 01 - Serbis, Syncing Blue
Oct 02 - When Life Was Good (this is the film that Rob acted in. it's gonna be a big party. everyone is invited. the screening is at the Ridge)
Oct 03 - A Christmas Tale
Oct 04 - Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, the Mistress & the Tangerine
Oct 05 - I've loved you so long, Days in Between
Oct 06 - The New Year Parade
Oct 07 - The Blind Pig
Oct 08 - Four Nights with Anna
Oct 10 - Night and Day

that's 21 films!


i'm hoping my weakness for being easily swayed by good looking film stills won't result in too many bad choices this year. look at this gorgeous one from The Desert Within.


ALSO THIS: i've succumbed to my own vanity and signed up to twitter. it might come in handy during the film fest.

saturday

our dryer broke the day before rob left for toronto. 7 days later, rob returned with a large suitcase full of dirty clothes. so we hung the wet clothes out in our patio. i'm pretty sure i'm breaking a rule in the building by doing this.




as we were hanging the clothes, i surveyed the failed 2008 summer growing project. the issue was that i wasn't watering the plants everyday. the soil tends to dry up rather fast in those containers. i tried not to accept the guilt being projected by those dried up plants.



this morning we went to a total of 2 stores before purchasing a washer/dryer combo unit. in terms of research, i went to my fav site www.consumersearch.com where they aggregate all reviews into a tidy recommendation. this website allows me to access the work generated and studied by maximizers yet i spend very little time thinking about it and thereby permits me to maintain my satisficer status.

ok, so here's the scoop on what i'm talking about: Barry Schwartz wrote a book called The Paradox of Choice in which he "argues the controversial thesis that eliminating consumer choices can greatly reduce anxiety for shoppers."

i'm sure GR will correct me on this but basically because there's so much choice and options available that people understand this truth and seek to find perfection in their purchases; these people are maximizers.

Schwartz's position is that satisficers realize there are lots of options out there but are happier because they purchase items without the worry that they're missing out on some good deal.

and i'm pretty happy with our purchase made with very little investment of my time.


here's a video of him giving at talk at TED

everyone loves a montage

my mamm montage with synced up sound (unlike the screening at tinseltown)


2008 MAMM Montage from Obsolete Films on Vimeo.

now what?

my post-mamm life so far:


- sleep in: check. i stayed in bed until 11am yesterday.

- visit my family: check. i visited my dad yesterday and we looked at washer/dryers because (oh joy) my dryer broke the night before rob left for toronto.

- purchase a new washer/dryer unit: to do.

- have some bubble tea from my favourite place in richmond: double check. i managed to let the bubble tea slip from my hand as i was closing the passenger side door and it crashed/broke underneath the passenger seat. i went back and ordered another one.

- combine bubble tea and baileys: check. i brought the bubble tea home and figured i'd try a little experiment. the result? a little bit of both but not quite either. it was strange but sweet.

- watch "Wings of Desire": check. watched it last night and it was exquisite. here's a clip:



- wait for rob to come home: check. rob is returning this friday.

m & m (mamm & mogwai)

i had planned on COMPLETING all rendering/exporting/compressing for the saturday mamm screening by friday night. yah, DIDN'T HAPPEN.

saturday morning____i've run out of hard drive space and all those hours of rendering/exporting friday night is wasted. then i notice that the music is out of sync on my montage. how did that happen? what the fuck? i quickly make adjustments. and start exporting again at 7am.

5:00pm____i'm rendering/exporting/compressing right up to the second that the taxi arrives to take me to tinseltown cinemas.

5:20pm____i'm at tinseltown, plug the PS3 into the projector. someone (peter, no not the ex) asks me "where's the analog audio out?" i look and there isn't one. HOLY FUCK. peter thinks we need an optical out and i convince him to use the 2 audio outs from the component cables and use connectors to connect them to the super long audio cords that will connect to the sound system. peter leaves and drives to get the connectors.

5:30 - 5:45pm___i've rebooted the PS3 about 10 times and it's still not connecting to the projector. i tell myself and the projectionist that rebooting is part of the setup process which is true but it doesn't take 10 reboots. finally, the ps3 menu shows up on the screen in the theatre. the projectionist jokes about playing some soul caliber after the screening.

5:45 - 6:15pm___we adjust the lens and setup the proper display settings. i'm getting comments that the image on the screen is still alittle blurry. the projectionist, who used to work at tinseltown, handles the stress easily and says: it's too late now.

6:15pm____they start letting in people into the theatre. i'm really nervous and try to remember if i've forgotten anything. the projectionist tells me: it's too late to worry, you can't do anything about it anyways.



6:45pm____lights go down and the 3 weeks of the stress and toil in trying to figure out how a) a PlayStation3 could be a player to a $12,000 projector and b) how best to accommodate 15 films of differing degrees of quality FINALLY COME TO A HEAD when i press the PLAY button on the PS3 remote.

i hyperventilate, scream "oh my god" and collapsed on the very clean floor of the projection area of tinseltown and forget to watch/listen to the audience for reactions to my montage at the start of it all.

9:40pm____house lights come up and they announce the winners. i leave the projectionist area and go down to say hi to a few of the filmmakers and actors.

then, i take a taxi to the commodore for the mogwai show. the mogwai show was my reward for making it through mamm.

10:20pm____i arrive at the commodore and find a spot leaning up against a column. i forgot to bring my earplugs but i'm okay with that cuz i'd rather listen to their unfiltered set than worry about losing some hearing. mogwai is so worth it.



mogwai is freaking amazing. but half way through their set, i'm suddenly hit with massive exhaustion. lack of proper sleep over the past 2 weeks (dealing with mamm) has finally caught up with me. i'm glad for the column that is holding me up. i look forlornly at the chairs off to the side but figure i'll just fall asleep if i sit down in one of them.

after the show, i'm really hungry and end up at a korean place with friends. i return home just before 2am.

i wakeup this morning at 11am and try to think of what to do the rest of the day.

cinema

we've just returned from tinseltown where rob, p and myself went to test our hair-brained idea of using the playstation3 as a player for a projector.

i was absolutely dreading having to arrive at 11pm then waiting until 11:45pm when the film in theatre 9 ended before connecting the machines and testing the various export and compression methods we came up with.

but then, we entered the projection area





and i was immediately reminded of Goodbye Dragon Inn, a film by taiwainese filmmaker Tsai Ming Liang.

although the corridor was noisy with the clackity sounds of projectors, at the same time it was super quiet. seeing these large metal platters holding the film was neat, too. while we waited, we peeked thru all the windows and caught glimpses of films. i saw the last 3 minutes of mummy3.

it was really cool. and i'm not talking about the last 3 minutes of mummy3.


check out this clip of Goodbye Dragon Inn i found on youtube